The first training session, part 2: Urban Angling

At the end of the first TDF fishing-day, city folks Sander and Henk-Jan took the guys from the countryside Harmen-Jan and Erik to some totally different fishing grounds: urban angling in the city. Granted, the scenery doesn't quite match the picturesk Dutch polders (let alone the beautiful Baltic), but strolling around and casting streamers in an urban setting sure has it's own charms and challenges. For instance, the typical, somewhat nostalgic smell of cow-poo in the polders is more than made up for by the huge amounts of dog-shit you'll undoubtedly encounter on the banks of urban fishing waters (hence the expression "Frolic Walking" by the Dutch flyfisherman Erik de Noorman, which is now widely used as a synonym for fishing in cities and towns).

Also, the catches will be far more diverse than in the countryside. Not only is there a good chance at a decent pike, but shopping carts, bicycles, condoms, plastic bags, pedestrians, cyclists and even cars are also a frequent and inevitable target species.

Erik (left) at a hot spot near a bridge, only seconds before........

.......this pike came along.

Urban angling requires the utmost concentration while casting.

Do you also wonder what Erik would do if a big pike strikes and decides to take a run under the bridge?

A nice thing about these city waters is their clarity: most of the times

you can see your streamer, which greatly adds to the excitement when

a pike strikes. But landing one at this spot......?