No Flies On Me

There’s a story behind why there are no flies on me. It is all to do with fishing and I know I have said before, that I am not a lover of fishing. My Dad was a keen fisherman and would often take me along on his day out fishing, but it just wasn’t a day I would enjoy. If you’ve ever seen a grown man struggle with an eel, I found it traumatic.

New Job

Starting a new job in my late teens, I found that most of the guys I was working with were getting on in years. All had served their time in WW2 and smoked like it was going out of fashion, but this was a time when smoking seemed more popular than not smoking. Of course, they all loved fishing and had their very own fishing club. I was into my guitar, but it seemed all yahoo to them.

Come Fishing

It wasn’t long before I was asked if I would like to join the works fishing club and before I could protest the idea, my name was on the list for the next outing somewhere along the River Severn in Worcestershire. I told them I had no transport or means of getting there, but they insisted that they would sort something out and someone would pick me up and drop me back.

Meet Mr Barrett

I can’t recall the date, but it was obviously sometime during the coarse fishing season. The top man at the company, Mr Barrett came to see me and said some of the guys had told him I wanted to join the fishing club. He was very keen for me to become a member as said something about it being a great team-building exercise. This was Mr Hire & Fire himself and after asking where I lived, he said he would pick me up at 10:00 am on the Saturday of the fishing outing.

Sonny Jim

I had to explain to him that I only had a simple rod and reel and no idea what I would be doing. “No worries, Sonny Jim, the guys will look after you. Oh, and by the way, there’s a fishing tackle shop around the corner from where you live, you can get yourself a pint of maggots on Friday evening. If you tell them Jim Barrett sent you, they’ll let you have a discount too.” So, there was no getting out of this day out for me.

Maggots!!

Fishing day out eve came along and off I went to the fishing tackle shop to buy a pint of maggots. I thought they came in bags and had no idea the things would be alive. I even had to buy a Tupperware type of container to put them in. I told the guy about Mr Barrett and sure enough, he gave me a 10% discount. On the way out he called to me and said, “You can keep those things fresh by storing the tub in the fridge overnight.” Yeah, I could see my dear old Mom putting up with that. So I put them outside in the garden.

Off To Worcestershire

The next morning, Mr Barrett arrived, bang on time. I grabbed my single fishing rod with reel, a bag of assorted hooks and a tub of maggots from the garden, loaded them into the boot of his car and away we went. “You get your discount off your maggots?” asked Mr Barrett. “Yes, and thank you.” We then made our way to a place called Hampton Loade in Worcestershire, which by all accounts is a popular fishing spot. The other guys were already there when we arrived in the car park. Mr Barrett and I got out of the car and he opened the boot. To our complete horror, the lid was off my tub of maggots and the contents seemed to have made their way into parts of the vehicle that only maggots could reach.

They’ve Escaped

You can imagine the language from Mr Barrett and my feeling of total embarrassment. There wasn’t much that could be done apart from rescuing the few maggots left rolling about the boot space and putting them back in the tub. I felt less like fishing now than ever before, although the other guys thought it was all very funny, especially when Mr Barrett was out of earshot. “C’mon Cocka,” said one of the old boys, “have a go with what you have left and try and enjoy the day, you’ve given us all a great laugh!”

I Caught Something

I did take part, but I felt dreadful. Believe it or not, I caught a few fish, Chubb. When the guy arrived at the end of the day to weigh up who had caught the most fish, they walked past me. They thought as the new boy I wouldn’t have anything in my net especially as I had very few maggots. I did call him over, he weighed my catch and lo and behold, I came second out of about a dozen fishermen. I was even presented with a small cup which I still have today. It reminds me never to go fishing again!

Legend In My Own Lifetime

The story lived on for the 15 years that I worked for Mr Barrett. For what seemed an age afterwards, on the days I didn’t manage to avoid him, I would hear Mr Barrett calling out to me, “I’ve still got bloody flies in my car!” I laugh about it now, but on the day he opened the boot of that car, part of me wanted to laugh out loud, but a bigger part of me just wished I could have faded away. Tip, if you do take up fishing, make sure the lid of your maggot tub is fitted properly.

Gone Fishing

If by any chance you would like to take up fishing, here’s a good website

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32 Comments
  • Yetismith
    April 6, 2022

    That’s priceless! I can imagine the guys getting a good laugh out of it.

