Blue Fox Super Vibrax

Blue Fox Super Vibrax

Yesterday I posted on my Facebook page one of my favourite lures. I decided this could be a good little entry every now and again to keep people coming back to my page. Post up a lure and add a few words.

I've just decided to add this feature to my blog page also, but in more detail. People always ask me what are my favourite lures, everyone has them and to be honest it's just about getting a lure that does what you want it to do and that you have confidence in. Well I know some people have either no confidence in enough lures or just want to see a lure that they know catches other people some fish. So here goes, my first entry for Favourite Lures. I will keep posting these little articles to help you lot decide what you want. I'm not sponsored by anyone, and the lures will be lures I use and that catch me fish. I claim no responsibility for anyone getting out of pocket after reading on.

Blue Fox Super VibraxTarget fish - Pike, perch, chub, trout.

Blue Fox Super Vibrax

A simple spinner that comes in a few sizes and a wide variety of colours. My personal choice are the plain old copper, gold or silver, and mostly I use them in size 3. Spinners are simple, cast out and wind in lures so there's no need for me to explain a retrieve style. They will work pretty shallow just a couple of feet deep, especially if used as I do on 20lb braid which will create plenty of drag and keep the lure shallow. I will use this lure on my ultra light outfit, 5ft 6in Greys GS rod. If I am general ultra light lure fishing I can expect any predator, and if I know pike are present then I will use the 20lb braid and a 20lb wire trace. If I am fishing the upper rivers for trout as an example, or I know I'm fishing waters where the pike are not present then I will scale down my line to 6lb and would ditch the wire, however for me this occurrence is very rare.

So cast out, let the lure sink a little and wind in, it is that simple. However keeping a mental image of where the lure is in the water, thinking about the retrieve speed either slowing or speeding up will help you catch fish. You should be able to feel if the lure is working and the blade is spinning. If the lure comes in too quick and easy, the blade is not spinning so you are either tangled or winding in too slow or fast. Test out the lure in front of you to get a feel. Fan cast around your swim and don't be in a rush to get the lure in, while trying to keep it up off the bottom and away from snags. Think about where you are casting and split the water in to small regions and cover each region. Target fast water with these lures, just holding it in the flow or a real slow retrieve against the current. Cover the shallow slacks and also the deep pools. A favourite target point with a spinner would be in to fast water and then bring it out in to an adjacent slack pool where predators will be waiting. Cover your regions and if it is a known fish holding spot, cover those regions but from an other angle also.

This lure will catch you fish so have confidence to buy a few. You can find these lures on eBay often at reasonable prices, expect to pay £2-£3 for one or if you are lucky three for a fiver (check size of lure also). Watch out for more expensive buys from the USA eBay.

Other similar lures.
Mepps are renowned for making quality spinners and so if you already own these, or find them cheaper than the Super Vibrax then go for it. A spinner is a simple lure and you don't have to spend silly money. However by buying the Vibrax or Mepps, you are getting a good quality spinner, made from strong wire, good hooks and good blades. Cheaper versions might not stand up to pike crunching on them, the poor blades might not spin as good. What you find with cheap spinners is that they often don't spin unless you have the correct speed, which might be one speed, where as a Mepps or a Vibrax will spin at slow or fast retrieve. But here's a top tip. Don't rule out the cheapo spinner. If you find cheap spinners in Aldi, The Range or a second hand tackle shop then grab a good handful. You will have no fear throwing this cheap spinner near snags, under trees and anywhere that normally looks out of bounds. Often this cheap lure will bag you a nice fish or two before you lose it to a submerged oil tanker, and you'll still have the Super Vibrax in your box. Super Vibrax, a super lure.

Blue Fox Super Vibrax

Perch

I've made a Youtube video of some perch action. I need to do more detailed things later to show the tackle and lures used close up, how to go about using it all and catch some perch. But in the mean time I've done a brief look at perch fishing using lures to help with the latest craze that is sweeping the nation. It includes perch both big and small, and the big ones are from my recent outing with Woody with the three pounders. Anyway worth a look so thought I'd share with you guys first. Hope you enjoy.

