Diary Of An Everyday Angler

Our Everyday Angler Jem Packer meets the resident expert at Rib Valley and dreams that one day that will be him…

- Jem Packer

Do you have a fishing bucket list? I do. Infact, I find mine is ever evolving. I used to fantasise about living on a boat off the coast of Cuba chasing bonefish, whereas now that I have three kids, I would happily settle for a day’s salmon fishing in Scotland. Over the years various fishy fantasies have featured but after my day at Rib Valley, a great five-acre still water just north of London, I added a new item to my bucket list.

To one day be a water’s resident expert.

On arriving at the lodge and well stocked tackle shop, the friendly staff informed me that it was fishing really well “now the ice had gone”. I know that rainbows thrive in freezing conditions but we everyday anglers are always a bit dubious about mixing ice and fish. Still, the numbers in the return book were really healthy but when it came to what to use I was told to ask Mick when I got down to the water. Mick isn’t his real name but for the sake of his privacy that’s what we’ll call him. I was told to ask Mick because he was the resident expert.

The Angler In The Know