Well, that Game Fair went by quickly
Amazingly, managed to get half of the Mackenzie fly fishing stand, Bens kit, my kit and not much else into the Alfa. Here it is during packing, bearing in mind the large number of garage bills I have recently stumped up for the Alfa ran really well for the duration of the trip. Shame the aircon wasn't working though:
Scott and Gordon get the beers open as they were very much needed in the high 20 degree/low 30's when we arrived
I did see something that tickled my sense of humour, I figured
our resident maggot drowner live baiter Rob would appreciate it:
It was changed to
coarse very early on Friday morning
Talking of Friday morning the first night always seems to be a wee bit on the tough side and our Ben woke up early. As it happens, he unintentionally managed to wake me up too
Still, it looked like it was going to be a bonnie morning so wondered over to the loos, just as well or I'd have missed the sunrise
Having discovered that nowhere was yet open for coffee (we are talking 5am-ish) I decided to watch Ben chucking around the 18' rod:
That photo might not seem all that important but it represents the only picture I have of the lake in a flat calm. More on that later.
And a photo of the stand at sparrows fart:
Friday was busy. I seemed to have very little time to run around and do anything other than take folk for demos, sell rods and drink water.....lots of water. Boy, it was hot and windy:! I elected to get a chuck in for the Salt water qualifying, a 'banker' if you will. A mere 26 and a gnats bollocks metres later I was less than amused. The strong left to right and slightly into your face wind was such a monumental pain in the arse as to make any effort pointless
There was also a run in with someone from GAIA over access to the casting platform for qualifying. I might have told him to go away using colourful metaphors, it's also possible he avoided me like the plague for the rest of the weekend. Just as well.
Thus ended Friday, much beer was drunk.
Saturday and I awoke after an hours kip. There are some things in this world I can do without (nicotine is one) but what I really cannot do without is sleep. It tends to have an adverse effect on my karma and I was in a foul mood. This mood was not helped by the heat, although it was not as hot as Friday it was still 27+ degrees. I'm built for cooler climes. Anyway, I had the salt water qualifying to look forward to. The wind was still crap, so was my casting. It was nice to meet up with many familiar faces as the day wore on but the lack of practice in my casting the
specific gear for the event showed.... I was
closeto qualifying (I came 7th I think) but not close enough. Most of my fellow competitors were chums as it turned out so the 'craic' was great and my mood lifted considerably, Mike 'the eyebrows' Heritage was there, obviously Ben was there but so was Lee Cummings, Jonathon Tomlinson, Ruarai Costello, Tommy Amrstrong, Tracy Thomas and Barrio Pro team member from Australia Matt Howell who was over unexpectedly on a family matter. It is entirely possible that Matt had the piss ripped out of him mercilessly by people who may have included me about things like cricket, rugby.... etc etc
But.... Matt did well, although he and I both failed to make it into the saltwater final he did beat me in the Salmon distance (overhead) competition. Git. he actually came third. Utter git. Anyway, some salt water qualifying pics:
Mike Heritage:
Matt Howell:
Ben Dixon:
Thus ended the morning on Saturday. I was back and forward to the stand and forever bumping into folk I know, great to see my old college lecturer and now Director of the Wild Trout Trust, Shaun Leonard plus Paul Procter and many others. The final was in the afternoon and I managed to get away from the stand to get some pics in. I have lots and lots of pics and have chosen but a few of the finalists:
James tries to kick the line further (not a good option matey
):
Lee fires into a back cast:
'Our' Ben getting ready to go:
Winner young Tommy Armstrong firing one out:
Ruarai Costello:
Jonathon Tomlinson and his pink shorts:
Of course the CLA fishing events would not be without the unique commentary skills of Michael Evans. For those who do not know what he looks like here he is holding the microphone:
And here is what Paul Procter, Ben Dixon and Alan Maughan think of that commentary:
To make me feel a wee bit better Ben very kindly let me have a chuck with the Spey outfit that evening. This was very stimulating..... according to Tommo who was watching I hit sufficient distance to have qualified comfortably for the the final on Sunday. However, it would have been a lucky shot if I had made it and the undeniable truth is that to be consistent in the Spey or
any other discipline the key words are practice, practice and practice.
An evening of friendly line chucking in front of the marquee followed, but the chaps at
ShakespearePure Fishing Hardy Greys were reluctant to have a Mackenzie Vs Hardy/Greys competition. Mainly as we would have kicked their arses
However, it did bring out a competitive streak in one Mr Scott Mackenzie which would yield rewards on the Sunday afternoon
A party night at beachcombers was interesting but I needed an early night with a full day on the stand plus the drive home to think about. I met up with an old college chum and her mate for a coffee on Sunday morning but again most of my time seemed to be on the stand and doing demos. I neglected to take any photos on Sunday but I
did manage to make it to see Scott crowned champion in the Spey competition using one of his rods and one of Mikes lines
Honestly, everyone was there to see it
The final was mobbed with spectators. Ben did bloody well to come fourth and honestly if the wind had been a smidgen more favourable he would have placed much higher, I know he will next time and I'll be there to keep him honest too
We knocked the stand down, said our goodbyes (our neighbours at
http://www.selectafly.com/2012/ were lovely folk) re-packed our cars and headed for the exits when we were allowed off site. The run back up the road was almost uneventful until we were on the A9 in the wee small hours. The morning revealed how dirty the poor wee Alfa was:
But the A9 had given me suicidal animals to deal with including a Roe deer. Near the House of Bruar a Roe came screaming out from the right hand side of the road, realising there was a car coming at it
very quickly indeed it braked, I braked but all too late. There was a bang. Ben had to stop rolling a fag. I might have sworn. The car kept going, so did we.
In the morning there was no evidence of the incident until I looked at the right rear wheel of the car......
Nice. Washing that off this morning was fun, all the surprising amounts of deer trapped in the wheelarch were a joy to clear out and didn't smell at all.
Thus ended the 2013 CLA adventure. Roll on 2014
H