The lure of perch

After dropping on that nice pike the other day it inspired me to get out again. Not for pike but for perch and instead of laying in bed and snoozing all morning I got up and out on to the bank as the sun was rising. It was a cracker of a morning, the type that made me think of all the mornings I'd wasted in bed. The fishing wasn't bad either and I got in to some nice perch. I think I bagged around seventeen stripeys with the biggest going well over a pound but short of the two pound mark, at least by my guestimate anyway. A fantastic mornings sport and well worth getting up for but despite the beautiful morning and a few fish banked I went home thinking "what if?". After bagging the biggest fish of the session my next chuck resulted in something different all together. I felt a knock and hooked in to something. The rod just bent over but wasn't bouncing, and I thought I'd hooked a pike. Often a pike just sits there for a moment as it doesn't always realise it's hooked on a small jig head. When finally this fish started to move I had lots of ferocious head shakes and an erratic fight and then a huge perch came to the surface. It's tough to guess it's weight but if my biggest of the session was short of two pound, this one wasn't far off double that one, easily. A definite high end two but could it have been more? I'll never know  as it flipped itself free of the hook, but at least I know where it hangs out.

I got some jobs done through the day but I'd got the fishing bug back and all I was thinking was where the next fish was coming from. I could go back and see if the huge perch was about but the odds on that were slim, may be another day though. So instead I chose another spot for the evening and went in search of the perch. I bagged a couple but nothing of any size. Sometimes the perch are there, sometimes they're not and it's as simple as that. I'll get back to that point a bit later though. I did manage a couple of pike on my little super vibrax again, one at nine pound and one at eleven pound. Both good fighting fish and a great bit of sport to finish the day on.

Friday was another DIY day and I needed to get cracked on early so there was no chance of a dawn raid on the perch. I actually didn't think I'd get much chance to get out even later in the day to be honest but I worked my little socks off and by about half four I was done. However I didn't have the full evening to fish as I had to pick the kids up from their friends house at 7pm. Probably two hours fishing at most,  but where to go?

I find that with lure fishing you can sometimes hit a spot a few days on the trot and get results each day, but they often tail off a little and sometimes it's even a blank. Both pike and perch will get wise and move off a little. If I went to any of the spots I'd been to recently there was a chance that the fishing might tail off and my two hours might even be fish-less. So I took the plunge and went to a new spot I'd never fished before. I know the conditions are spot on for perch, so If the new spot doesn't produce then there's nowt in.

I found where the perch live. In just short of two hours fishing I had 47 perch to about a pound and a half all on Kopytos shads. It was absolutely mental  and fantastic fun but it highlighted the fact that with perch, if you can find them then you can catch them. Finding them can be the hard part or it can be easy. When I found the shoal, If I'd chuck the lure 30 yards away I got nothing. Perch usually live in groups according to size and you at least get a follow and a nip from a small perch. Often the lure gets hammered by up to a dozen or so. If the lure keeps coming back with no follows or nips then don't waste your time fishing for perch here, move on and find them. That's exactly what I did and when I did eventually find them it was spectacular. So if you are out chasing perch any time soon with the lures keep that in mind. Just keep moving until you can find them. Don't waste your time in an area you think should hold perch if you're not getting them. If they're not hammering your lure they're not there so get mobile.

My best perch from the last few days

Not what I was after.

I can't complain at all. Ok I've not even been fishing once since me and my lad went out last week but you can't expect to go fishing everyday. You can hope, but it doesn't happen, especially if you've got a house and family to run. Though you'd expect with me having a week off work I'd have plenty of time to go fishing but that's not the case. We've finally got the plumber in installing a new bathroom and a fancy shower and since he's a mate I've given him a bit of a hand every now and again. I suppose I could have had a chance to get out either early morning or late at night but that hasn't happened up until this evening. Actually I was wide awake at 5am this morning but since it was still dark I just laid there for a bit and then the next thing I know it's half seven and it's too late to have an early morning trip. Anyway, enough with the violin, as I said, I finally got out tonight.

I think it was about ten to seven when I got to the bank. As the nights are already drawing in fast that didn't leave me long, just over an hour or so. All the way to the river I wasn't even sure where I was going or what I was going to fish for. I've tried to stay away from the pike through this hot weather, it's been just too much and not the weather to be fishing for them. Today wasn't so bad, but on the drive to the river I still felt that with the river level low it may be not quite right yet. So by default I ended up with the ultra light gear chasing perch. As soon as I'd made my mind up I was quite looking forward to it. I would be fishing a bit of river I hadn't really had much success with the light lures, well not consistent anyway. I've had some nice fish and some action packed sessions but they are often outnumbered by the blanks. Even if it was to be another blank I wouldn't be out long. I fancied a fish or two. The fry is now at a decent size and big enough to be tempting most predators.

