Making a perch video, can't stop catching pike.

I work shifts, earlies, days and then afternoons. I love my early shift as I used to do twelve hour shifts from 6am so now an eight hour shift from 6am is an absolute doddle, plus I can often fish afterwards. Days is usually crap, especially in winter as it's dark before and after work. Afternoons is pants, but at least I get to go fishing on a morning so it has it's perk. I was due a week of afternoons but various things happened and I ended up swapping shifts and just doing two lates, which meant two days fishing. I'll talk about the first day here, but the second day out needs a post all to itself!

I get plenty of messages on my various pages and a young lad named Lewis was asking about ultra light fishing, braid choice, lures and the rest and also commented on how he liked my ultra light videos. So I thought I needed to make another one and on Wednesday that was the plan. We all get a little confused at what lures to buy as everyone always says you need this, you need that and then we end up with all sorts, much of which is just another version of something else. Soft shads and a few cranks and you're away. I love the jointed Rapala shad rap and suggested Lewis get a couple of those. I set off fishing with the intention of catching some perch on that lure, I had to prove it works.

I wasn't up super early and arrived at the canal for just before 9am. By heck it was grand weather again and so the shorts stayed on and my legs got some air to them. Probably not a good idea as I'd also get bit to death by all manner of blood sucking insects but never mind. I was trying to keep cool so also travelled as light as I could. Hardly any lures and not much else but my net.

I was out for perch with the hope that a decent one would show it's head. I'd not fished here for a while so no idea what to expect. Turned out I couldn't find any perch because the pike kept showing their heads. I love pike on the light gear, it's great fun. I think I lost one and ended up with five including one which was about 12lb, a nice chunky fish in good condition. My ultra light perch video wasn't going too well.

Pike on jointed rapala shad rap

I wasn't complaining one bit. It was great fun catching pike. I had a couple of spectacular hits and that's why i love lure fishing. Everything about it all is fantastic and whether it's tiny lures or big lumps of wood you can expect a pike to be along soon to add to the thrills. But I needed a perch, there had to be one somewhere and then eventually I got a hit, and the fight was something different, this wasn't a pike. I knew it was a perch, and a decent one at that. I'm trying to think of a way to explain the fight but can't. No lunges like a pike, no ten foot dash in one second like old esox. The tiny perch do a little dance and shake themselves about as much as possible. The bigger ones do the same, but you can feel a bit of weight to them as they shake their head about trying to throw them hooks. As the perch came in to view I hoped that those head shakes wouldn't shed the hooks. A perch battle always seems to last forever when often they are over pretty quick. Usually because you shit yourself at the thought of losing a big perch and so the net is forced under it it at the first chance you get. I still do that. The fight was over and I finally had a big perch to show Lewis.  Job done with a 2lb 12oz perch in the net. It was the last fish of my session and I headed back to the car and ate my lunch as I drove to work for the dreaded afternoon shift. I know i've said it before though. These afternoon shifts aren't so bad.

Perch on jointed Rapala shad rap

The video

I'd not really thought about it until recently, but it's nearly here.

Yes it's not too far off at all. We're now in to June by a few days, which means it's not long at all until we can finally fish the rivers again. I enjoy the canals for a while, it's a change and it gives me a break from chucking big lures as I mostly just take out the ultra light rod. But when it gets to about now I start to get the urge to throw a big jerk bait.

This time of year the canal fishing starts to annoy me. My local ponds aren't the best either. On the shallow canals there's a mass of weed taking over so little cranks are a nightmare to fish. Half the casts are ruined before they start because they hit some bit of weed a foot below the surface. Add to that some sunshine and the boaters are out in full force. The annoying weed becomes even more annoying than you could ever believe. It's whipped up and thrown around making sub surface lures a waste of time. At the weekend we were catching fish on a small canal but by about half ten the boaters were out and after the fourth or fifth went past we had to come up with a plan B. Add to that further that the canal then turns a murky dark colour from all the mud that's chucked up and we're left pulling our hair out. However if you can get on them before the boats are out, or late evening when they have calmed down and all the mud and weed has settled down you can manage to get some fun using surface frogs. We've already picked up a couple of fish using this method and when the pike are in full, mental swing taking frogs off the top it's amazing fun.


If you haven't tried it yet, get yourself a medium lure outfit, some braid of around 40lb with a suitable wire trace and a couple of surface frogs. Decent makes that I've used are the Koppers Live Target and the Spro BronzeEye frogs. Both virtually identical and perfect in my opinion. You can fish waters you previously thought were out of bounds. Where the weed has taken over or a mass of lilies covering the surface you can cast these weedless frogs over the top and bring it right through everything. Slowly twitching the frog from one lilly to the next, stopping it on a pad and then giving it a few twitches through the next tiny clearing. Don't expect a take in the clearing though. Nah, none of that. These pike are mental when they're hitting the frogs and they'll smash right up through the weed and pads and you'll miss the first half a dozen fish just gawping at what you just saw. Honestly, this fishing is nerve racking, edge of the seat poo your pants stuff. You'll be left amazed, amused, confused and frustrated but when you finally hook one you'll have as big a smile on your face with a three pound jack as you would with a new pb.

Spro BronzeEye frog

Perfect for frogging

So what else pisses me off this time of year. Other anglers that's who. It's mostly just me, I don't like seeing others on the bank as I like it all to myself. Some canals at this time of year are full of pole fishermen and the general match angler. Some chaps you can chat to and pass the time of day but some of them are a right set of miserable old bleeders. Jesus Christ, apologies if you're one of the decent match lads but for those that are of the arrogant wanker type, kiss my hairy balls. You get right on my tits. Another reason I hate fishing the canals right now. The times I've been out over the last few months in miserable rain and wind, caught a few fish and right enjoyed myself but as soon as the sun is out all these folk come out to play. I swear one of these days I'm hitting the canals on my push bike and I'm riding straight through those thousand pound poles and off in to the distant sunset.

