fishydreams

In the car on the way to the river this afternoon Cher started giving me a hard time. She told me she was annoyed with me for being unfaithful to her and asked sarcastically if the woman I allegedly engaged in a bit of slap and tickle with last night was “worth it.” Then she announced that she was stronger now and was just going to get on with her life. Jesus! Give us a break! I´ve never even met the woman. Anyway, as it happens, last night I was at home watching the telly.

I remember some smartarse making an observation about Cher. He claimed that so much of her body had been removed in the interest of cosmetic enhancement that there were enough body parts left over to build an entirely new individual and he proposed that the two of them be called Cher and Cher Alike!

Cher is really not for me. Listening to her sing is a little like being repeatedly hit over the head with a sledge hammer. Well, at least now she is going to get on with her life without me. Good luck to her!

The two of us were on our way to the river and we soon parted company. I was intent on grabbing the last couple of hours of fishing I was likely to get before 2015 is put to bed and 2016 emerges, probably with a throbbing headache, asking for a strong coffee and a paracetamol.

The Río Grande is a little thin and so I opted for the Guadalhorce just upstream of the confluence of both rivers. I was hoping I might come across a carp or two in one of their more reliable haunts but the carp, on this occasion, were not in residence. The barbel were around however, and in pretty steady flows upstream of the “carp flats” I caught three gypsy barbel, all beautiful powerful fish. They were happy to take a big nymph which was one of three I tied up this afternoon, all size 10 and tied on jig hooks. They had a little weight built into them in the form of bead heads. I really had carp in mind when creating these things but the barbel found them quite palatable.

This was fun fishing. The river was carrying a little colour and the best of the light was already gone before I arrived, so spotting the fish was more difficult than usual. But patience and perseverance will usually pay off provided you go about your business stealthily.

Back in the car on the way back Rihanna encouraged me to “shine bright like a diamond”. Maybe she felt I needed a little TLC after having been falsely accused of womanizing earlier and later dumped by Cher. I appreciated Rihanna´s thoughtfulness but the river had already done a good job, as it always does, of repairing the little injuries we all sustain from time to time.

These few words are the last I will write before the year ends and a new one begins. Many thanks to those who follow the blog and, particularly, to those who have sent in comments. When I hit a little button on my computer with the instruction “publish”, the text and accompanying photographs I have put together join the vast community of other such things on the internet and are picked up by people all over the place. This year the blog was read in over 89 countries and I am always fascinated to think about the people who follow it, the places that they live and the kinds of lives they must live.

Many thanks for your interest and support. I hope that 2016 treats you very well.

One of the highlights of 2015: in November a group of us put on a show at school to raise money for the Red Cross. The proceeds were enough to fill a large van with goodies for disadvantaged families. If you want to see a bit of my stand up on Youtube just type in “Paul Hogan at the EIC Staff Show” I hope you like it!

From a personal point of view, the publishing my book was a major highlight of the year. I had so much fun writing it and attending the book launch! If you are interested in it it is sold by anglebooks.com The book is hard back and signed and was part of a limited edition of 500 copies. It is largely about fishing but is not a “hard ass” fishing book. Don´t be put off if you are not a fisherman!