‘We’ve arranged your birthday bash,’ they told him. ‘Everything’s organised.’
‘Thanks, guys, which pub are we going to?’
‘Er… a bar in Florida, probably.’
‘That’s right,’ said Peter. ‘We’re going to the Keys, you, me and him.
You’re joining our annual fishing party.’
‘Richard’s organised the shop rota, and Hannah’s made sure your passport’s ready and you’ve got the right clothes to take. We’ve thought of everything.’
Bill’s passion for the river inevitably rubbed off on John and, when he was old enough, they would fish together for salmon, sea trout and trout. In fact, John’s earliest memory was standing by his father’s side at Lyn Rock and retrieving a number one mepps, which was continually attacked by small trout and parr. By the time he was 9, he had caught his first salmon and was already something of a veteran.
John spent his childhood years in Barnstaple and, as he became more independent, he went into cross-disciplinary mode, as happy catching flounders and small
It transpired that Simon had been hanging onto the bush with one hand while making a desperate netting lunge with the other. The fish had moved its head at the wrong moment and the net had actually knocked the fly out of its jaws, whereupon the treble hook had become caught in the net as the freed fish disappeared from sight. So, for a good half minute, Hughie had been playing the net in Simon’s hands, not the fish.
‘I was trying to decide how the hell I was going to tell you I’d lost your fish,’ Simon explained. ‘Then this dark shape appeared below me, and g
Full List of areas covered on our Ilford Fishing Lake Directory:
Abberton, Abbess Roding, Abridge, Aingers Green, Aldham, Alphamstone, Alresford, Althorne, Ardleigh, Arkesden, Ashdon, Asheldham, Ashen, Ashingdon, Audley End, Aveley, Aythorpe Roding, Bacon End, Baker Street, Ballards Gore, Bamber’s Green, Bannister Green, Bardfield End Green, Bardfield Saling, Barling, Barnston, Barr Hall, Basildon, Battlesbridge, Baythorn End, Beacon End, Beauchamp Roding, Beaumont, Beazley End, Belchamp Otten, Belchamp St Paul, Belchamp Walter, Berden, Berners Roding, Bicknacre, Billericay, Birch, Birch Green, Birchanger, Birdbrook, Bishop’s Green, Black Notley, Blackheath, Blackmore, Blackmore End, Blacksmith’s Corner, Bobbingworth, Bocking, Bocking Churchstreet, Boreham, Borley, Bournebridge, Bowers Gifford, Boxted, Boxted Cross, Bradfield, Bradfield Heath, Bradwell, Bradwell Waterside, Bradwell-on-Sea, Braintree, Bran End, Brentwood, Brightlingsea, Broad Green, Broad Street Green, Broadgroves, Broadley Common, Brook Street, Broomfield, Broxted, Buckhurst Hill, Bulmer, Bulmer Tye, Bulphan, Bumble’s Green, Burnham-on-Crouch, Butcher’s Pasture, Canewdon, Canvey Island, Castle Hedingham, Causeway End, Chadwell St Mary, Chappel, Chelmsford, Chickney, Chignall Smealy, Chignall St James, Chigwell, Chigwell Row, Childerditch, Chipping Hill, Chipping Ongar, Chrishall, Church End, Church Langley, Churchend, Churchgate Street, Clacton-on-Sea, Clatterford End, Clavering, Cobler’s Green, Cock Clarks, Coggeshall, Coggeshall Hamlet, Colchester, Cold Norton, Colne Engaine, Cooksmill Green, Coopersale Common, Copford Green, Cornish Hall End, Corringham, Coryton, Courtsend, Coxtie Green, Crays Hill, Cressing, Crix, Crockleford Heath, Danbury, Daws Heath, Deal Hall, Debden, Debden Green, Dedham, Dengie, Doddinghurst, Dovercourt, Downham, Dry Street, Duck End, Duddenhoe End, Dunton Wayletts, Duton Hill, Earls Colne, East Hanningfield, East Horndon, East Mersea, East Tilbury, Easthorpe, Eastwood, Edney Common, Eight Ash Green, Elmdon, Elmstead Market, Elsenham, Epping, Epping Green, Epping Upland, Fairstead, Farnham, Farnham Green, Faulkbourne, Feering, Felsted, Fiddlers Hamlet, Finchingfield, Fingringhoe, Fobbing, Ford End, Fordham, Fordstreet, Foster Street, Fox Street, Foxearth, Frating Green, Frinton-on-Sea, Fryerning, Fuller Street, Fyfield, Galleyend, Galleywood, Gamble’s Green, Gestingthorpe, Goldhanger, Good Easter, Gosfield, Grange Hill, Grays, Great Baddow, Great Bardfield, Great Bentley, Great Braxted, Great Bromley, Great Burstead, Great Canfield, Great Canney, Great Chesterford, Great Clacton, Great Dunmow, Great Easton, Great Hallingbury, Great Henny, Great Holland, Great Horkesley, Great Leighs, Great Maplestead, Great Oakley, Great Oxney Green, Great Parndon, Great Saling, Great Sampford, Great Stambridge, Great Tey, Great Totham, Great Wakering, Great Waltham, Great