Pond Diving - a light-hearted tale
Colin, my neighbour and local water bailiff asked me if I would like to go diving to retrieve some fishing tackle from the local Rush Lyvars fishing pond in Hedon. We had a quick walk around the pond to view its viability and all looked good. The term "pond" is a misnomer. It is more of a collection of small lakes joined with wood foot bridges. I thought this would make an excellent ongoing project for the winter months when you don't fancy getting up at the crack of dawn to go to Stoney and for me it is literally just down the road.
I'm told anglers religiously go to the pond and throw various pieces of tackle in the water as an offering to the almighty 'Great Biggun' the god of all Carp. Quite often they get carried away with the significance of the ceremony and frequently throw in their mobile phones, the occasional pair of spectacles and anything else that comes to hand. Perhaps there is an equivalent god of diving that requires offerings of masks, fins and torches etc. to whom we have all made offerings in the past.
Honestly, I have tried freshwater fishing when I was a kid but without any success, not even a nibble so that I could tell stories about the one that got away. As a teenager, I even tried trout fishing at the trout farm in Pickering without catching anything.
I complained, and waited another hour for a fresh delivery of new hungry Trout. These arrived in large tubs that were poured into the fishing lake. Some trout became stuck in the mud and as they frantically gasped for water I tried dangling my hook down their throats still without success. Buying frozen trout enabled me to take some home which is what I should have done this in the first place and we could have spent the afternoon in the pub.
I now know that my inability to catch fish could be attributed to my lack of offerings to the 'Great Biggun' and in those days we didn't have mobile phones!
Sunday 8th December was a dull day with a cold northeasterly breeze blowing. I looked out the bedroom window thinking 'next time keep your good ideas to yourself'. I shovelled a massive bowl of porridge down my neck (excellent diving breakfast, non-acidic, warms you up, slow energy release and dead easy to chuck-up if required) and packed my dive kit plus ropes and ladders for easy access/exit.
It was now 10.00am and 6 of us, Trevor Jones, Simon Moir, Ian Sibley-Calder, Paul Field and myself and my neighbour Colin met in Rush Lyvars car park. Trev Jones made an appropriate comment about zero visibility and the ever-enthusiastic Ian gave a more optimistic 'not bad, perhaps a foot's vis. before we get in, that is'.
The plan, in pairs of a solo diver roped to a ropeman on the bank with Paul and Colin providing back up. We would traverse up and down each side of one of the lakes going a bit deeper on each pass. The water was a refreshing 7 deg C but felt OK once you had acclimatized. Ian was first in, swam around in circles, surfaced exclaiming 'vis is perhaps a foot but soon drops to less than nothing' and handed me his mega torch shouting 'don't bother with torches, they're no use'.
We all had about 30mins in the water before swapping over to let the rope-men have a splash.
Everyone found interesting items such as the security grill from the window of the pond office, a wheel barrow, the skeleton of an umbrella, a duck trap, a large traffic cone and light, a full bottle of Appletise, several empty tins, 2 sections of a fisherman's pole (fishermen have huge poles) and the best find of all, a pink mug full of sediment, found by me of course.
As cold overcast Sunday mornings go, it was surprisingly enjoyable. Some less dedicated anglers stopped fishing and came and had a look at what we were doing, whilst the true devotees remained with their rods in their hands watching from afar, probably wondering why anybody should want to dive in a cold muddy pond. Well, it has to be said, I was on the other side of the pond looking at them huddled under their huge umbrellas, wondering why anybody should want to sit on a stool holding their rod in their cold hands all day- I suppose it keeps their hands warm!!! Perhaps they find it preferable to being at home with the wife!
A pole is made of interlocking hollow carbon fibre sections that slot together and extend to 15m. The end has a piece of string with bated hook. When a fish has been caught, you pull the pole in dismantling a section at a time until the fish is within reach. The pole sections I found were in good condition and fairly new. Colin reckoned they were worth about £80 new- seem a lot for a giant drinking straw. Did you know, a top of the range pole cost over £1,500!! You could get a complete set of dive kit for that.
The pond proprietor was well impressed and said we are more than welcome and gave the club £5.00 towards its funds.
I found it quite a challenge, plucking up courage to get in that is. Once in, it was interesting. The light soon dropped off as you descended and the sediment quickly engulfed you. If you kept moving with your chin close to the bottom you could see about 1 foot but most of the time it was a fingertip search. How fish find their food is beyond me. It highlighted the importance of good communication before the dive and an agreed rope signal strategy. The rope is used not just for safety, but also as a navigational aid by keeping the rope taught keeps you a set distance from the bank.
Ian and I have a cunning plan about introducing the Hull Branch SDC in pond diving. It will probably incorporate a short lecture on rope signals, perhaps a practical dry session followed by a pond dip. The person who retrieves the most treasure will be awarded the Hull BSAC 14 Pink Mug Pond Diving Trophy, which they may proudly display on their mantelpiece until the next pond dive.