Is my frustration coming out? Can you tell I'm ready for some solitary pike fishing on smelly rivers no one fishes? Frig me, I can't wait.

MH custom lures Alphabet

So last weekend me and my buddy were out as usual trying to think of somewhere to catch a few fish. The tiny canal was the starting point and we had a few fish. I just had the ultra light rod while Woody also brought a second rod which he put a frog on. He fancied a dabble to see if he could wangle one out and after a few follows and fish missing the lure he eventually snagged one. However it was the MH Alphabet crank that did the trick. After a pike charged out a few times only to refuse the frog, he quickly made the switch and the pike took the alphabet first pass. A little later after some perseverance he finally had his first on a frog this year and it got us thinking a little more about using them. I wasn't having much luck until I put on small jerkbait. It was one I picked up in a second hand shop, hand painted by someone but it looked to me like a small Salmo Slider. At least I was using jerk baits and I enjoyed that and then not long in to it I bagged a jack. Then a little later I put on a Rapture Swimmy I'd had sent to me by Lure Lounge to try out. A soft lure with a diving lip. One of those soft lure swimbaits that you just know will bag some fish and I had a jack in no time at all. The canal muddied up not long after that so we had to go elsewhere and this also meant a change of tactics.

Rapture Swimmy

On the new canal it was jigging and small cranks. A much larger canal with more depth, less weed and loads of match men. Oh heaven! It was after lunch time now and we'd lost interest in serious fishing and just had a play around. I don't know how it came about but we ended up trying to catch fish on every lure in our box. If we caught on a Kopyto we switched to a Rapala and when we caught on that, on went a Yogi. In the end we'd caught fish on about twelve or thirteen lures. Proving that it's often not the lure but what you do with it. It was good to have a mess around and catch some fish, light hearted fun and a good bit of sport. We've a few more weekends to get through and this week we'll be trying to think of something or somewhere to go that'll keep us beaming and not just going through the motions. Lure fishing for us is meant to be fun. We love to catch the river monster or the huge spiky dorsal Sargent but in between those sessions we just like to have some fun.

Not long now.

Savage Gear Manic shrimp

Relax Kopyto shad

Tungsten jig

Rapture Vibra Shad

Rapala Jointed shad rap

Freebies and some perch.

Rapture Vibra shad

No fishing at all through this week as I wasn't in the mood but Saturday was nailed on to be the day to get out as usual with Woody. We didn't know what to do as we're pretty much just waiting for the rivers to open up now. The weather for the week was also getting worse so we were thinking that any chance of chasing brownies would be a no go as the river would be up and muddy. All plans would be left until the night before.

I had a couple of nice surprises through the post this week. First of all I received a batch of goodies from my Youtube channel sponsor, Lure Lounge. "Have a go with these and see what you think" I was told. A bunch of various soft plastics from a few manufacturers I'd never used before. Rapture Swimmy, Bottom Shad and Vibra Shads some Zman Shadz and Minnowz and some Savage Gear Manic Shrimp. They'll all catch, it's just a matter of using them at the right time. Straight away I knew the small Rapture Shads would bag some perch, the bigger Swimmy will catch pike for sure and the rest I just needed to test and see what they did.

My second parcel was one from Mark Houghton of MH Custom Lures. I've bought some lures from him in the past and also have some on order, hand crafted balsa wood lures. He makes fantastic looking lures, the paint jobs come in their hundreds and the finish is superb. The lures are brilliant, I love the Slide n Shad and the Crank n Shad which both catch me plenty of fish. However these lures aren't hand made. Mark has got a new range, buying in some plastic blanks and then spraying them up in his many colour themes as you desire. The Alphabet cranks looked superb, and I couldn't wait to try out all my new toys.

MH Custom Lures Alphabet crank

Vibra shad

So on to the fishing. The weather dictated we were on a still water and we opted for the canal. We'd not fished here together for a while and we knew there was plenty of water to go at so we'd find some fish eventually. As we got our gear ready I was showing Woody the batch of goodies we'd been sent to play with. He stuck one of Marks Alphabet cranks in his cap for easy access later and clipped on a Rapture Shad as the first spot was a lock gate. We both dropped the Rapture shads right in close to the gate and within seconds Woodys was nailed, a good bend in the rod and the fish put up a fight so the net was scrambled. As the fish came up there was another even bigger perch chasing it so I dropped in but didn't get the double hook up. The fish was landed and the lure was a proven catcher. Woody bagged up in this swim with a further half dozen or more small perch while I kept dropping fish. Funny, and annoying. The Rapture shads were simple to fish, just like any other. Cast out and retrieve and the tail did a nice little wiggle. Though we had better success making use of the flash of the white underside these ones had. Raising or flicking the rod tip had the lure dancing up and then down and as it did so the white underbelly flashed away. Usually we just use Kopytos in one solid colour but these were two toned and the flash of these lures was an eye catcher, particularly in slightly coloured water.

Big perch on Rapture Vibra shad

We fished the other side of the lock gates and picked up a few more small perch, with me even finally getting off the mark. It wasn't the ideal spot to test the Alphabet but we wanted to see how it went so clipped one on each and launched it out. They cast a good distance so that was a plus, and then on the retrieve you could feel the vibrations of a wiggle. They went down to about three feet but the clarity of water meant we couldn't see too much. Fishing instinct told us this wasn't the lure for today and particularly off a canal wall around a lock, as you're never going to get it down. Lure choice is key when lure fishing and getting it right means fish landed or blank. We switched back to the shads and continued to catch small perch, though the action slowed down. Not long before we were ready to move on I switched back to the Alphabet and wandered off to a lower bank to where I knew the water was about four to five foot, much better than the eight foot lock gates and it gave me a chance of a fish even with the murky water. Casting along the canal bank with the idea of bringing it back along the edge where perch often hang out. Second or third cast and it was nailed. At first I wasn't too sure as it swam towards me but then it started to battle and go deeper. A decent perch was on the line and when Woody netted it we both commented that it fought well above it's weight. A nice perch and the alphabet was now christened. We had more chucks with the crank and the shads between us here but nothing, so we moved off in search of fish.

