Looking forward to summer

As the frost starts to form on the cars outside, thoughts start to drift towards those warm summer evenings-which is a little unusual for me in my advancing years because for a good portion of my angling life, I have been found waist deep in the north sea in my birthplace of the Northeast, in the depths of winter waiting for the cod to bite. Those regular sessions are now a bit of a memory for me now, and having moved out of the North East, I am finding fishing thrills for other local species. Summer seems a little too far away right now especially as the car needs a good scrape in the morning, but when my summer contains exciting shore sport in search of hard fighting pollack & mullet, then a few minutes spent with a can of de-icer makes me appreciate those sun filled dawns on the west Scottish coast. But those trips involve considerable planning and thank goodness for the internet and on line shops. It's strange looking back on those photos from over 20 years ago when our trips to Scotland for pollack involved nothing more than one standard spinning rod, a reel and a pocket full of red gills & some spinners. Now we seem to take everything including a kitchen sink! Standard kit is now at least one carp rod of 2.5lb test curve or heavier, 2 rods gives more options, at least 3 spinning reels (a back up reel is always better), spare line, a huge assortment of red gills & every conceivable latex lure that's been created, enough 1oz ball leads to sink a boat, landing net, camera, food, drink and frozen sandeels. For some reason, my friends & I have chosen to fish marks that even the local wildlife struggle to get to so we usually have a long walk to whatever remote stretch of headland we fish-hence the need to be as self contained as possible. Personally I'd give a medal to the person who invented the water bladder of the type that cyclists use to great benefit. However, all that gear needs to be sorted & usually replaced year after year as the marks take their toll on our gear, so my winter evenings are now spent trawling through all those marvelous web sites looking at the growing assortment of artificial lures and armed with a suitable method of payment, I can now get the latest 7 inch super black rubber thingumybob delivered to my door. Isn't the internet marvellous. Of course, it will never replace the warm & friendly welcome you are always assured at the local tackle shop, but when your job usually keeps you past the time that shops stay open, then the internet is a salvation in terms of getting the gear sorted. Of course I usually end up buying a few extra lures for my friends with whom I've shared well over 20 years of memory filled gloriously happy times with, and our main summer lads away weekend has become a bit of a ritual in terms of giving each other new lures to use. Our banter is unique to us and is really what makes those trips away special. It's a catch up time for us-sometimes happy, occasionally sad, but always enjoyable. So, having been relieved of a few hard earned pounds tonight, I now eagerly await the sound of the letterbox.