As I grabbed the gear from the car I noticed I still had on a two and half inch white Kopyto on a seven gram jig head, left there from the trip with my lad. Walking down the bank I decided to stick with it even though I usually start with a shallow lure such as a spinner or a small plug. First cast out and it went straight out in front of me about twenty yards. I tried to keep it up in the water as I always fear a snag or two on rivers, and then as the lure came in to view over about four feet of water just ten feet out I saw a fish. I'm still amazed at how a pike can be laid on the bottom in pretty clear water and still not be noticed until it moves. This pike just casually lurched up off the bottom and sucked in the Kopyto. I can remember thinking it was a nice fish and as the battle started all I kept seeing was the back end of the fish and the tail waving at me, so I couldn't really see that much of it's size but from the few glimpses I got I was happy I'd hooked a double even if it was a scraper double.

I found myself having more and more of a fight with this fish. When I expected to start to get the upper hand, instead it seemed the pike was just fighting a little harder and then as I put on a bit more pressure the fish gave me more back. As I started to see a little more of the fish, I noticed the rod bent double and I realised my arm was aching a little. I think I'm way off with my scraper double prediction, this is actually a nice fish. This fish tore up the swim. I could do naff all when it made use of it's size and weight and just had to watch as the rod bent more and the reel screamed louder. I've done a few doubles on this light rod but the biggest has been fourteen pound and this fish was fighting way harder than any other fish I've had on it. Finally I could see the end in sight but even though I had the fish close, the first couple of net attempts had to be called off as the fish gathered up more strength. Finally it was sliding over the net and I was chuffed. What a fish, and at sixteen pound it is my biggest fish on the light gear. I hadn't come to target a big pike on the light gear, but there's no way I was complaining with this result.

The rest of the session wasn't quite as spectacular but I did get a few fish. The big perch weren't here but I grabbed a few small perch to about eight ounces. Most of the time I was plucking one perch from a troop of about ten, which were all smashing the lure at the same time, but it would then go quiet after that one fish. It was good fun though and a couple of times I just left the lure dangling to watch them all fighting to get it, ripping it out of one another's mouth. I also managed a couple more pike, one at five and one at six pound. Though again, neither were fish I'd expected. The first fell to my Super Vibrax spinner. I'd spotted something taking off the surface and wondered if it were chub and so went for a shallow spinner past their nose. The second fish I'd seen a commotion from fry, from what I hoped were perch chasing them up near the surface. This time I opted for one of Mark Houghtons little minnow lures and as It went past the area I'd seen the fry, a pike shot up from the depths and engulfed the lure, also clearing the water by a good foot in the process. So no big perch or even bonus chub, but I'm certainly not complaining.

The Fishing Quartet

What's up with me? I went out on Saturday and have only just got around to writing out my blog. I must be slacking. Saturday was another boat day with Woody though this time we had some company. Neil had his boat out and was partnered up with Matt. So four of us out in two boats which surely meant a few fish to be had between us. However in the week running up to Saturday there was a bit of rain and so the stretch we normally fish might still be a bit coloured. Without me knowing, (I tend to just agree as I'll ride on a shovel,) the lads had an idea and thought we might be better going further upstream. They knew of a marina to launch Woodys boat in and so made a few phone calls, and then tight arses Neil and Matt found somewhere to chuck in the portabote without having to pay, and we were all set.

Neil and Matt get ready for launch

It was a later start than normal as we'd been told that the marina didn't open until 9am, though we were all there an hour earlier just in case and we were in luck. Neil and Matt had already got their boat in the water and were just sorting the last few things out when we pulled up. It takes Woody and myself no time at all now to get the boat sorted and we were in the water within five minutes of pulling up. The fish finder was beeping away telling us that the water was only two and a half to three feet deep in the marina. I shoved the boat out and jumped on and Woody slowly turned the boat around. As he did I quickly whipped out a lure to put on. Usually it's something like a Rapala jointed shad rap to start off but I had an idea. Instead I grabbed my small copper Vibrax spinner, clipped it on and then cast out. We'd probably moved just ten feet and were still in the marina over less than three feet of water. My spinner hit the surface, I let it sink a tiny bit and then started to wind and within less than two feet of retrieve there was a commotion and I was in. Fish on and we were off the mark with a nice small pike of a couple of pounds. We got out in to the river and spotted the other two just fifty yard or so away and so we made our way to them on the troll. Woody then picked up a perch before we pulled up alongside.

