4th July '26, Multi Club Open Day, Lodden Lake, Gillingham...

On a normal day fishing with the JJAC family, anxiety is at a reasonable level because I want everything to go well.

On an Open Day like the one at Lodden Lakes yesterday, the anxiety is off the scale!

Sleeplessness and stress fatigue are out-weighed by a tidal wave of adrenaline, which is the only thing that gets you through in the end. Of course, not everyone feels the same as me and will take it all in their stride. Good for them I say, I don’t…

Even Sgt Bracey was feeling the pressure as we proudly announced to each other the times at which we respectively had our eyes prized open by the fact that ‘today’s the day!’

Just for the record, he beat me by a good hour on this occasion. Bravo!

It’s a good job Mercedes and Hyundai make ‘em big because our cars were, to be honest, deceptively not filled to the gunnels. Ok, so, the food and bait were being taken care of by our event colleagues at Gillingham AC. So those were a few things that we did not need to carry. But even so….Wow!

I left home at 06:30 to take a meandering drive through Dorset. It wasn’t exactly dawn, so the colours of the day were fully lit by now. Despite this, there were plenty of suicidal Pidgeon’s, Jackdaw’s, Rook’s and the odd Bunny that were in the road eating their breakfasts as Walter and I rolled by. (The car is named Walter because he’s White and, when Mrs H is inside, he’s also full of drugs. Medication, she’s not a dealer! If you’ve never seen Breaking Bad, this will mean nothing to you and there is no point in reading it. Sorry).

I was running early, so I stopped into Whitepost Lake at Todber to play with my new Merlin Bird song app. Lots of Skylarks. I used it my back garden the other day. My cat Matilda came out to rub round my legs, ‘Meeow’d’ and her face came up on the screen! How bizarre…

Upon arrival at 07:30, Some of the Gillingham lads were setting up the BBQ, and Jezza was there with his (car’s) boot up.

We all exchanged pleasantries, then it was down to business. Flags, banners, and a shed load of gear to set up. The usual stuff, only with pressure this time.

We had nine juniors between five coaches, which doesn’t sound that difficult. But when they are new, inexperienced anglers, it can get a bit like spinning plates until you find a groove. In the car park were two more juniors to be added to the mix. So, we were now at eleven…

Fortunately our superhero of the day was Mike Cullen, the sole representative from S&HAA. Mike had fished at Lodden many times in the past and would be a valuable source of information on top of that which Mark Harper had given to us. To be honest, Mike was brilliant, helpful, and a lot of fun. It’s not surprising that most of the fish came from where Mike was fishing yesterday!

If you read this, thank you Mike. You’re a legend.

Joining Jerry, Tim, Chris and I today was Dave Copp. Dave Had fished at Lodden a few times lately and was also a massive help to the team. Always laid back, I don’t think he knows just how valuable he was to us yesterday. Thanks, mate, you are a lifesaver.

Lodden is a beautiful lake. Well-kept and managed with hard smooth pathways surrounding it. The only problem from a junior coaching point of view was line of sight. Undergrowth that makes Lodden so picturesque is a pain when it comes to keeping an eye on what is going on. We have the same issue at Luckfield, only it is not as big and it’s round. But the fishing is superb, and I strongly advise anyone that wants a good day of mixed fishing to go join Gillingham or Sturminster and go there…

The part I detest the most is the talky bit at the beginning. You call everyone together and, all of a sudden, all eyes are on you. It is now YOU that is preventing them from doing the part of the day that they have got up early for on a Saturday for. Like Aircraft staff, most people do not listen to the H&S waffle and that is their problem, not mine. It is necessary and nothing happens without it, so…

I stumbled a couple of times in the morning and was let down by a nervous trembly voice but got through it. The afternoon was better, and laughter was even heard a couple of times. Whether it was ‘with’ or ‘at’ me is unknown…

I didn’t get the chance to wander around as I would have liked. So, I do not have tales from other areas. I was host to Thomas and Alexander for the morning session, and the Roach played a big part in helping to show the juniors that I knew what I was talking about. But it would be the Bream that would be the measure of success for the most part. I heard reports of fish to close to 5lbs being caught further down the lake, also a small Carp being landed. Thomas caught lots of small Roach before going on to the feeder with no success. He eventually landed a skimmer or two on the pole, which gave me a few ideas for the afternoon session.

Alexander did catch a ‘proper one’ on the pole ably assisted by his dad, Paul. Thank you, Paul…

The afternoon was now quite warm as the sun burned away the earlier cloud cover. My fishing duo for the Pm session were, 4-year-old Oakley, and a 5-year-old giggly Florence.

It was so much fun, and we had some laughs as well as some good fish. Nice Bream to 3 or 4lbs and a very angry Mirror Carp of 3 to 4lbs…

The only blight on the session was when Oakley hooked a hungry Duckling.

Ducks can pose a problem, especially little ones as they dive for the bait from nowhere.

The poor little fella was landed and dealt with then released safely.

This where the trouble started in earnest.

I popped the adolescent wild foul back in the water and, instead of paddling desperately back to a stressed mother, it simply sank…

It vanished without a trace, and I got a sickening feeling to my stomach. Had I drowned a duck in front of small children? In my mind I grew horns, turned red, and became the son of Belzebub. Oh no, have I become a monster in the eyes of these little ones?

With the help of Mum and Dad, we got the kids back fishing as soon as possible. But I looked at Chelsea and she was upset, as was I.

Two minutes later, Oakley shouted ‘There he is!’…

He was right. The little duck had covered at least 40-metres unwater to surface near his mum none the worst for his experience. Maybe it will put him off eating maggots, but I doubt it. Ducks are nuts!

With all wild fowl and juniors accounted for, the two, two-hour sessions went by in a flash and we were soon loading up cars with way too much gear to start the journey home.

Over the two sessions we had given the opportunity to experience fishing to well over 20 children and youths. In anyone’s book a sterling effort. Add to that the senior sessions hosted by the Gillingham guys on the other side of the lake, and the tally rose close to 40 people.

It was and is a success and is testimony of what could be accomplished by the efforts of a group of people whose goal is the same thing. To show people the joy of fishing at a stunning venue.

In no particular order, my thanks go out to,

Mark Harper, Neil Kerley, and all the guys from Gillingham & District Angling Association for the use of Lodden Lake, all its facilities, and a cracking BBQ and drinks service. Your support to get the idea off the ground was huge, and I thank you all. www.gillinghamanglingclub.co.uk

A massive thank you to John Candy from Todber Manor for the kind donation of maggots for our event, and to Sonubaits for the ground bait and pellets. www.todbermanor.co.uk

Mike Cullen whose help and knowledge were priceless today. Sadly, the sole representative from S&HAA today. But, maybe in the future we may see more.

www.s-haa.co.uk

Jerry Bracey for all the work in the background and for your sage advice and support, also to Tim Broughton, Chris Ward and Dave Copp for help and support.

Most thanks must go to all the people who decided that fishing might be some thing that could get into. Without the participants, we are just a bunch ageing guys standing around with way too much time and gear on their hands!

Thank you for making the day so much fun and satisfying for us.

There we have it then. One inter club Open Day under our belts.

It was busy. I ache a bit. But I’d do it all again in a heartbeat….and we will, of course, very soon…

If you think your club or social group would like to get involved with something like this, then drop me a line to graham.jjac@gmail.com.

What a day…

G…