Recharging the batteries

I've just nipped out for an hours fishing and had a few perch on a pleasant Octobers evening. As I walked in the door I thought it best to bring the camera in and get some power back in to the batteries. You never know when you're going to catch something decent and It's my worst nightmare catching a nice fish or two and the batteries being dead. Shame that today the batteries seemed fine, I just couldn't put a decent fish in front of the camera. I bagged 24 perch in about an hour and half of fishing, but only two were over a pound with one of those a good pound and a half plus. It was a typical fisherman's tail though, as I wish you'd been able to have seen the one that got away. Why is it always that fish that gets off, the big one? Judging by the bend in the rod, the scrap, the line ripping off the clutch and the amount of water moved this perch was well over two. Ah well.

So where have I been these last few weeks? Well i've been here and i've been there. I haven't really done any serious fishing. I've gone for a look at a few spots, I've caught a few fish though nothing too special. For me it's still been too warm to seriously target pike though we're not too far off now. Then again, having not long ago checked the weather forecast a frost or two might be a while off yet even. Yesterday I was at the Selby region PAC teach in day helping out. A day which was planned with pike in mind but turned out to be a glorious sunny Sunday afternoon, not the usual floods, frosts and snow of past events. At least a few fish were still caught and people got to have a crack at unhooking and holding a pike, plus the usual rig making, trace making and generally having a good old natter with people who can answer a few questions. If you're new to pike fishing, get in touch with your local PAC and find out when they are doing a day, they really are perfect for all levels. Oh and a few weeks back it was the annual PAC convention where I bagged a few bargain lures on the second hand stall, a shiny new hand made lure from Craig Beverley which I'm looking forward to chucking seriously this winter and I even bought myself a new jerk bait rod. A Jaxon rod rated to 150g which looks so thin it really shouldn't be able to handle that much, but so far from the few short session I've had it's done a fine job.

So having scanned my camera I realised there wasn't much on it to post up. I even forgot to take it to the teach in day. I haven't totally failed on the fishing front, and I've landed a fair few doubles which mostly came on the ultra light gear. However i just felt I had no need to be faffing with a fish and a camera and most went back in a flash, but without a flash. On the perch front I've not had anything too spectacular with the biggest not much more than a pound and a half at a guess. I sound like I'm ungrateful but it couldn't be further from the truth. I'm the last person to be chasing huge fish, when they come I'll enjoy them and in the mean time I'll enjoy every other fish I capture. A couple of my fishing buddies have done pretty good though. Woody had his first serious pike session last week after getting the urge to book a day off work. He managed an eighteen and a super twenty one pound pike and I was over the moon for him. Everything fell in to place and he got the rewards he deserves for all the effort he puts in helping everyone else out. Another pal of ours, Matt from Fooling fish had a stormer of a week just gone. One session he had three twenties and an eighteen to the lures and then finished off with another twenty yesterday on the ultra light gear. That's just crazy fishing. Neil hasn't been out that much and the last serious session he had he was with Matty where they landed umpteen super perch in the two and three pound bracket. Thinking about it i think I've enjoyed not being a focus of attention. I've not been flashy, I've not had a million awesome blogs to put up and I've not been the centre of attention, I quite like that.

So where has my enthusiasm gone? It's still here somewhere but I must admit I've not really had any urge to do anything too serious. Unless I'm out with one of the buddies my fishing is solitary and I really detest the sight of other anglers on the bank. I know this comes from being a kid and spending hours fishing places no one else seemed to fish and having all the bank to myself. It seems that with this long spell of decent weather, every fisherman and his dog are out. Any plans you make have to take in to account either getting to a peg before some other angler or trying to find somewhere no one else fishes. Both of which are pretty tough to do these days. Most places have been fished around where I live and plenty of the banker spots are already known and will usually have a lure fisherman there. I expected that this last month or so I would have been on a canal I know, chasing some perch. I think i've been to it once. I know i've missed out but then so what? Scouring the forums, despite people coming out and naming venues, often you get to know where people fish and it was clearly evident that seven or eight lure fisherman (at least) were on the ball and chasing big perch, and that in itself put me off. Nothing against any of those lads. Some of them I know well, some of them I've told where to fish it and a couple i've met and they're real top lads. Those that I haven't met even seem spot on too. I guess I'm just a miserable so and so sometimes. Writing this paragraph has just reminded me, I did manage one two pounder i'd somehow forgot about. I actually took an old bashed up brute of a perch here on a SG 19cm 4play, my lucky rainbow lip lure. Another fish I didn't even bother taking a photo of.

I think I get more of a buzz finding out a place and getting a reward from somewhere I had no knowledge of previously. That can be a lucky first session or after the umpteenth return and finally working it out. I don't like things handed to me on a plate and I prefer to do a bit of hard work and any enjoyment from that is that little bit more special. Take today's session as an example. Had I landed that big perch it would have had me beaming from ear to ear and given me that warm fuzzy glow inside. I will get a lump of a perch from there at some point I just know it. I also found another couple of spots on my journey around new venues this last few weeks. None of them will be massive secrets and someone will fish them already. But I wasn't put up to them, I just got off my backside and went for a look. It's amazing what you can find if you're not just sat scouring blogs, forums and Facebook to see where everyone else is fishing. Shame on you that do, get out and do some hard graft and reap your own rewards.You might even enjoy it more like I do.

A fourteen that fell to a kopyto on the light gear

So what's next for this piker? I'm not quite sure to be honest. I have no aims, targets and goals. I'm not chasing a huge fish and as usual I'll just plod on and take each day or week as it comes. If anything i've probably only got one goal and that's to share some nice fish with a few fishing buddies. I was gutted not to have been there with Woody and to even be taking photo after photo of Matt's twenties would still be magical in my eyes. So that's probably my only wish this coming pike season. Well, that and the fact I'm praying the cold comes quick so the banks can be all mine again!

Good luck to all the pike lads this coming season.