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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 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!
Click here to see photographs in our
Gallery.
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