Special Report

Salmon and Trout Junior Day Sunday 6th April 2008

The 8.30am gate opening started the day with a few keen juniors excitedly rushing to set up the rods ready for a days instruction and fishing from the professionals. By 9.30am the team from the Salmon and Trout Association were getting the rods together for the total beginners. The sun was shining and a slight breeze, perfect weather for fly fishing. Having been split into two groups, slightly experienced and beginners, its time to learn to cast, starting with dry casting on the grass then to the water.

The weather starts to change, turning cold with a slight wind. Still not detoured the Juniors press on. Tom Adamson, 10 years old, caught his personal best Rainbow, 5lbs 4oz on his 4th cast. The hardest part of fishing for all seemed to be actually landing the fish. The next Rainbow fell to total beginner Timmey Moodley, 13 years old, weighing in at 4lbs 8oz. The weather started to hail and then onto snow! The juniors persisted showing total commitment and dedication (having a warm now and again by the lodge fire).

By 4 pm Parents and Juniors gathered inside the lodge for a prize giving for best effort. Between the Stonebridge Team and Salmon and Trout Association we all agreed it was impossible to single out any one for best effort. The awards were presented. First prize, a brass placqued fly box, full of flies commemorating the day donated by the Environment Agency Fisheries Department. Also in full support of getting juniors into fishing, they put a lot of work behind the fishing scene to encourage them, so a big thank you to the Environment Agency Fisheries Department not forgetting Lawrence and his team at Ultimate Fishing Supplies for supplying the other prizes, too many to mention. Thank you.

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Timmey Moodley aged 13 and his 4lb8oz Rainbow

Tom Adamson aged 10

Tom Adamson first catch of the day 5lbs 4oz Rainbow

Juniors having casting lessons.

practicing

Juniors receiving instruction

Juniors braving the weather

prize winners

The big catch! Tom Adamson aged 10 with his Personal Best of 13lbs

Peter and Son Rob aged 13

Peter, Rob and Karl

We finished the day off with a bit of a talk on the Trout Fishermen and Trout Masters explaining that the juniors with their fish weights would be entered in for a Trout Masters badge.

Calling the day to an end most of the Juniors had left but Tom Adamson asked if he could stay a bit longer with a few of the other juniors. Not ten minutes later we heard the shout that Stonebridge has become all to familiar with. I ran down to the lakeside with camera and scales in hand and sure enough 15 minutes later 10 year old Tom landed an outstanding 13lb Rainbow Trout, smashing his personal best of 5lbs 4oz caught only hours before.

He took me back to when I was a lad by saying he had looked forward to the day for weeks and laid awake most of the night thinking about the days fishing ahead, up early, no breakfast with all the excitement. He said his dream was to catch a fish but to catch two and the second a whopping 13lbs has fulfilled his wildest dreams. He couldn't keep his hands still whilst filling out his second Trout Masters form of the day! Unbeknown to Tom he will now be entered into the Stonebridge Fishing Lakes Hall of Fame as the first junior to catch a double figured fish. I'm sure he will now become a great ambassador for fly fishing in the future. So from the team at Stonebridge Fishing Lakes and the Salmon and Trout Association Thank you for turning up and sticking out the bad weather (look out on our website for an even bigger Juniors day this summer). Richard