That Friday feeling

I've been itching to get out with the lure rod again, especially more so after my nightmare drubbing at the hands of my family elders last weekend. But fishing had to be put on hold, at least for a little while while I crammed in some final revision for a three hour management exam at work. I should have been studying since September but kept putting it off, often for the thrill of pike fishing instead and I always said to myself that the exam was a long way off. Well last week it dawned on me that the time had come so any thoughts of going fishing had to be forgotten about until after Thursday. A bit of a shame really since I have been on afternoons all this week and so I would have had plenty of morning time to get out fishing. I think I did pretty ok in the exam anyway, so on my return home Thursday evening I scoffed down my chicken salad and chips and then dashed straight for the drill. As I got set up, working out the fiddly instructions for the new window blind which now seems to be an annual thing in our house, the missus asked me "are you going fishing tomorrow?" Damn, does she know me that well?

 The rest of the evening saw me sorting my lures out. Giving them a tidy and sorting them so as to easily fit in a couple of extra purchases to my collection which had recently been snapped up second hand. I still didn't know where I was going, either have a bash on the local canal or some small flood ponds. I set the alarm for stupid o'clock, but the dog waking me early spoilt my sleep and so by the time the alarm went off I was a little too sleepy to get up and snoozed for over half an hour. That meant there was only time for a pot of tea and the breakfast had to be left, there wasn't time. As I was setting up on the flood ponds, having decided to go there only the second I'd started the car in the drive, I was glad I'd not had the breakkie as a local lad was wondering up towards me. I think I'd pipped him to the peg, even though I would be staying mobile today, I was here first so was going to give it a go. I cast in my rainbow lip lure and first cast I had a take. I struck and felt the fish for a brief second but no hooks set. Then I noticed the pike had a white blob on it. It looked as though it had been attacked by another pike. For the next ten minutes every time I brought in the lure I could see this blob following. I changed lures but couldn't get it to take, eventually I ignored it and just carried on regardless, It wasn't a monster anyway. In the same spot, I managed to have another follow and take from a small jack and yes I managed to miss that one too. By now having gone through a few lures I'd decided to settle for a smaller SG lure, 13cm Ghost silver pattern. It seemed to work well and since the water had an extra foot of water in from recent floods, it meant I could work it above the weed which often causes me so many problems here.


 

6lb 11oz pb tench from 2009

I then spotted another angler on his way to me. This chap also seemed to want the peg I was in and as he approached, tackle still in his car, we had a brief chat. You meet all sorts of characters on the bank, some good some bad and this chap, who turned out to be called Steve, seemed like one of the decent fishermen. Having an idea he'd wanted this peg I offered him it. He happily accepted and nipped back for his gear. He was after the tench. There's some nice ones in these ponds, my own pb comes from them, not this actual peg but one close by and there's rumoured to be some even bigger ones in too. I ended up chatting to Steve for a bit and we exchanged a few stories and it was nice to talk to a decent bloke who also knew a bit about fishing. Throwing a handful of small pellets in and delicately dropping his bait on top it reminded me of many a barbel anglers approach to fishing and as our conversation lengthened he told me he did a bit of barbel bashing too, no surprise. It's a pity the weather isn't yet quite right for the tench as in this short session of his before work he didn't manage to pull one out but no doubt he'll be back, especially if we get a bit of sun sometime soon. All the best for you and your missus Steve when the little one finally shows up. It seems the baby is as overdue as that sunny tenching weather!



As Steve packed up I got back in the swim and threw my lures around. Yes, back came that battle scarred pike again and yet again just following and not taking. I moved on to the next swim and started throwing my little lure about. It wasn't long before I had a take and this time I had the fish on, and then off. It darted about six feet right in front of me and then the hooks came out. Another small jack but it was a shame not to have one by now. But plenty of signs of promise as at least I've seen some fish today. The water being crystal clear made it pretty easy to see what my lure was doing and I could clearly see if anything was interested. Time to move on again, keep mobile and cover some water and hope to drop on a fish. As is often the case, first cast in my next swim and a pike smashes the lure again only this time not only did I hook in to it but after a brief scuffle I actually landed it. Boy that is a nice feeling again. A fish of around six or seven pounds and one which brought me a nice smile. The commotion of the battle and ferocity of the take made me think back to last weekends faffing about for carp and the difference in fishing experiences. Blanking aside I can forget that bit, it happens in any type of fishing, but this is why I felt so down after last weekend. I missed the thrill of the take, the fish smashing into a lure, crashing out of the water, violent head shakes and tail walks. I love lure fishing.



