Sunday 16 March 2014

Gone Fishin'


Although I routinely blog about various beauty bits you may have guessed that I'm not an entirely girly girl. Sure I revel in all things skincare, haircare, makeup, etc but I also ride a hulking great motorbike, do my own car maintenance and repairs and am no stranger to the many uses for WD40. I even remove spiders from the bath all by myself. So it should come as no surprise that I also have one or two hobbies which aren't your typically feminine pastimes and, since I'm trying to get more lifestyle into my wee blog, I thought I'd share one of them with you today.

Mention fishing to most people and they think of a bloke perched on the end of a pier with his rod and a bucket of bait enjoying some alone time. Most of the time that's pretty accurate but unfortunately for Mr P going fishing doesn't mean a bit of quality "man time" as I like to tag along too! I have my own rod and reel (a 12ft Shakespeare Sigma and SurfZone 70 in coordinating black and turquoise) and I'm perfectly capable of setting up my own rig, although I must admit I tend to leave the whole baiting business to Mr P. The is nothing about ragworm that makes me want to touch them - they're slimy, they smell and they bite!

You might imagine that the attraction of fishing is catching something yummy for tea, and for some that is the case, but I'm a vegetarian and haven't eaten fish in over 20yrs. For me the attraction is all about peace and quiet, picturesque surroundings and the chance to truly relax and spend time with my man and, sometimes, dog. Let me explain... 

In my professional life I work very hard. I manage staff, I manage big projects, I'm always on hand for professional advice and I'm always busy. At home I still spend a lot of time managing - bills and finances, housework and DIY (which we do share to be fair), dog, holidays and outings, etc. If I'm honest it all gets a bit tiring sometimes! Going fishing gives me a chance to truly relax. I don't need to organise anything, I don't need to manage anything and all I have to worry about is watching the little blue light on the end of my rod for that telltale twitch which suggests there might be a fish chowing down on my bait.



Even better I don't even have to worry about inclement weather (because we all know what a tropical paradise Southern England is) as we can relax in the relative comfort and warmth of Mr P's Defender, which has comfy seats, plenty of space and is kitted out with a stove and mini gas heater. I can ignore my phone if I want and just chat and enjoy Mr P's company. Honestly, it doesn't get much more chill-outy than a mug of hot chocolate in a nice warm truck accompanied by your lovely bloke and surrounded by peaceful nighttime countryside just waiting for something interesting to swim along! Besides, real live fish are way more interesting than what you see on the counter at Tesco. I've caught sea bass, pouting, whiting, dab, sole, bream, eels (icky, slimy things) and some really fascinating species including thorn backed rays, dogfish and smooth hounds (both types of shark, which is very cool!). In fact all the fishy photos in this post are animals That I personally have caught!

Have you ever been fishing? If your man/dad/mate goes why not tag along sometime?

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