FISHING comedians Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer enjoyed a session on the glorious River Dane.
Their visit to the Swettenham Bridge stretch, controlled by Congleton Anglers Society, featured in episode three of the eighth series of the ever-popular Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, which aired at 9pm on BBC2 on Sunday, November 10.
The River Dane was Bob’s choice, which he described as ‘a smallish river, about 40 minutes away’ from where they were staying in Manchester city centre after fishing the Rochdale Canal the day before.
All they managed there was one small perch, but Bob managed to meet up with an old pal from his student days spent studying law in the city.
He added: “It’s going to be your classics – roach and maybe grayling.
On the drive over, Paul – a keen fly fisherman – described the surrounding Cheshire countryside as ‘a rural haven’.
He added: “I don’t know anything about [the Dane] but I’ve seen some pictures and it looks very pretty.”
The weather was against them – to put it mildly – but they persevered though wind and rain, trotting maggots and ledgering with luncheon meat.
After some time, and during a fortune break in the weather, Paul said: “I think if there was any hope of us catching a fish and there were some chub over there, they would’ve taken that meat by now.”
Despite Paul's pessimism, after a quick change of spot and a switch to trotting, Paul hooked into a nice grayling, known to anglers as 'the lady of the stream'.
“You’re kidding me!” Bob said.
“That’s why you’re my hero.”
Paul added: “What a treat! It's lovely.”
Despite the weather taking another turn, the pals managed to keep their spirits up, buoyed by a retreat to the car and a flask of hot tea.
Northwich Anglers control the section of the River Dane between Rudheath and the town centre, and non-members can buy day tickets for £6 from Vale Royal Angling Centre.
Share