No time to rest and I cast back out and again a pike hits and I miss. I felt it but the hooks just didn't set. I'd already checked my hooks and knew they were sharp but had I not done so I'd have been giving them a sharpen by now. I ventured around to the other side of the pond and start working my lure. I'm kind of in the corner of the pond, and it looks absolutely perfect for pike. Reeds along the edge fashioned in such a way that anything swimming in to this corner is sure to be smashed by a hidden predator. As I approach, the resident pond grebe is filling his face with silver fish, I'm excited for the cast already. Boom, we're in again. Another jack crashing out of the water and then steaming off, boy these fish can fight. A lady dog walker on the banking behind paused a while to watch as the fish thrashed around. I played it cool like you do, and pretended it was nothing special, but it was nice to have an audience for once, even if it was just her and her dog. A few more fan casts of the swim and with no more action I move on another twenty yards to cover the next bit of water and yes, here we go again. Another pike smashes into the lure, flipping out of the water in and almighty explosion. Wow this is fun fishing. Same drill, cover the water again and move and as I move to the next swim it's another watery explosion. Fish number four in less than an hour and as I'm playing it my phone rings. I ignore that, I can ring them back when I've unhooked the fish but by the time I do their phone is now engaged. So I chuck my lure out again and wham, fish number five, this is absolutely crazy! A quick chat to my old man on the phone who is heading for Scalm Park again for the weekend and then I'm back chucking my lure about. Last night as I was sorting my gear out I explained to the missus, who then pretended to be interested like I do when she's talking to me about decorating or whatever, that this particular lure holds the record for most fish in an hour, a total of seven pike. It's also a lure that I haven't even used that much, that bigger lip lure is the one with most time in the water. Boom!...well not quite a boom but it is a hit. A violent fight ensues but only from the pikes point of view, as I easily pull in my smallest pike for quite some time. A cute little predator that brings the hourly tally to six, just short of my record. I'm happy with that. After a frustrating last weekend fishing followed by a week of study and busy busy week at work that Friday feeling felt even more jolly and as I headed off to work for my final afternoon session of the week I had that buzz back in side me. At work I was thinking about pike fishing, I was trying to figure out where the big girl might be hiding, I was back thinking about all things Esox and I liked it.

Savage Gear Ghost silver lip lure

2012 pike tally

 Doubles 11

Total 29

Largest 22.5lb

2011 summary

Since I wasn't blogging last year, and my fishing this year hasn't really kicked in mainly to do with the river up and down like a yo-yo, I thought I'd share some of last years captures and stories sprinkled with a bit of my angling past. 2011 was the year I got my pike mojo back. I spent a lot of my youth pike fishing with cheap lures using an old float rod (seriously!) and had plenty of fun. I'd spend my late summer evenings using mainly small surface poppers on some shallow local flood ponds. The takes were awesome and the buzz was fantastic. I had a few doubles, which wasn't bad for a self taught lure fishing lad in the days before the internet information highway. I even to this day haven't beat my pb of 27lb pike. A fish which made me rethink all my own fishing "laws" since it went against all I'd thought was right for that water. Today many call it the witching hour or similar but to me, that last bit of light at dusk just never produced anything, not one fish. Luckily that evening I persevered even longer and was rewarded with a monster of a fish. I'd spotted a commotion in a corner of the pond, and the only way to get near it was to wade through some reeds. I launched a cast where the fish had surfaced and my popper had only just hit the surface and the fish pounced. A ten minute or so battle commenced (float rod! lol) finally finishing with me waste deep in the water lifting the fish out since my net just simply wasn't anywhere near big enough. Second lesson learnt, need a bigger net before finally the third and final lesson, take a camera! Gutting, I have no record of that fish.

Crock incoming!

Marriage, kids and the lot came and my fishing was put to one side. I  managed to get back in to it about five years ago where I'd spend my summer fishing puddles for carp and the rest and then a little bit of the early spring fishing for pike. A couple of years ago I managed to catch my largest photographed fish, a 22lb pike.

My mate Sam persuaded me to take him pike fishing since he'd never been before. Our first outing took us back to my old ponds where he broke his duck and caught a little jack on half a mackerel, celebrating with a nicely pond chilled beer. We went back the following week and after a long day of nothing we decided on one last try on the opposite side. I cast my bait out no more than 15 feet and before I could finish having a "Jimmy Riddle" my float was bobbing away. Sam asked if it was a good fish and I said it felt like maybe a low double and then as I said those words off it went. Head down and that impressive tail powering away I soon changed my mind. For a moment I thought about my pb, and as the fish came close I knew it was a good one but just not quite a new record. Still, I was over the moon. It was the biggest fish since being back fishing and finally I'd got a good fish on photo. 

