Severn surprise

by Dave Gladwell
(Waveney UK)

Going on holiday to one's daughter for a week can often turn out to be one of the most expensive as well as the most enjoyable breaks around. Off to see our Bridget near to Worcester and the mighty River Severn. I always take a fishing rod. It is an escape from the long list of Dad Duties which usually awaits my arrival.
An ardent addict of angling for 55 years there are still some surprises left for me in waters that run deep and wild. This fish in my hand was a species I had never caught before because it rarely wanders into Norfolk waters. Identified up the bank by others as a Thwaite Shad it left me as excited as when I as just 13 in adding a new species to my list. The silver fish made it quite the holiday of a lifetime.
When back home I wrote it carefully on the page in my "Observers Book of Freshwater Fishes" alongside my other personal first's recorded therein since a lad with pride.
Sometimes it is not necessary to lash out a fortune, but utilise what is right under our noses. We might not find requisite romance; but the love of our grandchildren both given and received is a wealth beyond material gain.