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View Full Version : Family transcript 5: "Fishing Diary" pt 3


AndyHoldcroft
07-02-13, 14:06
The third set of excerpts from the diary of Edward Dolton, commencing in April 1889


April 27
Sara Hole stream, feeder & pool. Fine spring like morning, warm till mid-day & then much colder. Rose & caught a nice trout but not a good colour yet being rather black. The season very cold & late may account for this want of condition. Rose small trout with worm, but too little to keep, if he had not dropped off. The jack on handling him assaulted me by squirting a quantity of milt31 over my legs. Took him with minnow spinning in the pool.

31 The seminal fluid of fish



May 8
Lower Witton. Half day’s trouting & quite enough. Only to be caught bottom fishing. Took Sally32 a ride round in the punt.

32 Unidentified.

May 15
Bennett’s Mill, Wootton Wawen33 for first time. Four trout with worm. Would take nothing else. Boozed on pint of cider.

33 Between Stratford-upon-Avon & Henley in Arden, Warwickshire. Roughly a 19 mile round journey from Yardley. Edward would have fished on the River Alne. The mill is not longer functioning.

May 23
Eardington to Quat34 & back to Hampton Lode35. Fine day & rose 11 fish to the minnow – natural & artificial; but only secured 2 Chub 6 oz each. Male fish in good condition with the Devon minnow. Found they came at it best when wound steadily & slowly from the reel, but difficult to strike.
34 Now spelt Quatt
35 Fishing the River Severn.
May 30
Wootton Wawen at Bennett’s. Only 2 trout, & very small. Miller stopped the water from running down the stream, so no more fish.

June 5
Severn, same route as last. Took the missis36 so couldn’t fish. Had cuddle instead. Found harts tongue ferns growing in masonry in old watercourse from mill at Eardington37
36 Presumably Eva Ruth Jones whom he married some eighteen months later on 17th January 1891 at St Mary’s Church, Acock’s Green, Birmingham. Otherwise another candidate might be the “Sally” taken punting a month earlier.
37 Near Bridgnorth.

June 20
Wootton Wawen for perch & eels. Sport bad. Fearfully hot & fish not likely to feed until night.

June 27
Wootton with Arthur Sauders (sic). Entertained with his Australian experiences. Had to drink water from the well out of a bucket like a cow. Very hot day with clouds now & then. Arthur lost several good bream by their breaking his line. Morning train late in starting & ran from Snow Hill38 to Warwick in 20 minutes.

38 Main Great Western Railway station in the centre of Birmingham. The journey in 2012 now takes more than half an hour.


July 13
River Meese at Elford with Tom Pope. Raining heavily on & off all day. Sport poor – nothing but gudgeon & daddy ruffs39, except an eel which got away whilst I slept. Woke up by a large black slug crawling over my throat.
39 Type of small fish.


July 20
Wootton Wawen with Mr Whitehouse. Caught a nice trout with worm & was told of two pike, one in dam & the other in mill pool. Came home with a good duck & 7 Eggs.
Aug 2
Wootton Wawen with Mr Beck. Rose 7 trout to minnow but the rod was not stiff enough in the top to drive the hooks home. Drove to the Station at a break-neck pace with Bennett & A. Sauders who on their return came to grief in the lane & were taken home insensible etc. Purchased 2 ducks in a sack.
Aug 9
Wootton Wawen with Arthur Wilkes. No sport at all


Aug 14
Lowestoft harbour with P40. Spent the morning fishing from 7-30 (except b’fst) & only caught 4 small flounders or dabs. Fish here as for perch with live shrimp for bait. The fishermen empty their nets of the small fish etc in them into the harbour providing plenty of excellent ground bait. Would be best to procure some from them and use with a leger41 on a second rod – fishing meanwhile with float & shrimp for other fish. Lots of smelts to be caught with roach tackle & a bit of skinned shrimp at about 4 feet from the surface. Capital eating if sealed from the tail upwards – not gutted or opened - & fried with bread crumbs. Any quantity of fresh water fishing (free) by taking fishing tickets as advertised at Lowestoft station at 1/- or 1/6 for the day by ordinary trains to various stations on the rivers & broads.