MH Custom Lures Alphabet crank

It was steady for a while. The weather had been dry for the first part of the morning but the dark clouds were on their way, it wasn't long before we were going to be pissed wet through. I was still having a crack with the Alphabet while woody put on a tried and tested jointed Rapala shad rap. If he was catching and I wasn't, then I'd switch and vice verse. Make use of your numbers and use different lures or techniques to find out what works and then both switch. That's what we do and we work hard to find out what is the flavour of the day. When we find it out we pass it on and when we catch a fish we're telling the other one to cast in that spot. Sometimes the fish can be in small groups or areas and so finding them and putting each other on them means we're both in with a chance. May be a hundred yards of bank was covered with nothing to show, but then while I was reeling in a tangled mess of noddy fishing line I heard a shout, could see a big bend in the rod so ditched my rod and ran up to net the fish. As I arrived the panic of a big perch was gone as Woody explained he now knew it was a pike and as the fight got bigger I too could tell it was no big stripey. A pike of around 6lb had taken Woodys shad rap. A nice fish which gives you great joy on the light gear. I went back to my tangled mess while Woody sorted the fish and got the hooks out of the net.

There was no reason for me to switch to a Rapala. One pike doesn't prove anything in particular is working so we kept at it with our lure choices. After another hundred yard or so and nothing, a little chat made us switch to even smaller lures. We'd seen perch but they were mostly small. Woody threw me a new jointed Yogi lure that he'd bagged off eBay for a bargain price. One of the lures he had great success with the trout. In no time the Yogis were catching fish, small perch but at least we were catching. We reached a bridge and switched to the soft shads. A few fish came and then one of about a pound took my Vibra shad before eventually Woody moved around to the other side and I was left to bag just one plastic bag. Back on the Yogis we had fun with huge masses of tiny, angry perch chasing the lures. Some as little as two inch with the odd 10oz beast landed every now and again. By now the rains were in full swing and we were well moist. The water had found out where all the leaks were and knees, elbows backs and necks were now feeling the cold. It was time to head back to the car for food, a good walk as we had gone a good distance. We ate as the rains added moisture to our lunch, then set off in the other direction along the canal. By the time we'd reached the next bridge we were met by even heavier rains and a convoy of canal boats, probably ten, who were opening and closing locks and churning up mud from the canal bottom as they came past. We took that as a sign. Things were getting worse and it was only going to get harder and wetter (ooh, sounds like a good night) and even though we'd had a few more small perch at the bridge we decided to call it a day.

Not long now for the rivers to be open, and then loads of rain to make them unfishable!

Highs and lows.

Thought I'd round up the week a bit. It's been one of mainly highs with a massive downer at the end. Fish wise I've caught a few and social media wise I've done pretty good. Going right back to last Sunday and the Epic pike take I actually had a few more fish that day which I didn't write about. I was chucking the 2 inch Kopyto shad around in the hope of perch and spotted some chub cruising the surface but every time I cast at them they ignored the shad. I kept picking up small perch but never found any bigger stripeys in the swim, may be they're not there? Casting around trying to find out where the fish were I got a whack and the rod bent double. I wasn't filming at the time but quickly switched on the camera to capture the majority of the battle and a decent low double pike. This time of year the pike are strong as hell and put in a fight and this fish gave me a good run for my money but with a steady approach I eventually got it in my undersized net. I'd only brought the perching net so the fish only just squeezed in. If you follow my Facebook or Youtube you might have seen this already but if not here's the fishy video below.

That was actually the first pike of the day with another four esox coming in total. One more to a kopyto and the others to free lined livebait as I wrote in the last entry. I did lose a couple of pike too which I didn't manage to set the hooks in to but that was to be expected on an ultra light rod. Back on the Kopytos I'd had a few more perch and spotted loads of bleak and small chub cruising the surface with those bigger chub evading me, at least two I'd guess with one a little bit bigger than the other. I'd kind of given up on them and was slow retrieving the shad, no jerks or pauses just a slow as possible motion. It was whacked again and all though at first I couldn't help think it was a pike it wasn't long before I realised I'd finally hooked a chub. Camera switched on quickly as again I wasn't even ready to film. It turned out to be a nice fish pushing 4lb but not quite there I guessed. I put it back and not long after swapped banks, crossing over at the lock gates. This gave me another angle to cast the lures and no sooner had I started my first slow retrieve it was smacked again. You'd think by now I'd have had the GoPro suckered to my forehead but no, silly arse had it in the bag so had to whip it out and catch the last bit of battle with what turned out to be the bigger of the two chub I'd seen and this chub went four and a half pounds, super fish. I reckon I'd just dropped on this spot at a perfect moment, fish of all sizes everywhere in a mass feeding frenzy. If only all fishing was that easy. The tiny Kopyto was simple tactic to use but it bagged up, wire trace and the lot. Just shows that pike, perch and chub don't care about a bit of wire. If you want to see the chub action watch the video below.

