At last, we made the move to Kent!

[Fishplate 42]

I have not been very active of late as we eventually sold our London house of forty years and moved to the seaside; Herne Bay in Kent to be precise. We have been here since the last week in June and have spent the past weeks unpacking and trying to fit a quart into a pint pot. Our house in London was a fair bit bigger than the one we have bought and I have lost my fishing room (AKA the utility room) and at the moment I have no workshop so all the tools and machines, along with all the fishing gear is piled up all over the place. The workshop will be finished over the next couple of months and that will make a big difference.

I have joined the Canterbury and District Angling Association and have a ticket on the 'local' estate lake. What a difference to before, now I can drive up the road for ten or fifteen minutes and be fishing. Plus the fact that what the locals call diabolical traffic, is in fact nothing compared to what I was used to in London. I also live a few yards from the sea so I will have to see if I can get to doing a spot of sea fishing. My mate (DFL on here) lives just along the coast and has offered to take me lure fishing for bass, but I have not been able to go when he was able to catch the tides. Never had to worry about tides in London

I now have another thing to consider. The day after our official moving date, we were back at our old house moving more stuff (long story) and on the way back to Herne Bay, the missus killed our old Volvo by giving the car in front a bit of a shunt. Didn't look too bad at the time but subsequent enquiries revealed the damage was much worse than it looked and certainly not worth the effort to repair, let alone the cost. We have owned the car for thirteen or fourteen years and although it has served us well in all that time, it was time to say goodbye. The problem is now, the new (to us) car is far too posh to put smelly nets and gear in, So for the time being, until the novelty wears off, I am still fishing in the van! What do you guys do to keep the car fresh and clean for the missus?

There are some venues on the CADAA ticket that would be far better accessed by car, so I suspect it won't be long before the new 'reclaimed fridge' will get a taste of fish slime, and lets hope the maggots don't escape on their first outing.

I would be interested to hear from anyone else on here who can recommend places to fish in the area. There seem to be lots to choose from, I am spoilt for choice compared to my old life. I just need to get the house sorted out and I should be free to get fishing again just in time for the pike season... or maybe a few weeks into it

Ralph.

 

[Peter]

You're spoilt for choice in all honesty Ralph. You need to have a word with @mickthechippy

 

[Fishplate 42]

You're spoilt for choice in all honesty Ralph. You need to have a word with @mickthechippy

Yes, after living in SE London (not a milloiom miles from where you used to live, I believe) it always meant a day out for any decent fishing. Now I have several venues within a few miles, it's great. I will have a chat with Mick, he was waiting fopr me to get down here as he has a couple of things he wants a hand with, once the workshop is back up and running.

 

[mickthechippy]

Glad to see you made it Ralph

 

[jay67]

take a trip to blean angling - you'll get plenty of local info from there

 

[DFL]

Lots of CDAA members use a van Ralph, can’t think of a venue where access would prove a problem.

PS turn back on those fancy gadgets in your new car and Sue will not be hitting the car in front, or you for that matter, you’ve paid for them after all.?

 

[Arry]

Have a look at Grove ferry or Plucks gutter on the Stour or Cottington for a good commercial... Mike used to pull a nice Pint in the bar too

 

[bluemack]

Don,t know the area whatsoever i,m about 200miles away ,but best of luck in your new home Ralph.

 

[Feldy]

Best of Luck in your new abode Ralph.

 

[NoCarpPlease]

to keep your car clean try rhino boot liners made to the model you have.

I have one for my Mini (BMW R56) and it's great at keeping all the stuff contained

 

[Brian the Fish]

Good luck in the new home, and show us some photos of the new workshop when it's up and running, please.
'Two Dogs' in Kent?

 

[Pompous git]

Was a member of CDAA for some years, lovely lakes and lovely bit of river and fairly close. All the best.

 

[Whisker]

Good to see you back Ralph ?

 

[RedhillPhil]

Yes, nice to hear from you again Ralphy Ralph. The best to you for your new residence. Mick will put you right on some locations.

 

[cockneybob]

Good to see your on the post again, all the best with the move and your new house look forward to seeing how you get on with finding where to fish

 

[Fishplate 42]

Thanks guys, So far living here is great. I doubt I will get much of a chance to fish for a few months, but once I have got myself 'settled in' and the workshop built I will be free to get out and fish (I hope!) I am feeling guilty at the moment as we bought a house with an attached annex, into which we are going to move my 92-year-old mother. The trouble is, the annex is full of tools and machines.

I have space for the workshop, I even have most of the materials. I just have to lay the base and build it. Trouble is, I first have to weld the leg back together on my trusty old cement mixer, I can't afford to buy a new one! Well, I probably could, but what am I going to do with two mixers, take one fishing?

Although I will probably visit the estate lake for a couple of hours here and there over the next few weeks, I can't see me getting any river fishing in until well into pike season.

Ralph.