40 Unidentified.
41 A type of angling rig.

Aug 24
Wootton Wawen with Will Pope & Harthill. William the cussable caught 3 trout, spinning, about ½ lb each. Caught my fish with 2 gentles on hook – a few in each place tried. Something chewed up my lob-worms on leger without moving the reel. Try small float, with bait well on the bottom, next time I go with lob worms. Mr H. caught 4 fish.


Aug 28
Barford near Warwick42 with Mr Beck & friend. Beautiful place close to late Miss Ryland’s residence43. Caught the chub with small worm on roach tackle at foot of water-fall. Tried hard to get under fallen tree but managed to keep him away until tired out. Plenty of fish here but bad day as they would not bite.
42 About 2 miles south of Warwick on the River Avon
43 Sherbourne Park: has been owned by Smith Ryland family for two centuries and now run as an “agricultural and sporting enterprise” by current generation of family. Edward is no doubt referring to Louisa Ann Ryland (1814-1889) who had died on January 25th i.e. about 7 months before his visit. He would have known about her as she is regarded as being the single greatest philanthropist in the history of Birmingham. Aston Park, Victoria Park & above all Cannon Hill Park were donated by this spinster who shunned personal publicity.

Sep. 16
Wootton Wawen with Mr Edwards. Fish not biting well: water probably too fine.

Oct. 1
Iford Bridge, Christchurch in river Stour. Water very fine & clear & fish shy.
Oct. 4
Iford Bridge. Water the same and fish not feeding.


Oct. 5
Boscombe pier44. Sea rough & weather cold & rainy. Wind S.W. along shore. Water rather coloured. Baited with boiled shrimp on a gut leger line & caught five times as many fish as any other angler fishing off the the (sic) sand with other tackles.

44 Edward was presumably staying with his brother Alfred & his wife Alice. Although married in Liverpool in 1884 (where their son Bertram was born on 4th September 1885: see entry also for October 2nd 1890 below), by July 1889 they were living in Boscombe where their daughter Dorothy Beatrice was born that month. They later emigrated to Rhodesia. Edward’s visit may of course be linked to the recent happy event.


Oct 10
Wootton Wawen with Mr Edwards. Fine day but sharp frost previous night & fish not feeding. Sport very bad. Water fine. Met two men who had good sport spinning for pike in the canal45 especially Wootton basin.

45 The Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. Wootton Basin now houses a marina.
Oct 31
Spade Mill Pool46, Sutton Coldfield by myself. Fine sunny day, rather cold & windy. Wind W. Caught all the fish spinning with roach. Had one good pike on but lost him through striking too hard, which broke the line close to hook. Saw a kingfisher & 3 wild ducks.

46 Probably Powell’s Pool: the largest in Sutton Park Birmingham: the Spade Mill stood on its dam & was powered by the water. Still used for angling. More than 12 miles from Yardley. However at the 1891 Census (just after his marriage) he was living considerably closer: in Sutton Coldfield itself and it is possible that if he moved there prior to his marriage rather than on the occasion of it, he would have been more local at this time.

Nov 14
Wootton Wawen alone. Dull misty day, rather cold. Bad sport until afternoon when mill stopped & water ran down the stream again and then the dace bit well. Bennett gave me a fine eel almost a yard long which escaped going along to the Station by squeezing out through hole in top of basket. Much swearing in consequence. Moral: beware of eels.

Decr 12
Aston Reservoir. Fine and fresh. Tried all day for pike without result. Saw a shoal of good roach in filter bed. They seemed torpid & almost motionless from the effects of cold. Accidentally trod on a roach fixed on spinning trace and ejected from its anus a tapeworm which on being all drawn out was quite 8 inches long. The roach weighed about an ounce.


December 18
River Alne, Wootton Wawen. Rough windy day with rain in afternoon. Picked up the fish all about the place. Took gentles best.