So midweek I had some spare time in the evening a couple of days. I could go back but fancied a change of scenery. Somewhere different that would throw up a new set of challenges for me. I do get bored easily and don't always go for the easy option. I arrived at the new canal to find it crystal clear. Not usually the best for lure fishing I find when you add the bright sunshine on top. It was nice to be out though after busy days art work and being alone with mile after mile of canal and not another person let alone angler in sight was great. I set off up canal with all the gear and no sooner had I gone 100m a massive cloud came over. A cold wind came in and the sky turned dark. A distant rumble of thunder had me on alert. When I looked around, the highest object around seemed to be me. I didn't fancy conducting electricity down my two rods so sharpishly headed back to the car. I chucked the gear in and sat watching as the rain lashed down and the storm gave me some fantastic viewing. I wish I'd have had time to set the GoPro up as I might have got some great footage, especially a couple of the strikes which went horizontally across the sky. Proper wow moments.

When the storm past, a good twenty five minutes later I was back out and back to where I'd left off before. Again I carted loads of gear which had be casting the rapala first then having a chuck with a heavy jerkbait before moving on. This was hard work, especially when the cold front moved off to be replaced with flat calm, blue skies and scorching hot sun. I was sweating buckets now and after a good haul and no fish I about turned and went back to the car. I was now heading for a massive blank and had to figure out how to save the day. Everything went back in the car all except a couple of items. Of course a rod, the ultra light set up was chosen and one lure. My trusty 7cm jointed Rapala shad rap. Rather than bright colour I'd chosen a more natural light blue and white version. I left the net, lure box and bag, scales and even the camera. The only other item were a pair of long nosed pliers in the back pocket and off I went.

I kept seeing fish, some nice perch were about but they were not interested. They were settled on the canal bed and even knocking them on the head wouldn't interest them. I think they had already had a feed and were just sat digesting their food. If I could find a jack though he might help me save a blank before I finally had a bit of interest but it was a half hearted take from a 1lb plus perch who wouldn't come back for another go. When it seemed like I was running out of time and water I spotted a movement. A single chub was cruising the surface coming towards me. I cast past it and brought the lure right across it's path and as soon as the chub saw my lure it darted straight for it. The blank was saved with a fish about 2lb. This was then followed up by a take in the deep channel in the middle of the canal with what turned out to be a super looking 2lb stripey. A great result in the end and I went home happy. Pictures taken on the iPhone.

Chub - Rapala Jointed shad rap

Perch - Rapala jointed shad rap

I was out again the next day but where to? Should I go to where I had so much success or back to the hard grind and crystal clear waters? I chose the hard grind, I guess I'm a sucker for punishment. I had a crack with the Rapala again but after an hour or more of no joy I decided it was time for a change. The tactic often worked but it wasn't really now so I went for the Kopyto, though a 2.5inch bright green effort. Often I was casting out and just bringing it in but then I would also mix it up with bottom bouncing and even really, really slow retrieve along the bottom. Trying to puff up a cloud of dust to interest something. By the time I was back at the car I'd probably fished a good 500m of bank in total for no reward, not even a pluck. Today I would blank for sure. Tail between my legs I was nearly at the car and was going to avoid the starting spot and just go home but I gave it one last go. Five perch in total with this the pick of the fish. Luck? Skill? I'd say just perseverance in the end.

Perch - Relax Kopyto

This week I had a few fantastic offers via other fishing related folk on the internet. One is a rather generous offer to fish with a total stranger, but no doubt fantastic bloke, some time in the future. One I won't say much more on just now, only that when it happens I'll gladly tell the story as it will be a fantastic experience. Another was interest in my Youtube video making and fishing skills combined. Another that when it comes off you'll be the first to know. Someone with awesome skills and that I can't wait to work alongside. Then finally late this week an offer of sponsorship for my Youtube videos. There's a new lure shop out there with the name of Lure Lounge and my videos will feature a little plug for his website. While very new, it only opened on Friday, there is already a good stock of lures. Some well known such as Savage Gear and some not so well known to us here in the UK but it seems the lures he is stocking are well known in places such as the US and Australia for starters. That is part of his plan, to bring in and supply not just the easy to get hold of lures but stuff we often struggle to find. So get yourself over to LureLounge.co.uk and have a browse. There's already a bit of variety and some interesting looking lures to try so next time you're needing a lure fix grab some gear from Lure Lounge.


Finally, after a great week of all things fishing for me I ended with a fishing free weekend. I was planning to get out with Woody somewhere, if only to catch a bit of sun. But right at the end of the week I was dealt a massive blow when my best mate suddenly fell ill. My best mate, like many of you lot too no doubt, was my dog Poppy. A real character and genuine, perfect, family loving dog. An absolute gem of a mate and one I am going to miss deeply. RIP Popples.

Poppy

Epic pike take

I was out this morning with the ultra light lures, well one in fact. Just a simple white 2 inch Kopyto shad. I only had a couple of hours in front of me as I had stuff to do in the day and had to be home early. I just bundled the ultra light kit in the car and set off for the canal, no idea what condition it would be like after the recent rains. Often the canals muddy up and lure fishing can be poor when it's like this but when I got there it was ok, result. The few times I've been after perch they've seemed a bit finicky so instead of the usual 2.5 inch kopyto I went for the smaller option hoping the nibbles could be hooked easier. I started catching small perch and having a nice steady bit of fun.

Then it went a bit mental. I caught a small pike about twelve inch long and as it came to the surface a figure appeared. A giant compared to the tiny pike, another pike was very interested in this little fella. I quickly pulled the tiny pike away to safety and the bigger pike sank to the depths. Lucky escape for the little chap. Next I kept getting more perch but then every now and again a perch would get nabbed, they weren't so lucky. My ultra light rod went from steady taps as I brought in a perch to a solid bend. Twice this happened, my perch were getting taken. If you are lucky the hook transfers from perch to pike but with such a soft rod that doesn't always work. Both times I lost the perch and the pike.

