Fluke fishing

The tide was falling quickly as the sun was setting, and the fluke fishers were starting to pack up. After so many days of wind and rain, the Bay was calm today and the waters reflective. This morning we had a sharp frost and patches of black ice on the road.

Fluke is the local name for a flounder, a flat fish that is found in the shallow waters of Morecambe Bay. I don't know if the fishermen had any success this afternoon. Catching flukes with a rod and line is not the most effective way. Some years ago at this same spot, we came across a man and three dogs. The dogs had been trained to paddle in shallow water feeling for flukes under their feet, and every minute or so, a dog would pick one up in its mouth and carry it to the man. The man had two very full carrier bags, and he himself was almost as quick as the dogs at catching them. Meanwhile an angler with rod and line sat forlornly by the water's edge catching nothing.

Ever since I've been hoping to again see the man and his dogs feeling for flukes, they would make an excellent blip.

Otherwise it was a pretty quiet day for recharging after a busy week at work. I did the RSPB garden birdwatch this morning, but the hour I picked was uncharacteristically quiet, and a few usual species were missed and numbers were low. They are all too well fed. While out this morning on the Halforth Marshes, there were many skylarks on the arable fields (species number 88 on the 2012 yearlist). It won't be long now before they start to sing. At Dallam, the herons are starting to gather on the Kent estuary nearby, and soon they will be reoccupying their heronry. Ravens too will be breeding before long.