Wait a minute, stop press. This has nothing to do with the story but I feel the need to share. As I type this I do so with a beaming smile. The missus has just plonked plate of burger and chips in front of me and I've just won a bid on eBay for a Cobbs lure for just over a tenner. Little things please me, I know.

Back to Saturday, Neil had a slight problem with a fuel line from his back up tank which he couldn't fix there and then so instead would have to just top up the tank when he had a chance as and when needed. More of an annoyance than a major concern. He sparked up the engine and that was it, we were off along a new stretch of river that to us, was pretty much uncharted by boat. We picked up a couple of fish which strangely to start with saw me catching pike and Woody catching perch. A theme that was to be later repeated a little as once I started to pick up perch it was clear that this was the main fish to be had today by us. Though when we bumped in to the other two a little later it seemed they were catching mainly pike between them.I wonder if there was something in that, something we were doing different. Woody likes to keep a nice pace to the boat and maybe Neil is a little slower, that could be it. Either way it meant that our boat by now was a couple hundred yards in front. We kept bumping in to the boats lucky mascot, a heron, which is also the name of Woodys boat. Every time we got up close it would take flight and fly off fifty yards or a hundred yards up river. I took the opportunity to take some wildlife photos for the blog in the hope of a decent heron shot, either stood or in flight. You dingbat! I forgot to charge the camera battery up! This is all I managed  to get before it packed in. At least Woody had his camera in case we caught anything decent.

It seems the lads had made a good call to fish up river. The water was dark, kind of stained but it wasn't too bad. The picture to the left kind of gives you an idea of what it looked like. It wasn't full of muddy silt and still had a decent amount of visibility so when we'd caught fish down at around twelve foot depth we were confident that the fish could see the lure and we'd keep on catching. If you've never fished from a boat the tactics are trolling, jigging and casting and you choose the technique to suit. It's up to you how you go about it and getting the choice right can prove a winner or a major loser. For the most part, we tend to mainly do trolling as you cover loads of water and if conditions are right you will pick up fish constantly. Basically trolling is dragging a lure behind the boat, as simple as that. However there are a few things that will help. Get the speed of the boat right to suit your lure. Too slow and your lure does naff all and doesn't dive. Too fast and the lure might spin out of control and come to the surface. So choice of lure to suit the depths and the speed of the boat will get your lure down to the bottom where often, most takes occur we find. As I said at the start, a Rapala Shad rap is a good choice. If you get one around 5-7cm size they can easily get down to depths of twelve foot or so. The Rapalas are also good because they are a very stable lure and even with a bit of pace to the boat they will still run straight. If you wish, you can add the odd jerk to the lure making it even more erratic and hopefully enticing the fish even more. Back to trolling speed, if you find that you are getting "plucks" which are probably perch you can speed up the boat which means those "plucks" turn in to hook ups. As said before, maybe that's why we were getting mostly perch? Trolling might look easy, or steady and boring to some but you still have lots to think about and work on. If you don't think about it and work the lure and choose the lure to suit, you will sit beside Woody all day watching him catch fish after fish while you blank. You'll think you are doing everything right but you are not.

Another useful bit of tackle in the boat owners armoury is the fish finder. Woody has a couple of units, one being his old Lowrance unit and he also recently got hold of a Lowrance DSI unit which is a good step up. Firstly the unit will tell you things like water temperature but most importantly the depth. So by monitoring the river depth and choosing your lure to suit you will get better results than just blindly trolling along. Once you get to know a bit of river you can quickly switch from a ten feet diving lure to a twenty footer and keep on catching. I've stuck with my ten footer while we've covered the deep water and watched as Woody kept catching fish while I blanked. Once we got back to ten foot of water I started to catch again. I now have lures in my collection to help me cover the depths, it's no fun watching your buddy catch all day. The fish finders are also useful for other things. You can actually see a shoal of fish on the river bed. Sometimes you're toddling along when there's a big ball of shadow on your screen and sometimes you pick up fish straight away. If they're perch you'll catch and if they're balls of bait fish you'll catch. Failing that, if it's a shoal of bream, Woody will catch a bream! lol. The units show you all sorts and it's a great bit of information to use to your advantage. The image below will show you the kind of things you can see. When you see this, you change course and get your expensive Rapalas out of the way before you lose them to a giant submerged tree.