With no heavy gear in the car I had to get my thinking cap on. I couldn't come up with much except I tied a new wire trace with just one treble hook. I lip hooked the first small perch that I managed to get through the gauntlet unscathed and lobbed it back in the spot where the perch kept being snatched. With no float I was using my finger as a bite detector. Being careful not to let the perch get to the bottom I only gave it a short run of line, and I kept the slack line tight so that I could feel every thing. A few twitches to keep the perch moving and then I felt the perch panic before the rod just bent and the line tightened on my finger. It was out less than twenty seconds.

Now there's no need to wait. No counting to three or five that's just daft. A tiny perch will be engulfed in one by a pike. So I just flicked the bail arm over and bent in to the fish. The pike was already off and the battle was on. It's not easy with an ultra light rod and a pike on the end. However I was confident I could land the pike, I've caught umpteen on this rod. I wasn't so confident the hooks would be in the pike though. There's no back bone in the soft rod to set the hooks in a mouth that's already full of fish. Then all of a sudden after a minute or so of the fight, it went slack and the perch shot up to the surface. My thoughts were right.  I froze and within a fraction of a second the pike was back on it. It hovered just behind the tail of the perch, I watched in amazement and then BANG! The pike engulfed the perch again and we were off once more. A truly awesome sight and one I can normally only keep to myself but thanks to the purchase of my GoPro I can now share with you all. Just have a look at this.

Link to video

Chocolate ankles to cocolate brownies

When me and Woody get out fishing together it is often a search for lots of fish, big fish or something along those lines. Woody gets one day to fish so usually we want to have a good day. It doesn't always happen as that's fishing, but often we have to do a bit of homework, get it right and then go for it big style. No holding back, we throw everything at it and it's serious fishing from early until late for that day. Hard work if you are not catching but if the fish are on it the day can be fantastic. My own fishing is often the opposite with me just doing something local for an hour or two and I'm happy with a few fish, though this method can also throw up some good fish. However as the weekend approached a few obstacles were thrown in. Woody had been away with work all week and wasn't sure he would get a pass out but then late on Friday night I received a text to say he could make one in.

Unfortunately I'd had my own little set back. Due to too many football injuries, my ankles are now made of chocolate and every now and again I am laid up when one suddenly decides to twist in a way it never should. I'd like to tell a spectacular story of how I end up this way, but usually it's something insignificant that causes me to be laid up. This time I tripped over the dirty washing pile that the missus was sorting out in the bedroom, falling flat on my face only just managing to avoid going head first through the huge wardrobe mirror. Fecking great big egg on the side of my ankle, just what I needed.


So when Woody sent me the good news he could get out, I returned saying I was struggling. So a quick chat and it was agreed to have a steady day. Woody was to catch up on some sleep and we would meet up about 9am not too far from each others house and just get out on some local canals. Places we'd never really fished at all and so we wasn't sure what to expect. From what we knew there would be fish in but not many people fished them for pike or perch with the lures. Jumping in and out of the car to fish new stretches or features if it wasn't working at one spot. We planned to just have a laugh, hopefully a few fish and then be home early evening.

We did the usual leap frogging of each other. Casting around with cranks and shads where we felt the fish would be, switching to work the depths or the shallows. Sometimes you want the shad so you can drop it down a canal wall and other times you want the crank to work the shallows. The canal wasn't too deep so Woody went with his Rapala husky jerk and I went with one of Mark Houghtons crank n shad lures. The same lures we'd bagged up with a few weeks earlier on some other random stretch of canal, so we knew the lures caught fish and when you are confident of that you know that you will catch on any water so long as it is similar. No point chucking a shallow tiny crank on a massive glacial lake though. Leap frogging each other up the canal, we're like a well oiled machine. We cover every bit of water and in very little time. We don't see the point in staying in one spot for too long. If the fish are not pressured, the perch harass in numbers any lure and a pike will crash up from it's hiding spot at the first thing that flashes past. Even with my dodgy ankle we can cover a good 100m stretch in less than ten minutes.

The tactic worked and we were picking up small jacks. Good fun, nothing spectacular but we only had the ultra light gear and weren't in big fish hunting mode. Sometimes it's just nice to be out after a week of work, taking the piss, having a laugh and catching a few fish. There's one thing about pike that we love. No matter the size, the takes are something special.

A few times we went back to the car and set off for another stretch of canal. Doing a bit of groundwork, finding fish and seeing what is about and where has potential. We covered stacks of water, even with my chocolate ankles but we saw no one else fishing until eventually we spotted some lads around a bridge in the distance. We worked our way up to them before realising these lads weren't the best equipped and the closer we got the greater the chance these lads weren't British. One guy was throwing lures in a pretty effortless fashion, one guy was sat on a box with a small bobber float and the other was stood up, probably twenty pound line wrapped twice around the end of his rod and again a tiny bobber float in the edge. They hadn't a clue it seemed but when Woody chatted to them as we past, one lad was proud to show off his keep net of about ten perch. "Are you putting them back?" asked Woody. Typically when you speak to a foreigner you raise your voice, miss out words and add a bit of an accent. It was funny watching Woody give them a roasting in this manner.

We carried on up the canal, both knowing deep down that these lads weren't going to be putting the fish back at all, most probably they were for the table. The fishing on this bit of canal wasn't anything spectacular so we headed back to the car after half an hour. As we got within sight of the bridge the lads had already packed up and gone, but as we marched on we spotted them in the distance. Keeping an eye on them and trying to gain on them with me and my ankle wouldn't be easy. We lost sight of them but when we finally did see them again we knew where they were heading, the river! We now knew what those perch were for, they wouldn't be eating them at all.

