At The Beginning…….

Well, after years of being at the other end of the blogging line, I thought I’d begin to share and report on my own angling experiences. Although I fear trials and tribulations, mishaps, and occasional successes, may be a more fitting description?

These ‘experiences’ predominantly revolve around two main areas of the sport, and as the title of this blog suggests, it’s all based around the midlands and in particular the areas accessible from my hometown of Birmingham. Hopefully this blog will prove a resource for other anglers, either living in the Midlands or visiting, but failing that I hope it provides some form of amusement from the drudgery of those days where we can’t be out on the bank.

Perhaps my biggest love affair with fishing revolves around the pursuit of barbel. For me, this is the most enthralling form of fishing, with the most intimate waterways, stunning scenery, and rod wrenching action I believe you can be lucky enough to experience. The rivers Severn, Teme, and Wye are all within striking distance to a Midlands angler, and with smaller rivers and tributaries to explore, there really is a fantastic variety of water.

The second part? Well that’s all centered around fishing commercial venues, in both pleasure and match conditions. There’s something in the challenge of making the most out of any given peg, to increase your efficiency as an angler, to beat those around you, and more so to better yourself. Coming away from a days fishing knowing you've emptied a peg, and got as much out of it as any angler could, is possibly the most satisfying feeling in angling, regardless of whether you’re then graced with a brown envelope or not.

I won’t babble any further on what I hope this blog to be. The only way it’ll ever get there is if I get on with filling it with some readable content. All I will say is, in writing the above; I've reminded myself of what I personally love about angling, and if this blog only serves to do that, it’ll have been a worthwhile endeavor.