So that's a brief intro to trolling for anyone who hadn't a clue before. Jigging might be more familiar to most without a boat as you can do this from the side of the canal or wherever. If we see a particularly fishy looking spot such as some lock gates, a water outlet, a deep hole or anything we might decide to anchor up and have a jig. Usually just using kopytos lures is all that's needed. Cast out, let them sink and then give them a little jig, twitch or whatever and if there are perch about you'll get one. Well we spotted a likely looking spot as we were trolling along. There was an outlet of some type. Water wasn't gushing in at pace or anything, there was just a small cloud of muddy water roughly ten feet square which gave it's location away. As we came up both Woody and I were looking at it as a potential fishy spot, when all of a sudden the surface erupted and fry went flying everywhere. Too good an invite to refuse we slowed up and pulled alongside. I had a couple of fish earlier at another spot when instead of jigging I'd opted for my copper Vibrax spinner. We had all been hopeful of a chub on this stretch and I felt I had a chance casting under tree branches, keeping my lure in the top two foot of water. I wasn't thinking chub this time however, it was perch I expected and felt I had a good chance. Woody though stuck to his usual technique and lobbed a kopyto into the thick cloudy water. A few flicks and as the lure came out of the murk something hit it. It was one of those, "I hope this isn't a small pike" moments and for the first few seconds you haven't a clue. You can sometimes tell by the fight, the pike lunging with strong burst where the perch tends to be more erratic often banging it's head side to side. I'm not sure at what point Woody realised it was a perch but I was getting the net ready just in case and as it came up Woody confirmed it with cries of "get the net mate." I don't think there's many things as knee trembling as a decent perch on the end of the line. As soon as it came up I scooped it in to the net, this one could be pushing three. I guessed poorly at two six but Woody guessed it spot on, 2lb 15oz. A cracker of a fish!

Woody picked up two more perch from this spot including another at around a pound or more but my spinner blanked. When no more fish showed we continued trolling and stopping anywhere we took a shine to. To say we were on a new bit of river we were still catching plenty and the sport was spot on. In total the stretch wasn't anything massive and we covered it there and back twice comfortably in a shorter time than we would usually be out. We knocked up nearly seventy fish to the boat and it turns out our fishing buddies had matched that too so to get knocking on a hundred a forty predators between us we were more than pleased. With Matt and Neil catching a few decent fish two including a few two pound perch, we can conclude that this new "back up" stretch has great potential.

Now get yourself over to Matt's page and check out his and Neil's version of the day.

My best perch from the day

Aysgarth Falls - plus trout

It's the school holidays and so I can't just go fishing all the time. A few days ago we all jumped in the car and I ended up in the lakes driving around Windermere, having a walk and an ice cream etc. I've no idea how I resisted the urge to fish the place but I did. I think it's the shear size of the water that leaves you wondering where to start. There were plenty of people fishing from boats but I stuck to family duties despite my gear still being in the car. Today we were all up and out again and as usual no one knew where I was going. Often I don't even know and I just set off and then decide on route. I fancied the Yorkshire Dales and after not long knew where I was taking the family, Aysgarth falls. First off, if you go here make sure you drive along Wharfedale, the valley that leads to the falls if you follow the B6160 is spectacular. I did enjoy the lakes and a day up there is certainly not long enough to take it all in, but you can't beat the Dales for me. The Missus is already planning on saving up to move out there one day. Not sure that will happen as I'd struggle to find good pike swims up there.

Aysgarth church

 
We pulled in to the car park and after a few tips from the car park attendant we were off. There's three falls, upper, middle and lower and we headed for the upper falls first. Passing through the old church, and down some stairs we found ourselves at Yore Mill which is now converted in to a little tea room and craft shop. Situated on the river bank right next to the bridge you get a good couple of views of what's in store for the trip.