The first guy was spotted just sorting his lure rod out. He was on his own and as Woody barked at him he was a caught out a little. He hadn't seen us at all and he was given a stern warning that if he didn't go, the police would be called. We marched on and the other two were already fishing. Again Woody barked at them and they didn't know what to do. Woody explained the reasons why, the rules and then when we spotted the livebait bucket they got an even bigger roasting. The first guy was now with us and we had three unhappy, slightly dodgy looking lads. I know plenty of readers might have already met Woody and he has a bit of a gift of the gab. He's a salesman for a living and is used to talking, in fact I reckon he'd even give our lass a good game at that. He explained the laws of the land and when one guy pulled out a plastic bag full of local fishing club books he'd bought, and then another pulled out his EA rod license we could see they had at least made some effort. "£100 on club books just to eat a few fish. Feck me mate you could buy enough fish to feed all your families for that from the local market" he explained. "What strength line is this?" to which the guy said it was four. four what? It turned out to be .004 diameter, which isn't strong at all most probably less than ten pounds, certainly not live bait tackle though we were particularly impressed with the Kinder egg float he was using. One guy, the lure chap, had what looked to be 18-20 mono and a decent wire trace so that wasn't too bad, though paired with his Fladen 10ft rod, he wouldn't have the best lure fishing experience of his life.

We continued to rip them to bits and try our best with the language barrier to put across what they needed to be doing to keep to British law and also to get the best of their fishing. Eventually Woody beckoned them to his car where we could show them more gear that they should be using. When Woody pulled out his pike net they were amazed and couldn't understand the need for such a big net. So we had to get out the cameras and show them what fish are like if you put them back and let them grow. One lad was from Pakistan and the other two were from Hungary. The two Hungarians explained they could catch pike to about four kilos, which we worked out to about nine pounds. When we showed them fish of ten plus kilos they were shocked. We pulled out big perch photos, huge carp and explained more about sport fishing in Britain. We had a good half hour chat trying to show them our ways. After we eventually parted company, all we could do is hope that some of that stuck. We can only hope these lads took on board some of what we said.

We had another couple of hours fishing left and again moved on to a new spot. This spot produced loads of pike but none were of any size. Still great fun watching the follows, hits and misses and that's why we go lure fishing. On our way back to the car we were chatting and Woody told me about a small bit of water that had some brownies in and so we went for a peak. The water was tiny and not somewhere I normally would fish, though I know my mate Matt over on Fooling Fish has waters out his way that he gets great results from. Woody needed to be home but we figured we could have a quick couple of last casts.

MH Custom Lures Crank N Shad

We crept through the undergrowth, possibly crashed through the under growth though we'd like to think we were stealthy. Woody cast out one way and I cast the other. As my crank n shad came in a shadow appeared, danced around like a lunatic and then turned away. There was a half decent sized brownie and two more smaller ones hanging off it. "Woody, trout! I've just had a follow". Woody grabbed the net and put it in a position where if we had a fish on we could heave it up the bank and then I cast out again. As the lure came to the same spot it was nailed instantly and all hell broke loose. Woody scooped the net under it and we were laughing. Twenty pound braid and a wire trace, no flurocarbon in sight! lol The swim was no doubt destroyed now so Woody crept around the back of another bush and chucked in. A few follows and then a big fish turned away before finally Woody bagged a smaller trout. One each now and time to head off home. No idea the number of fish in total between us, over forty at a guess. Not bad for a steady few hours on waters no one seems to fish. May be we will be back for some trout fun though.

What to do when the rivers close?

With the rivers closed me and Woody decided for a steady session on the canals trying to find some perch. We know that they are nice and fat now, so could be a big fish or two if we're lucky but we also know that every man and his dog are at them. With the light gear we wanted some light fun but we also took the jerk bait rods just in case as there's a couple of locations along the way that throw up pike and we can't resist them sometimes.

We started at a lock, obvious feature, and the first few flicks produced nothing so we moved on and had a crack around some boats, always a good feature if you can find them. The odd tap but nothing to start with so we got up and personal, dropping the kopytos right in the gaps between closely moored up boats. It's only a matter of time before we get a fish or someone from inside a boat comes out and has a whine. I dropped in a tight spot that Woody was in and just dropped the kopyto below the rod tip, I jigged once and it was nailed by a plump fat perch possibly touching two pound, though I never weighed it. As is the case when me and Woody are fishing, as one guy is playing a fish he points to the same spot and the other one drops in. You never know, often there is another perch or two hanging about. His kopyto was nailed instantly and a fat perch, busting at the seems was in the net. Smaller, just over a pound maybe but fat as hell. We're off!

Tactics carried on the same, in and around the next boats but only the odd small perch showed and after a while we were making or way back to the car, time to try a new spot we thought. As we neared the car, out pops an old woman from within her boat. In a loud, aggressive and damn right disrespectful manner she shouts "those better not come anywhere near this boat!"  while pointing and gesturing. We weren't anywhere near it and hadn't been. I replied with "good morning to you too my love" to which she barked back more aggressive crap. Again I said "good morning to you too love, how about you speak to us in a proper manner and raise your concerns, you might be pleasantly surprised at the response." She was just a miserable old git that thought she was lady somebody. After more words she threatened us with the old, "I'm phoning the police" to which me and Woody chuckled. There really was no need for the way she had handled this. She proceeded to explain to the 999 operator that she "was ever so sorry to trouble you" and that there were two fisherman and she had asked "nicely" to leave. Blah blah blah and then she finished with thank you. We were in trouble. Actually I kindly explained to the lady she had forgotten to tell the police where we all were. It would take her ten minutes to explain our location and she'd forgot to do that. Her act of pretending to phone the police didn't intimidate anyone and didn't fool us. We were on our way anyway so not long after toddled off. The police never did turn up. Some people really do need to learn how to speak to their fellow human beings.