So, kick off your slippers, dust off your dive kit and get ready for pond diving!
Tony Hodge
I'm told anglers religiously go to the pond and throw various pieces of tackle in the water as an offering to the almighty 'Great Biggun' the god of all Carp. Quite often they get carried away with the significance of the ceremony and frequently throw in their mobile phones, the occasional pair of spectacles and anything else that comes to hand. Perhaps there is an equivalent god of diving that requires offerings of masks, fins and torches etc. to whom we have all made offerings in the past.
Honestly, I have tried freshwater fishing when I was a kid but without any success, not even a nibble so that I could tell stories about the one that got away. As a teenager, I even tried trout fishing at the trout farm in Pickering without catching anything.
I complained, and waited another hour for a fresh delivery of new hungry Trout. These arrived in large tubs that were poured into the fishing lake. Some trout became stuck in the mud and as they frantically gasped for water I tried dangling my hook down their throats still without success. Buying frozen trout enabled me to take some home which is what I should have done this in the first place and we could have spent the afternoon in the pub.
I now know that my inability to catch fish could be attributed to my lack of offerings to the 'Great Biggun' and in those days we didn't have mobile phones!
Sunday 8th December was a dull day with a cold northeasterly breeze blowing. I looked out the bedroom window thinking 'next time keep your good ideas to yourself'. I shovelled a massive bowl of porridge down my neck (excellent diving breakfast, non-acidic, warms you up, slow energy release and dead easy to chuck-up if required) and packed my dive kit plus ropes and ladders for easy access/exit.
It was now 10.00am and 6 of us, Trevor Jones, Simon Moir, Ian Sibley-Calder, Paul Field and myself and my neighbour Colin met in Rush Lyvars car park. Trev Jones made an appropriate comment about zero visibility and the ever-enthusiastic Ian gave a more optimistic 'not bad, perhaps a foot's vis. before we get in, that is'.
The plan, in pairs of a solo diver roped to a ropeman on the bank with Paul and Colin providing back up. We would traverse up and down each side of one of the lakes going a bit deeper on each pass. The water was a refreshing 7 deg C but felt OK once you had acclimatized. Ian was first in, swam around in circles, surfaced exclaiming 'vis is perhaps a foot but soon drops to less than nothing' and handed me his mega torch shouting 'don't bother with torches, they're no use'.
We all had about 30mins in the water before swapping over to let the rope-men have a splash.
Everyone found interesting items such as the security grill from the window of the pond office, a wheel barrow, the skeleton of an umbrella, a duck trap, a large traffic cone and light, a full bottle of Appletise, several empty tins, 2 sections of a fisherman's pole (fishermen have huge poles) and the best find of all, a pink mug full of sediment, found by me of course.
As cold overcast Sunday mornings go, it was surprisingly enjoyable. Some less dedicated anglers stopped fishing and came and had a look at what we were doing, whilst the true devotees remained with their rods in their hands watching from afar, probably wondering why anybody should want to dive in a cold muddy pond. Well, it has to be said, I was on the other side of the pond looking at them huddled under their huge umbrellas, wondering why anybody should want to sit on a stool holding their rod in their cold hands all day- I suppose it keeps their hands warm!!! Perhaps they find it preferable to being at home with the wife!
A pole is made of interlocking hollow carbon fibre sections that slot together and extend to 15m. The end has a piece of string with bated hook. When a fish has been caught, you pull the pole in dismantling a section at a time until the fish is within reach. The pole sections I found were in good condition and fairly new. Colin reckoned they were worth about £80 new- seem a lot for a giant drinking straw. Did you know, a top of the range pole cost over £1,500!! You could get a complete set of dive kit for that.
The pond proprietor was well impressed and said we are more than welcome and gave the club £5.00 towards its funds.
I found it quite a challenge, plucking up courage to get in that is. Once in, it was interesting. The light soon dropped off as you descended and the sediment quickly engulfed you. If you kept moving with your chin close to the bottom you could see about 1 foot but most of the time it was a fingertip search. How fish find their food is beyond me. It highlighted the importance of good communication before the dive and an agreed rope signal strategy. The rope is used not just for safety, but also as a navigational aid by keeping the rope taught keeps you a set distance from the bank.
Ian and I have a cunning plan about introducing the Hull Branch SDC in pond diving. It will probably incorporate a short lecture on rope signals, perhaps a practical dry session followed by a pond dip. The person who retrieves the most treasure will be awarded the Hull BSAC 14 Pink Mug Pond Diving Trophy, which they may proudly display on their mantelpiece until the next pond dive.
So, kick off your slippers, dust off your dive kit and get ready for pond diving!
Tony Hodge