I caught a bass yesterday evening, and it was magnificent!

With “it” very much being the experience and not the actual bass, which if I am lucky was twice as large as the surface lure I caught it on! It’s been four weeks since my heart attack and I have been feeling really well, so the (lack of) medical expert in me thought what the hell, let’s go for a very gentle bass fishing session yesterday afternoon………….

It was close to my Epic Berlingo, there were no hills involved, I had already done my 10,000+ steps of fast walking for the day, no banging out of heavy lures into hectic conditions would be required, and a friend was very kindly fishing with me and no doubt ready to give me the kiss of life which thankfully was not required! Just casting a few different lures out felt really good, but because of what I have been through I was naturally feeling for any twinges in the heart area. I tried my best not to be a bit nervous but it was always going to be like that. I didn’t fish very far away from my mate and I kept myself nice and calm, and damn it felt good just to be doing what I live for once again.

Most of you here probably just get on with fishing and don’t stop to think about it that much, but yesterday late afternoon and into early evening I quite simply luxuriated in the simple act of casting and retrieving bass lures. It would not have mattered one bit if I caught nothing and I really mean that. I am not trying to attach massive significance to just going fishing, but I’m lucky to still be here with my awesome family, and for me there is actually a lot of significance to just going fishing. It’s in me, it is me, I can’t imagine life without fishing almost on my doorstep, and when you have been told not to do it for health reasons it feels bloody good to pick up a rod and fling a few lures about again. I am feeling really good this morning but I am not about to go racing up and down any big cliffs with a rucksack on my back quite yet.

I did cycle through a few different lures yesterday, mostly surface stuff, and it struck me yet again that the little Savage Gear Slap Walker 100 (10cm, 10g) is an absolute missile for its diminutive size, indeed I don’t think I own a longer casting small surface lure than this thing. When a bass inhaled it I think I yelped, but I remained nice and calm and heroically brought the fish to hand and unhooked it. If it was double the length of the lure I’d have been lucky, but what the hell it was my first bass back after four weeks and I could not have been happier. I had a few more swirls behind the lure at various points during the session and I could sense myself getting more and more excited, so I ended up putting my rod down and shooting a few simple photos instead. I am pretty sure I haven’t done myself any harm by doing some quiet fishing yesterday and I am hoping that my heart physio appointment tomorrow morning backs that up!

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