November 8th 2018
Excitement on the banks of the river
With such a prime location on the banks of the River Thames and the fishing season well and truly underway it made sense that the boys should use the river to its full potential and engage in the truly British pastime of angling. Under Mr Albon’s guidance and his many years’ experience as a recreational angler, a plan was drawn up to include fishing as an After School Activity.
With fishing poles in hand and Mr Albon’s trusty fishing box, the Junior Fishing Activity boys made their way down to the river bank. An instructional lesson on how to assemble the fishing pole, attach the lure and bait up the hooks with maggots had the boys raring to dip their lines in the water and heave their poles up at the slightest ripple. These first few days of the activity proved encouraging as more and more boys continued to catch fish. The weather was good and the boys’ smiles at their catches were even better.
The success of the junior Fishing activity bodes well for the Senior boys who jumped at the opportunity to engage in a spot of fishing. Their increased levels of patience and a change in bait from maggots to sweetcorn (the smaller maggots meant that pesky little minnows kept getting hooked) resulted in larger fish being caught more consistently. The challenge was on - which boy would land the biggest fish? After each activity the fish kept getting larger and larger until on the final day of the activity, Oli landed a huge fish for the size and weight of line and hook being used, much to the cheer and jubilations of the boys and the two staff members.
It has been fantastic see the boys engaging with their natural environment in such a positive way and we certainly hope that in the coming years larger and more challenging specimens will be caught by the boys.
