As the sun slowly appeared over The Terrace I could feel its warmth on my face as I looked up towards the clear blue sky.
I made my away over Barnes Bridge towards the old Civil Service Sports Club and onwards via Duke Meadows. The River Thames ran strong and deeply coloured as if made its way out and rowers pulled hard against the swirling current.
After a brief and brisk walk I arrived at the Chiswick School where the monthly car boot sale was underway. There were fewer vendors as it was limited to the hard standing due to the recent rain, the football pitch that in summer months is full was being preserved so it didn’t end up as a quagmire for Monday.
I was looking primarily for vintage tackle, celluloid floats, silk lines and fishing books. On first glance there was little on offer. Rooting through boxes for books there were no titles that inspired, a few How To Fish books and one on shoreline fishing.
At the far side of the sale was a table with a large cased rainbow trout caught in the early 80’s at Barn Elms now the Wetland Centre. This fine 6lb 8oz fish caught by P F Hookham a reminder of fishing days in the 80’s where you would delicately cast beneath the incoming planes to Heathrow.
Further along the row of tables and open boots of estate cars and 4×4’s was a vendor with half a table of reels, a leather Gladstone style bag, a canvas army bag and a Three Nun tobacco tin. There were no reels that excited me however there was a very clean The Gemina reel spooled with a green medium sink line. There was a fine Reuben Heaton set of scales for £40.
In the end I parted with change for the tin that contained a mix of 16 fly fishing patterns and a couple of celluloid anti-kink vains for spinning.
Maybe I should have purchased the scales in case I catch one of the river carp or find my own carp hotspot in a hidden corner of the country…
The next sale will be the first Sunday in March, what treasures will be found.