THE 58-year-old manager of the England boat fishing squad recalled the day he was caught with his pants down.
With a new beach caster given to him by his uncle and a reel bought out of his paper-round money, a young Ray Ashby and a group of friends walked along Hurst Shingle Spit to fish near the entrance to Keyhaven Harbour.
They left their rods on rests to dig bait. A small flotilla of boats passed and when Ray returned to check his rod he was horrified to find it missing.
A small channel led to the edge of the water. One of the boats had caught the line and dragged the whole lot into the sea.
It was May and chilly. Ray stripped to his underpants and waded in. On the third dive he struck lucky.
By now a small crowd had gathered. Ray triumphantly walked from the water brandishing his rod and shouted: “Ian, I’ve got my rod.”
His friend replied: “But you haven’t got your underpants.”
Ray, who is a member of Hamble Sea Angling Club, added: “They reckon the fishing off that area was never good for about six months afterwards.”
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