We jigged a couple of other likely looking spots but never found any fish so we had to keep going to another spot we knew about. On this spot we fancied some pike and perch so took the light and heavy gear. Switching between both and trying our luck where we fancied it, leap frogging each other and swapping rods when something made us do it. We were both at one point throwing squirrelly burts (big pike jerk baits) about. We know there are often pike about and expected a take any time soon. There's also some nice perch along here and Woody commented, "I bet a big perch would take that burt easily" to which I agreed. Less than a couple of minutes later something smacked the burt. I struck and missed, cursed my luck but then said "I actually think that was a perch mate". It wasn't a big smack like a pike, so I cast straight back at it and brought the burt through and then bang, fish on! "I'm in" and Woody looked across and saw a jack, turned away and then heard me shout "get the net". When he looked back he saw the stripes, it wasn't a jack as he'd thought, so threw down his rod and came running with the net. In no time the perch was scooped up and safely in the net. Two super sized grins to match the super sized perch in the net. We jumped around like idiots, hugged each other and danced, it was like something off a Disney film. I'd stupidly brought the jerk bait bag and the net was too big to weigh the perch accurately so Woody watched the fish in the net while I ran back to the car, which was frigging miles away. About 50 yards short of the car I found a carrier bag hanging in a tree, that will do, so I then hot footed it back. We weighed the perch and I was gobsmacked when it went 3lb 6oz, what a result.

The "burt"

I stuck with the burt but can't remember if Woody was still doing the same. Fifty yards up I had another smack and this time it was a jack of about 6lbs. Finally a pike, by now I expected we'd had a couple of jacks. I guess they weren't at home today. Still with the burt I was bringing it in and as it neared my rod tip I could have sworn I saw something. I just stopped the burt below the rod tip and it ever so slowly started to rise. Whatever it was below was now not just a trick of the light rippling over the waves, it was a fish coming up and then I saw it. Another bloody great big perch. I didn't know what to do and it all was slow motion until finally the perch saw me, turned and dived back down. Holy cow, they love burts today.

Savage Gear Low Rider

We hit another jigging spot but again nothing produced so we turned back around and headed back to the car. We wanted food and drink now but couldn't walk past all that water without fishing. Woody had a small rapala on and was aiming for perch while I decided to stay fifty yard behind him and thrash the water with big lures, a Savage Gear 19cm low rider. From nowhere my lure was smacked and in seconds I saw another big perch on the end of my line. Woody was miles away with the net so I just scooped it up in one hand. It was a good two and after more smiles and amazement the fish was put back without a photo for some strange reason. I hope I don't sound like some snobby angler who doesn't like two's!(edit - grabbed a screen shot from a video I took)

Back out in front and Woody was thrashing the water with his rapala and then he got the hit, heart thumping moment, wondering what it was only for a jack of about five pounds to emerge. An enjoyable catch but not when you are only thinking of big perch at that moment. Then finally he had a bang and a fight he'd been waiting for and when we scooped up the 2lb 6oz fish we were well happy, another super fish.

We made it back to the car and I had my pasty with Woody his cat food/tuna thingamy bob and a drink to get us some energy back in. It was after midday now so we still had a bit of time to fish and set off in search of more.


A new spot produced a hit, a brief tussle and then what I thought was a perch shook the hooks free. A bit gutting but at least we knew we were on to fish again. A little further along all of a sudden all hell breaks loose. We were both fishing in the same spot. We both had small rapala shad raps on and casting at the same spot, a foot or two at most apart. Woody shouts "fish" and within a second I shout "double!". He was in to a big perch and he thought I meant I was in to a double figure pike, but in fact I too was in to a good perch. The net was nearer me and I whipped it under my fish. Woody had the foresight to have brought his pike boat net, so while my fish lay safe inside the net Woody worked his perch towards and at the last second I dipped one end and scooped up his perch too. A double hook up and two super perch sat in the net.

We danced around again like idiots. We've had double hook ups before but nothing in this league. The perch were unhooked and then rested in the net while we sorted scales and cameras. It doesn't really matter the weight, the fish today were fantastic but it is nice to know a weight as guessing can be way off. Woodys fish went 2lb 7oz, fatter than it looks there and then my fish was in the bag for a weigh and it went 3lb 5oz. Feck off, you're kidding me, another three!

Firetiger Rapala jointed shad rap

Covering more water we knew there was a chance of something else, hopefully another nice perch or two. Even a couple of ones and twos would be fantastic but after a bit of water covered nothing more came so when we reached a good distance we about turned and headed for home. We tried a few new things but then got back to the rapalas and back in to the same pattern of leap frogging and hitting any spot that shouted out to us. Three quarters of the way back and now fast running out of water it was nearly time to pack up and go home. However there was to be one last piece of magic to come. Woody was a little in front of me, twenty yards or so but his lure was towards me, and then all of a sudden, "I'm in" he yelped. I whipped in my lure and dashed up the bank with the net. I drew level with the fish and then saw it, a good lump with dark stripes and awesome spikes standing tall. I don't think Woody quite knew how big a perch it was just yet and I beckoned him to just angle the fish toward me, then scooped it up with the large net. This was another superb fish and at 3lb 7oz was the biggest today and a fantastic end to a storming day out. We had a couple of smaller fish, Woody one over a pound but that was it. We were happy and it was time to go home. Two jacks, a good sprinkle of 6oz to over a pound perch, five twos and three, three pound super stripeys. Another top day and one to remember. Missing the rivers much?

Nearly that time of the year again

I've been trying not to think too much about not being able to fish the rivers, and to help me I've been having a search around new waters. Hoping to find a few fish and even catch a few, and guess what, I have done just that. I've eyed up some nice spots on the river too along the way which look very tempting when the time comes. Fathers day it is, and my fishing day is already booked up as my treat.