Warley, Great Wigborough, Great Yeldham, Greenstead Green, Greensted, Hadleigh, Hadstock, Halstead, Hardy’s Green, Hare Green, Harlow, Hartford End, Harwich, Hastingwood, Hatfield Broad Oak, Hatfield Heath, Hatfield Peverel, Hawkwell, Hazel End, Hazeleigh, Heckfordbridge, Helions Bumpstead, Hempstead, Henham, Henny Street, Herongate, Heybridge, Heybridge Basin, High Beach, High Easter, High Garrett, High Laver, High Ongar, High Roding, Highstreet Green, Hockley, Holland-on-Sea, Hope End Green, Hope’s Green, Horkesley Heath, Horndon on the Hill, Horsley Cross, Horsleycross Street, Hounslow Green, Howe Green, Howe Street, Howlett End, Hullbridge, Hutton, Ingatestone, Ingrave, Inworth, Jasper’s Green, Jaywick, Keeres Green, Kelvedon, Kelvedon Hatch, Kirby Cross, Kirby le Soken, Knowl Green, Laindon, Lamarsh, Lamb Corner, Lambourne End, Langdon Hills, Langenhoe, Langford, Langham, Langham Moor, Langley, Latchingdon, Lawford, Layer Breton, Layer de la Haye, Layer Marney, Leaden Roding, Leigh Beck, Leigh-on-Sea, Lindsell, Linford, Liston, Little Baddow, Little Bardfield, Little Bentley, Little Braxted, Little Bromley, Little Burstead, Little Chesterford, Little Clacton, Little Dunmow, Little Easton, Little End, Little Hallingbury, Little Horkesley, Little Laver, Little Leighs, Little Maplestead, Little Oakley, Little Parndon, Little Sampford, Little Tey, Little Thurrock, Little Totham, Little Wakering, Little Walden, Little Waltham, Little Warley, Little Yeldham, Littlebury, Littlebury Green, Littley Green, Loughton, Loves Green, Lower Nazeing, Magdalen Laver, Maldon, Manningtree, Manuden, Margaret Roding, Margaretting, Marks Tey, Mashbury, Matching, Matching Green, Matching Tye, Mayland, Maylandsea, Messing, Middleton, Mile End, Mill End Green, Mill Green, Molehill Green, Monk Street, Monsale, Moreton, Moulsham, Mount Bures, Mountnessing, Mucking, Mundon, Navestock, Navestock Side, Nazeing, Nevendon, New Mistley, Newport, Nine Ashes, North Benfleet, North End, North Shoebury, North Stifford, North Weald Bassett, Norton Heath, Norton Mandeville, Nounsley, Old Heath, Orsett, Ostend, Ovington, Oxen End, Paglesham Churchend, Paglesham Eastend, Panfield, Parkeston, Passingford Bridge, Pattiswick, Pebmarsh, Peldon, Pentlow, Pickerells, Pilgrims Hatch, Pitsea, Pleshey, Pond Street, Pool Street, Potter Street, Prittlewell, Purfleet, Purleigh, Puttock End, Quendon, Radwinter, Ramsden Bellhouse, Ramsden Heath, Ramsey, Ramsey Island, Rank’s Green, Rawreth, Rayleigh, Rayne, Red Oaks Hill, Rettendon, Rettendon Place, Rickling, Rickling Green, Ridgewell, Rivenhall, Rivenhall End, Rochford, Rose Green, Row Heath, Rowhedge, Roxwell, Roydon, Roydon Hamlet, Rudley Green, Runsell Green, Runwell, Saffron Walden, Salcott, Sandon, Seawick, Sewards End, Sewardstone, Shalford, Shalford Green, Sheering, Shelley, Shellow Bowells, Shenfield, Shoeburyness, Shortgrove, Shotgate, Shrub End, Sible Hedingham, Silver End, Smith’s Green, Smythe’s Green, South Benfleet, South Fambridge, South Green, South Hanningfield, South Ockendon, South Weald, South Woodham Ferrers, Southchurch, Southend-on-Sea, Southminster, St Lawrence, St Osyth, Stagden Cross, Stambourne, Stanford Rivers, Stanford-le-Hope, Stansted Mountfitchet, Stanway, Stapleford Abbotts, Stapleford Tawney, Starling’s Green, Stebbing, Stebbing Green, Steeple, Steeple Bumpstead, Stisted, Stock, Stondon Massey, Stones Green, Stoneyhills, Stow Maries, Strethall, Sturmer, Swan Street, Takeley, Takeley Street, Tendring, Terling, Thames Haven, Thaxted, Theydon Bois, Thornwood Common, Thorpe Bay, Thorpe-le-Soken, Thorrington, Threshers Bush, Throws, Thundersley, Tilbury, Tillingham, Tiptree, Tiptree Heath, Tollesbury, Tolleshunt D’Arcy, Tolleshunt Knights, Tolleshunt Major, Toot Hill, Toppesfield, Twinstead, Tye Common, Tye Green, Tylers Green, Ugley, Ugley Green, Ulting, Upper Dovercourt, Upper Green, Upshire, Vange, Virley, Wakes Colne, Waltham Abbey, Walton-on-Naze, Weeley, Weeley Heath, Weir, Wendens Ambo, West Bergholt, West Hanningfield, West Horndon, West Mersea, West Thurrock, West Tilbury, Westcliff-on-Sea, Westley Heights, Wethersfield, White Colne, White Notley, White Roding, Whiteash Green, Wicken Bonhunt, Wickford, Wickham Bishops, Wickham St Paul, Widdington, Widford, Willingale, Willows Green, Wimbish, Wimbish Green, Witham, Wivenhoe, Wix, Woodham Ferrers, Woodham Mortimer, Woodham Walter, Wormingford, Wrabness, Writtle, Young’s End
