Two weeks left

Following on from my last blog entry, we're definitely on countdown now. It's March and those rivers will be out of bounds once again pretty shortly, for what always feels like an eternity. In my last entry I was in a bit of a panic but since then I've hardly done too much about it. No days booked off work to go fishing, but then that's something I hardly ever do anyway. However it dawned on me this morning, as I pulled out of the drive to go shopping at eleven, that I'd wasted a morning. Ok, I do remember waking up at 4am and hearing the wind and rain lashing the windows so it wasn't the best morning to be out early. But the thought had never even crossed my mind to get up in the first place. I'm on Facebook telling people to make the most of it and I'm not even doing that myself. The last few years I know the reasons I have often got that extra reward are because I've got up morning after morning, even if it's for just a quick hour before work, to get out and try and make it happen. Or at least be in the right place at the right time. Bloody hell what have I been doing?



I know now that come two weeks time, I'll be gutted I can't fish the rivers and I'll be looking back at lost opportunities to grab an hour or two. But right now I'm happy enough that I didn't do just that. There's working your socks off to make something happen but I also try to balance that with going fishing when you want to go, and if you don't then don't. That might sound like I don't want to fish any more, but it's nothing like that at all so don't worry about me packing up all this social media and fishing. It's not because I've bagged a dozen twenty pounders already or I'm already in Nev's list of top pikers, I'm lucky that I'm still not worried about chasing targets so when that day comes and my serious piking is pretty much over for a while I'll not be too fussed. I catch plenty of fish and have loads of fun with it on the way. One of my highlights was a recent four pound jack that followed my lure and finally plucked it out of the air as I lifted it out. Of course I love a big ol' girl but that's not all I'm in it for. Pike is pike.

We've not done too bad though in the last month or so between me and Ady. Loads of pike with a few decent fish in amongst them all. We've caught on lures, trolling lures, baits, live baits and trolled baits. We've caught in rivers, flooded rivers, canals, boat and bank and even the odd still water, the pike just keep on coming. We've had some real tough days but at the end of each one, we've actually done all right in the end. Hard work, a bit of knowledge and mixing it up have been the key together with a bit of drive from each to help the other when things weren't going to plan. If you've got a fishing buddy, you've probably been a part of similar but I know from the past when you are alone, those tough times aren't always easy to get out of but if you don't put in the effort to change your own luck, no one else will. If you're a loner, keep at it and it will happen at some point. If you're one of a few buddies, help your mate and enjoy their catches as much as your own.

I reckon there will be one last mad scramble form me now to fish though in this last few days of the season. I might just give myself a push as that could help me bag a few more nice pike before we turn to other things. If a river monster turns up I'll be over the moon, whether it's me, Woody or one of the local lads that go through similar struggles to us. Someone has got their name on a big fish already, they just need to go out and make it happen, together with a bit of luck from the weather Gods as they always seem to play a major part in this river fishing malarkey. No doubt they rivers will be up and down a few more times yet before this season is out. Ah well, not much anyone can do about that anyway. If I can fish, I will and If I can't then so be it.

Unfortunately what ever we do this next two weeks and beyond, it will be without our good old mate Tyke. Adys little terrier is no longer part of the team, our lucky mascot for so long is no longer with us. A popular little character, well known among the pikers of Britain and even more so now as he gathered a little cult following among the Youtube viewers. Always happy at the front of the boat, eating my pasty and licking a fish or two.

Little Tykey boy, what a cracking little dog.