Biggest of recent perch

Among the spawning bream, shoals of silvers rising to take the new hatches and a couple of huge carp I've spotted plenty of fish. I know where a couple of rather large pike live now that I didn't know before and I know that if I want to catch them I need to be a little more stealthy than I was when I met the first one. Plodding along a canal bank I was stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of a large pike, at least a twenty. As I slowly sank to my knees, hoping and praying it hadn't seen me I saw her do the same. Slowly sinking to the depths out of sight. Of course I went back to the spot later and a few more days after but didn't see her, though she'll be there for another day. The second one, which was pushing twenty came following my lure in as I stood at the canal side half watching my lure half watching everything else around me. Again I reminded myself that I need to be a little less conspicuous at this location. Silly me, but that's what happens when you relax a little and let your guard down.








I wasn't really chasing pike though, just a bit of perch fun and also just an excuse to get out and fish. I've also seen some very nice looking perch on my travels, tempting a couple but being left wanting by a few more. The crystal clear water doesn't help sometimes, both because the predators can often switch off when it's like this and also because you can see the big fish ignoring your lure. Even worse can be crystal clear water and bright sunshine. A good example of this was on one occasion fishing a bit of canal I bagged a few pike and some nice perch in a short two hour session. So I planned a longer effort the next day and when I got there it was nice and overcast, plenty of cloud cover. Within no time I had a few pike follows, a couple of missed hits, a few small perch and one about a pound and a half. It was all looking promising but within half an hour the cloud cover had gone and the red hot sun was blazing down. Yes you guessed it, the fish turned off and I never saw a thing after that. It just shows you what part luck plays sometimes.



Here's a selection of photos taken on some of my recent outings.

 I wasn't the only one on the look out for the best fishing spots.

One of the many carp spotted in the canals. This one was probably a mid double but I did see a couple that dwarfed this one.

Some of the pike came in like a good little fishy.

Some decided they weren't playing ball.

 I discovered that perch like 20cm real eels.

 I was very glad this perch was just a tiddler or this could have been a not so nice experience.

A few of these every now and again makes it all worth while.

Pike magnet

Well I'll never say I don't want to catch a pike because I love pike, but when I'm trying to find other fish those pesky pike can be a right nuisance. The kind of nuisance that is fantastic though.

A week or so ago I took a break from trying to find perch, chub or anything else that would take a small lure in my local canals and went pike fishing. I took a medium set up to a pond I know where you can usually guarantee a jack or two, either that or a blank. I wasn't using surface baits, but I was using jerk baits (in fact Matts jerk baits) which I worked very fast, zig zagging them just under the surface. The pike laid up would charge up from the bottom and crash in to the lure in spectacular fashion. Sometimes they'd stick, sometimes they wouldn't but that was all a part of the attraction. I wasn't there for a monster and knew I was most likely to be getting small jacks. Great fun and it reminded me why I usually tend to target just pike.

Today I made the switch back to light gear again. The evening looked as good as they come and I felt that something, somewhere would be feeling hungry and so visiting new places in favourable conditions would give me a chance of a fish or two. Too many times I hit new spots when it's cold, windy and raining and just doesn't look right.

I've only been fishing five minutes or so when my first fish hits. It's a good hit but I don't see the fish and it could be anything, perch, chub, trout even but no, it's a pesky jack of around three pound clinging on to my copper mepps spinner. What a pretty little fish it was though but I plonked it back in the water sharpish without a blog photo. I felt the area had potential for all sorts but nothing else took my spinner or any of the other lures I tried.

Moving on a bit I spotted a few fish, a couple of carp going a bit mental on the top every now and again and then I saw some small rudd in the edge. There was a bit of a shallow bay where the smaller fish were hanging around and as I pulled my lure in over the ledge and in to the shallows I saw a monstrous figure charging after the spinner from behind. I was nearly out of water but thoughts of "do i speed up or slow down?" didn't even get time to compute as the pike accelerated in only around two feet of water and snatched the spinner right at my feet and right at the end of my tiny rod. I lifted up and I was in. The pike splashed and thrashed and then shot off like a rocket. When you only have a 5ft 6inch Greys G lite spin rated 5-15g it bends to the butt at this point. There's not a great deal you can do but hang on and let the pike rip off as much line as it wants. Once a surge is over you do have enough in the bottom end of the rod to give a bit back, but the rod is bent double and no matter how many fish you've had on it you still think it's going to snap!

I loosened off the drag just a little once I spotted where the hooks were. Nicely tucked in the corner of the mouth but by loosening the drag a touch more, should the pike go off on another run then I'm not going to rip the hooks out or even rip the side of the fishes mouth off. It's now that I realise I've only got a 35cm rubber mesh Daiwa landing net. Ok, you're going to need a bigger net. But no, I reckon I can get it in, I've had low double carp in and i've had other low double pike and yes the pike slides over nice and is safely in the net. Not much room to move about but it saves me getting a hook in the hand and the fish getting dropped. A lovely dark fish with cracking patterns that went just over twelve pounds, spot on!

The little chunk is ready for off as soon as I put it in the water but I hold it back just to make sure then watch it swim along the shallow and then out of sight. Now quick, get another cast in! This time I chuck up along the edge and start to retrieve then within seconds I see a shadow and then a commotion and it's all hell again as another decent pike takes off with me and my bent double G lite clinging on. Line rips off again and I'm wondering why they hell did I even bother chasing any other species of fish when I just love pike. Again as the pike comes close I know it's going to be a squeeze though this time a tiny bit more room left in the net as a nice pike of just over eleven pounds is bagged.

I didn't catch any more pike and I certainly didn't catch any perch, chub or trout. I think I'm just a chuffing pike magnet. Though I most certainly am not complaining! :)