Because this is a story about fishing everything in it is entirely true and none of it is exaggerated. Except of course for the parts I made up and prettified.

The idea to go fishing together came about thanks to a couple of avid anglers who all work at CoNet. In order to make it accessible – and guarantee success for all – we chose to go to Tom’s Creek in Lelystad.

So, a plan to make this happen was hatched. Not everybody in this jolly group of anglers had a lot of hands on experience, but they were all excited about going and trying their hand at fishing.

Saturday September 15 was the day and we had reserved the 13.00 to 17.00 slot for an afternoon of fishing in the adventure pond, which is stocked with sturgeon, catfish and carp. The weather was surprisingly nice and pleasantly sunny.

An instructor showed us how to prepare the rented rod and how to weight the line. Trying this out got us more than we bargained for because before we even really got started the first catch of the day, a sturgeon, announced itself. Reeling this feisty fish in without any prior experience proved to be quite difficult.

Once we really started out the action did not slow down, on the contrary, and everyone caught their fair share of fish. Through trial and error we found out that cheese was the best bait, but pickled herring was also much appreciated by the fish. One specific corner of the pond was smoking hot that afternoon with a lot of sturgeons being caught there.

In the end everyone caught at least one fish. The harvest consisted of sturgeon, carp and catfish and the biggest catch of the day was a 4ft 4-inch sturgeon.

After the fish fest was over, we hung around at the pick nick tables and terrace for some food and drinks while spinning a lot of fisherman’s yarn. Surely a memorable outing, we’re looking forward to the next trip. Just when you thought you knew CoNet and its people through and through, a pleasant afternoon in Lelystad gives you a whole new perspective on your colleagues and the company we all love working for.