I knew that the photography assignment with Mick May author of ‘Cancer and Pisces:One man’s story of his unique survival of cancer’ was going to be a happy day.
Mick laughed when I suggested I’d bring my waders
I had the idea of getting into the river to photograph Mick. The evening before finding my waders in the loft which I last wore covering the terrible floods in 2014. Definitely not fishing, I haven’t been fishing in years since I lived in Norway. On route I telephoned Mick with the idea thinking I should warn him so he also had his. His response was to laugh down the phone telling me I wouldn’t need them.
As the day went on we still hadn’t caught a fish
After meeting Mick at the River Test we soon got into fishing mode. Moving up and down the river bank seeing rainbow trout in numbers out in the river. Mick was casting out teasing the fish. But none were biting. As the day drifted by and Mick regularly changed flies we still had no fish! I didn’t want to put too much pressure on him but I did emphasise that it would be good for the photo reportage to have him actually catching one!
Finally Mick got a bite!
After several hours, chatting and fishing Mick got a bite…as he brought it in we discovered it was a small grayling fish. Mick held the fish gently enabling me to take a photo before we could put it back into the river. The fish was a bit stunned lying in the water. Mick quickly getting in up to his waste to make sure the fish survived giving it an encouraging stroke in the water. Off it went leaving Mick waste deep in the river. Soaked through without any spare trousers. I had to laugh as I did suggest waders might be useful, especially as for once the photographed remained dry on land.
