As I write this the coarse fishing season has just opened and I have found time to cast a line in rivers and lakes both at home and abroad.

I was lucky enough to get a chance over the Whitsun week to go carp fishing in the Limoges area of France at Millstone Pool. Life is far too short and far too busy for me ever to become a regular carp fisherman but I do enjoy an occasional trip, especially when the fish are bigger than average.

My previous personal best carp was a 33 pounder caught in Canada, on the mighty St Lawrence river. These Canadian carp are mainly commons and don’t grow as big as their UK or French cousins, but my goodness do they know how to fight. I would advise anyone who wants to experience the thrill of catching wild river carp in stunning surroundings to book a week or two in Ontario before the price of fuel makes foreign travel prohibitively expensive.

Back to France, and despite torrential rain which flooded the lake and spoiled the fishing for two days, my four man party landed 35 carp including 4 fifty and 8 forty pound fish. I managed to catch the biggest brace of 52lbs and 57lbs in a 24 hour period and while we selected this lake because we knew there was a chance of a fifty pounder, I never believed I would be lucky enough to land two of them!

This year the June 16^th opening day fell on a Monday but luckily it coincided with a Home Affairs Select Committee visit to Monmouth in the Wye Valley. This is not a million miles away from the home of my friend, and Anglers’ Conservation boss Mark Lloyd.

I needed to catch up with Mark on ACA matters and the only place suitable for such a meeting just happened to be one of my favourite Wye barbel swims. We spent a pleasant evening together on the river upstream from Ross and I even managed a couple of nice fish to kick off the river season.

You may have seen some press coverage of the proposal in Bewdley to create a no fishing zone following reports of swan deaths. I am disappointed that a handful of town councillors are seeking to ban anglers from pursuing Britain’s most popular participant sport along a public stretch of the river Severn. They appear to have taken against angling in response to objections based on hearsay rather than scientific or factual evidence. I have worked well with the RSPB and other conservation charities in the interests of both bird-lovers and fishermen - there is no need for conflict as both depend upon the existence of a healthy aquatic environment. I fully support the campaign to retain anglers as the eyes and ears of the waterside in Bewdley and I trust that common sense will prevail. I am now looking forward to catching my first river Severn barbel later this year on the town water at Bewdley and to enjoying at the same time, the rich and diverse birdlife which exists side by side with one of Britain’s most popular fishing rivers.