22lb pike falls to half mackerel

We carried on fishing face full of cheezy grin and the very next cast Sam had his very own pb fish. Not a monster but he was well happy with a 10lb fish. It capped off a great days pike fishing and we went home chuffed to bits.

A steady few years passed with me fishing for anything. Learning my trade as I went along and just enjoying my days out. Sometimes I'd get out all day, other times I'd go months without getting out. Last year saw me get on the bank much more and fishing my local river I decided to try the lures for pike. It was late summer, around July and August and it was perfect time to get back in to the crocs. Catching pike after pike, I started to get the buzz I remembered as a kid lure fishing. The thrill of the take, seeing the fish up close tracking the lure, crashing in to it, turning away at your rod tip it stirred something inside me to the point where all I want to do now is go pike fishing.

Summer tench on the waggler

I've had some great days fishing for all sorts over the last few years. I would never say I'm anywhere near the best, most knowledgeable or tactical but I can usually catch a fish. I'd bagged 140lb of carp to 10lb on one pond on a day the locals were all packing up and going home early, that was a huge thrill since I'm no match angler. Bagging up on summer tench while catching the rays was a lovely way to spend the day. Even trotting a few maggots down some fast water to catch some silvers gave me lots of enjoyment. I still had on my list that I wanted to target barbel and also get back to fishing for chub, which was another of my favourite fishing memories as a teenager. But in between all this, I cast out a lure. I hooked a pike, and then another and another. For me there was nothing quite like it and it seemed to be always edge of the seat stuff, even if I wasn't catching. Try a cast here, there, change the lure, change the retrieve change the depth, where is that pike laying up? It seems like a constant adrenaline fuelled search for pike and it had me hooked even more than I was hooking the fish. Late last year I seemed to make the permanent switch to just pike fishing. My tackle box shrank and instead in it's place a lure bag. I scoured the lure porn on a night and by day I was casting them in to every spot trying to catch a toothy critter.

Jack and a jack

Jacks 17lb pike

On occasions my 10 year old lad will come with me. He's not quite got the bug like me and is more warm weather fisherman. Sometimes when I'm stood in the freezing cold I think he's got the right idea. He grabbed a few small jacks and was a happy chap indeed, but all that was to be surpassed when he battled and won a cracking lure caught 17lb river pike. That's me holding it on the right, he wasn't quite ready for holding it. I would guess he'll have to put some hours in now to beat that pb but then you never quite know what is lurking in the depths and sometimes it's just being in the right place at the right time. He'll be out as the warmer weather kicks in so watch this space to see if he can repeat or beat his best.

Over the few remaining months of late summer and early autumn I pretty much stuck to the same few swims and probably totalled around eighty fish all on lures. There were plenty of fish around the 7lb mark, two had upturned pug noses but the rest all seemed good quality fish. The opposite bank is often fished and I see fish being pulled out regularly and despite quite a bit of pressure from the locals I'm glad to report that I never pulled in a fish with hooks or traces embedded. Hearing and reading the stories on the net this is something pike anglers seem to have to put up with which is a shame but so far, touch wood, my bit of river isn't suffering the same fate.

19lb river pike

To add to the smaller jacks I also managed a few doubles. Quite a few 12, 13 and 14lb fish were caught totalling about a dozen or so but the prize of them all was a superb 19lb fish. My biggest ever river pike, but then I only started on the rivers in late July of last year and never fishing for them before on a river, ever. Having previously set a steady target of a river twenty, catching the nineteen so soon gave me great hope and is the reason I keep venturing out in gale force winds and swollen rivers. On the whole so far the colder (not that cold is it!) days haven't been anywhere near as productive as late summer. I'm sticking with the lures for now for most of my fishing but have stuck in the odd dead bait session now and again. The hardest part of the river fishing now is the battle with nature. Every time you turn up the river is up a bit, down a bit, raging through and it's much tougher to even find a spot to fish but it's all part of learning. I'm in no rush to catch the twenty but if I could just get a decent run on the river I'm certain the fish are fattening up well and there could be a monster fish just waiting to be had. It's what keeps us going isn't it, the unknown, the dream fish. Happy hunting!