OR – several questions about fishing.
Ray Molloy's girlfriend thinks he looks like George Clooney, (when she has her eyes closed). Ray doesn’t admit to looking anything like George but does have a twinkle in his eye and a Sahara dry sense of humour.
Tom is Rays best buddy – Tom talks a lot when he’s not focused but becomes inscrutable when he’s in the zone. He’s also prone to sulk for short periods.
I could go on, wont, but will ask the question at this time ‘ When a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to see it, does it make any sound?’ or put differently
‘When a customer catches and lands an eleven pound bass (on his first outing at a bass fishing workshop) and the guide has no camera to make a photograph does the fish really exist?
George, sorry Ray and Tom went through the ringer this morning at a bass lure workshop, influences, timings, seasons, tides, times, hard baits, soft baits, rods, reels, lines nothing exceptional here. Ray was a brilliant student scoring highly on attention to detail, class contribution and participation, Tom got lines!
We went to lunch in The Yard restaurant and then went to fish the rising afternoon tide. I went through the techniques with the guys. My spare waders were too big for Ray so he elected to fish from the shore. Surface lure, splashing, popping, walking, soft trotting lifting dropping jerk twitching stopping phew!
I set the guys free for about two hours to ‘do it’ for themselves and managed them only through the location development over the tide. Tom said he felt like he was going to catch a fish. Then we heard Ray shout from 50 yards – rod bent – ‘heehhh’ fish on! And it happened to be a very considerable fish certainly in excess of the magic 10 and probably somewhere just slightly less than the incredible 11.
I had left the camera at home, my phone (a new rule) was in the car, so was Rays! Tom was IN THE ZONE
Ray asked if he could hug me, I said 'briefly'. Tom called from afar we showed him the fish, I put the fish back – and then the fish swam away. I have several questions that I must ask -
The technique that Ray developed by himself called ‘Shagging the cat’ did it help in catching the fish? I think so.
‘Stop trying to hit me and hit me, or stop trying to catch me me and catch me, does it apply?
If I had remembered the camera would Ray have caught the fish?
Did Tom have a little sulk in the car on the way home?
A classic day of real fun and brilliant company – a fish to dream of again and again – it made life very easy indeed. I learned a lot.
For lessons in ‘shagging the cat techniques’ or a brilliant Taxi service Ray can be contacted at raymolloy@gmail.com