Yore Mill

view downstream from bridge

View of upper falls from bridge

At the upper falls there's a nice area of grass to have a picnic and plenty of people had already got settled down for the day. I'm glad we came on a week day as I would imagine at the weekend this area would be full to bursting. We sat around five minutes watching the water race past and then my lad went off up river on a scouting mission with his nan. They came back and said it was a little more chilled out and so off we went. It was so peaceful at this bit we decided to just stop here for a while. As usual it was Dads job to go back to the car and get the food, Jack came with me to offer support. We got the food and I grabbed my small box of lures and my ultra light rod, that might be of use at some point I felt and on the way past the Mill craft shop we grabbed a couple of kids fishing nets, they might just save a blank. 

Back at the river we stuffed some food down our necks and then got to fishing. The waters edge had plenty of minnows so I knew the kids would catch, and I was hopeful they might find something else in their nets. We spotted a few smaller fish hiding under the stones which I thought were small bullheads, but could we hell catch any of them to take a closer look. Maybe I should have tried a Squirrelly Burt? The kids however were in to the fish and bagged stacks of minnows. I don't think they spotted anything else in there. Had they been using the nets the rivers I fish for pike they'd be bagging up on mixed fry, but I guess so far up this river it's a totally different world.

Fish pedicure

I'm much better with pike

Once the kids were settled and the wife and mother in law were relaxed I got the rod out, tied on a small clip and stuck on my Super Vibrax. I could see a couple of small pools behind some rocks where the water slowed up and I figured something should be hiding there waiting. However cast after cast proved fruitless and I was left wondering if there were any fish in the river. I did see the odd small fish topping from time to time and to be honest the river just screamed trout so I wasn't about to give up. I kept at it, fishing the fast water and the slacks back and forth even though just 50m down stream there was a man, his daughter and his dog in the water making a right noise. I reckoned the fish would be used to people splashing around and they'd still be sat in those pools or in the fast water that ran along the far bank. So I kept at it and then I felt a tap.

I shouted for Emily to fetch her net, I had a fish and I didn't want to lose it. The fish fought like stink for a little un but I managed to get it in close, up stream of the kiddy net and then Emily scooped it up. Everyone came to have a look at the little brown trout. I was chuffed to bits that I'd winkled one out. I gave it a good rest in the waters edge to make sure it would swim away fine. it sat there for a few moments and then it went back in to the fast water, brilliant! They're a stunning fish which I might have to have a proper crack at one day.

I had a few more chucks, tried another spot briefly and then called it a day after losing another small brownie. I was happy that I'd caught a brownie, that was all I wanted and I also knew that if I pushed it too much then I'd be in trouble with the missus and risk everyone else getting bored. We'd had a good couple of hours now just chilling, messing in the water and just enjoying ourselves but there was still much more to see so we made the call to head off to see the other falls, though first I had the job of going back up those steps to the car again. Why is it always Dad's job? Luckily I'm not too bad on my feet and the steps were not much of a problem to me. I've always been nimble but I also work in a place that is nine stories high and there is no lift!

Upper falls

Upper falls, though this view is one you have to find

The walk to the other two falls isn't a bad one at all, not far in anyone's book. I think it's a couple hundred metres to middle and then eight hundred to lower falls.The middle falls is only really seen from a viewing point as the banks are far too dangerous but the lower falls were pretty good to get up close and have a look. The river had been in flood a few days ago but had run off so you could get on to the rocks and right up close. There's no end of places to rest up and just relax but I was surprised to see that a few parents felt that it was safe to let their very young kids paddle in water that was rushing past just eight feet away and ten metres below them was a very nasty water fall which would see the strongest of adults struggling to survive if swept away. There were much better places to paddle in my opinion but some people seem oblivious to the danger right in front of them. Anyway, rant over, what a cracking place for a day out. The falls are spectacular and we had a fantastic day out. We're not ones for going back to a place time and time again but I reckon we'll give this place another visit at some point. You don't have to just go to the big theme parks to have a good day, there's some pretty special places in your own back yard that are far better and cost a damn site less too.

Middle falls

A view down lower falls

Lower falls - where kids play just ten metres up

Water craft?

Super Super Vibrax.

Blue Fox Super Vibrax spinners, you need to have them in your armoury. They're just a simple small spinner, which I prefer in copper for some reason, and they're fish catchers!