    • Trev
      April 6, 2022

      Thank you. Yeti. And very embarrassing for me. 🙂

  • John
    April 6, 2022

    That’s a great fish story, Trev! Thanks for the grin, I’ve never liked fishing either but my mother adored fishing. She would be at the end of the dock going at it at 2 AM!

    • Trev
      April 6, 2022

      Thank you, John. I just don’t get how people enjoy it, but each to their own. 🙂

  • conniejjasperson
    April 6, 2022

    Sadly, I was raised on a large lake in Washington State, and fishing was part of our life. But not with maggots–earth worms and salmon eggs. If my date brought my home five minutes late on Friday night, my father would wake me up at four in the morning to go bass fishing with him. I didn’t hate it, but would have enjoyed it more after sunup, lol!

    • Trev
      April 6, 2022

      Thank you, Connie. Yes, I never liked the 4:00 am wake up call to go fishing with my Dad. 🙂

    • shankjoejoe
      April 12, 2022

      Same in NW Montana 😊

      • Trev
        April 13, 2022

        Thank you. 😊

  • anotherdaywithjulie
    April 6, 2022

    I’m surprised you didn’t get fired after the maggot incident. But did they invited you back fishing again?

    • Trev
      April 6, 2022

      No, I didn’t get fired and no, I was never invited back again. Thank you, Julie. 🙂

  • Peter's pondering
    April 6, 2022

    What grub did you have for lunch?

    • Trev
      April 6, 2022

      As I recall, Peter, I had a cheese sandwich in an old duffle bag which got half-eaten by a water vole! Another reason why I do not like fishing. Thank you. 🙂

  • Lou Carreras
    April 6, 2022

    Blood worms are the thing on some parts of the coast, but you have to be careful they bite

    • Trev
      April 6, 2022

      Oooh nooo, not for me, but thank you, Lou. 🙂

  • MythRider
    April 6, 2022

    I also come from a family of fishermen and women. I’d rather do almost anything else. It’s supposed to be relaxing, but I find it frustrating when I don’t catch a fish. I don’t mind accompanying those fishing as long as they don’t give me a rod. I’d rather sit and enjoy the view, or better yet, bring my camera and take amazing photos.

    I do appreciate a good fishing story. ;0)

    • Trev
      April 7, 2022

      Thank you. I’m with you there. 😊

  • Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet
    April 7, 2022

    Yuck, Trev! A very funny story, though! : )

    • Trev
      April 7, 2022

      Thank you, Cheryl. Glad you found it funny. 😊

  • Rosaliene Bacchus
    April 7, 2022

    No maggots and no flies for me, Trev!

    • Trev
      April 7, 2022

      Thank you, Rosaliene. Sounds good to me. 😊

  • SusanR
    April 7, 2022

    You can bet that if for some bizarre reason I decide to take up fishing at my advance age, it will not be with maggots. Around here it would most likely be trout fishing with some of the most popular artificial flies.

    • Trev
      April 7, 2022

      Thank you, Susan. That does sound better and healthier than maggots. 😊

  • Going Batty in Wales
    April 7, 2022

    I have tried fishing, partly because my son loves it, but it has never grabbed me. As a child a family friend was a keen fly fisherman and I loved looking at the flies he tied. You story gave me a good laugh so thank you -and a reminder why I don’t think I will ever take up fihing seriously.

    • Trev
      April 7, 2022

      I don’t blame you for not taking it up. It’s too cold, too wet and you get covered in all sorts of things. Thank you. 😊

  • Herb
    April 8, 2022

    My parents took us fishing all the time when I was younger so we’d have something to eat but as an adult I got away from it.

    • Trev
      April 8, 2022

      Sounds similar to here. Thank you, Herb. 😊

  • Jim Flanigan
    April 9, 2022

    Why can’t people ask me great questions like, “You get your discount off your maggots?” Good story.

    • Trev
      April 9, 2022

      Thanks Jim. 🤣

  • luisa zambrotta
    April 9, 2022

    That’s so funny! But, at the moment, I think it was a very embarrassing experience for you😉

    • Trev
      April 9, 2022

      Thank you, Luisa. It was embarrassing, but I can laugh about it now. 😊

  • anotherday2paradise
    April 25, 2022

    I enjoyed your story, although I’ve never been remotely tempted to go fishing. 🙂

    • Trev
      April 26, 2022

      Thank you, I can understand why you wouldn’t want to go fishing. 😊