Fishing 4 Schools tip of the month December - It's cold outside!

Fishing for Schools instructor Bob Goble picks his tip of the month for young anglers and this month he's focusing on the basics - keeping warm!

He says: My first picture is of a very cold and frosty morning at Springhill Trout Waters a year back, and by George it was brass monkey weather. In fact it was minus 6 degrees! The frost was so heavy it was bending the branches of the trees as if they were trying to keep themselves warm.

Everything was white as if it had been snowing and very hard and crisp underfoot. The lake was still open but a couple of days of minus weather later it would be frozen. Despite this my friend Brian and I managed to catch before the rings froze on the rods, which ended our session.

So for this tip of the month I would like to talk about keeping warm and dry.

Good clothing is essential if we are to enjoy the day out fishing. The garments of today could not be better. It's all about layering - thermal underwear or a t-shirt and leggings to form the base layer next to the skin. Then the mid layer will consist of a sweatshirt or pullover and, over your long johns, a pair of loose jogging pants - you don't want to wear jeans, their insulation properties are poor and they can restrict movement.

On top of all this will be a waterproof jacket and over trousers – either a one piece or two, but make sure they are breathable. Gore Tex is good and very light. The idea is to trap warm body air between the layers and to keep you mobile with free movement, before all this technical clothing we would just pile on as much clothing as possible and feel as if we were in a strait jacket but still frozen!

You will also need a warm woollen thermal hat (but perhaps not this one!), one that covers your ears. You would be surprised at how much heat goes out from your head - just think of your house and why it is insulated in the roof space!!

Definitely wear gloves, again wool is good but can be cold when wet, I prefer the Neoprene type you can also have fingerless ones, and ones where the finger fold back for dexterity.

And lastly, good wellington boots. Neoprene lined ones are good but if you are wearing ordinary boots make sure they are roomy to allow thermal socks to be worn without them becoming too tight.

With all this on you should be warm and toasty and ready to fish in any weather.

The other picture I have included is to inspire you into the year ahead and the good fishing to come.

Wishing you a merry Christmas and lots of fish in the New Year. Keep warm and safe and have fun.

All the best, Bob G.