Today I went out and decided to use my ultra light set up. First lure on was one of Mark Houghtons little minnows. It wasn't long before I had a take, something thrashed a few times, I saw the tail come out of the water and then the hooks came out. I think it was a half decent perch at least over a pound so I was a bit gutted. But it was a good start and I was ready for more fish. I switched lures and put on my little Vibrax spinner. Second or third cast and the rod bends and I hook in to a fish which turns out to be a jack of about 3lb. Great fun on the light set up and it's a result on a lovely summery day. I cast back out and in no time the same thing happens and again it's a fish of similar size though possibly a touch larger. No point changing lures or tactics and again, in no time I'm in again. This time what seems like a small fish again turns into an epic battle as a fish of around 7lb eventually wakes up and goes mental. All I could really do was try to keep some control over the fish, but when it went, it went.




I've now attracted the attention of a chap fishing the opposite bank. I don't know what he was fishing for but in all the time I was here, twenty minutes or so he's not caught. At first it looks as though he is packing up but it turns out he is packing one rod up and then getting out another. He's putting on a little spinner. Can't fault him for that as there's no point sat catching nothing when there are fish to be had. He gave it ten minutes or so but didn't manage a fish, while in that time I managed to hook and lose something, and bank two more pike with another at around 7lb. He packed up and went home. I guess his copper spinner wasn't a Blue Fox Super Vibrax.




I'm wondering if this burst of fish will go quiet and it does but only after I managed to catch one more pike on the little copper spinner. A mad forty or so minutes of fun on the light gear. After the bit of quiet I have a look at a few spots, try a few different lures but nothing much happens. I eventually decide to go back to my productive spot and cast around with the spinner again but this time I only pick up one small perch. I have my heavy gear with me and decide to have a quick few casts. First casts with the Burt and a decent pike pushing ten pounds or so smashes up and goes ballistic on the surface flapping about all over the shop. It goes on a run, I try to turn it's head and the hook pulls. Never mind, the explosive take and the short battle was enjoyment in itself. Luckily I manage another fish on the Burt to finish off my short evening session.

Super!

Big lips

I'm exploring a few random places lately. Many places I've never fished before or places I've been to once and blanked. I'm armed with just my ultra light set up, a few plugs, rubber lures and some spinners. There's a good selection and I'm in with a chance of all sorts. I'm just enjoying a bit of chucking and what ever pops up is most welcome. I wouldn't say I'm targeting anything in particular. I'm not going to places where pike frequent, but picking them up along the way too along with hopefully a few other species. I don't think the perch have quite switched on in a few of the places I've visited but expect they shouldn't be far off. In the mean time, you never know quite what you might catch sometimes.

The wind was a bit crazy and it doesn't help you when you're on the light gear. Bows in your line when casting hinder the aim and then when the lure hits the water, the line catching in the breeze can bring the lure back up to the surface, away from your target spot or also make the lure work incorrectly. Add to that also, if you're not in contact with your lure you might miss a bite. So it was a bit frustrating, but since I was out I may as well persevere.

It was a bit slow and the typical banker swim of the lock gates hadn't produced. There were some small silvers taking stuff off the top in between all the junk that had gathered but apart from that nothing. I set off along the tow path looking for somewhere else the fish might be. In a canal they can be anywhere. Apart from bridges, canal narrowing and a few laid up boats there's often not much by way of a feature to target. There's usually little in the way of trees hanging over the water thanks to British Waterways and their chainsaws, but I eventually managed to find a bit of cover where something might be lurking.

I had to be weary of the wind, and so cast from low to my side at pace, trying to keep my lure under the few branches and the line out of the wind. Perfect cast. My little copper spinner hit the water right under the branch and right at the canal bank edge. I let it sink, I'd guess about four feet, and then started the retrieve. In no time the lure got smashed and my little Greys rod was bent double as I struck in to the fish. There was a mass of head shakes. Initially I was thinking BIG PERCH, but then that thought change to "what the hell?" when it set off like a rocket a good twenty yards. It then headed for the near bank, trying to get in under the vegetation. I managed to turn it and then guided it towards me, when I finally saw what it was as those big lips came in to view.

I had a carrier bag so popped the chub in and weighed it. At 5lb, this was a cracking fish on the lure and my pb lure caught chub to date. I've got plans to target the chub on the river this year and so hopefully a few more to go with this one.