Fishing @ Hoebridge Farm

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by Bryony Harrison (subscribe)

Freelance writer and poet from London; if you would like to read my poetry, please check out my book, 'Poems on the Page', available from goo.gl/Ta4oAX.

Published July 29th 2013

Teach a Man to Fish and You Get Rid of Him for the Day

Hoebridge Farm

On Friday my dad went round to the newsagents to buy what I assumed was his weekly lottery ticket, but instead, when he got back, out of the bag came a tin of sweetcorn and Spam. This might sound a bit odd, but I knew exactly what it meant. Fishing.

Dad loves fishing. When I was little, he and my grandpa would go off every Sunday at the crack of dawn, and not be back till supper. I spent the day with my grandma, and when they got back, would hear all the tales of their great excursion.

With all the waiting involved, no fisherman should be without a deck chair.

As I got older, I accompanied them on their trips, but after a few less than enthralling adventures playing the waiting game, I decided it wasn't for me.

Gramps unloads his tackle.

Over the years, my grandpa's sight has deteriorated so they do not go fishing as often as they used, but if given a day of good weather, then they are still up for the occasional day out.

So on Saturday morning when I entered the kitchen, there was his coffee flask, grilled Spam, and toasted cheese sandwiches being prepared. Despite living opposite a river, dad and grandpa loaded the car and set off on their hour's drive to Hoebridge Farm in Woking. The lake that they fish on is right next to the Hoebridge Golf Centre, so if you don't have the patience to wait for a bite all day, then you could spend half the day putting on the green as well.

Hoebridge Farm has lovely views, including an old farmhouse, the lake, and lots of greenland to walk through, but dad and Grandpa were only interested in one thing. Fish. It was nearing the end of the day and they had only caught a few tiddlers, but just as it was nearing time to leave, off shot dad's reel. After a long tug of war, he came out victorious and ended up with a large bream.