Grabbing a chance while we can - Make time for fishing.

I'd not fished with him for a few months and then I heard he'd not even had much of a chance to get out and fish. So I dropped Neil a text to try and sort something out. We needed a catch up and a chilled out couple of hours on the bank and since the weather was cooling off a little we fancied some pike. We'd had some rains a few times and the waters were cooler and had even been up and down a bit a couple of times so we fancied a chance of a pike or two. Getting to the chosen swim was a little tricky as it was well over grown so we had to hack our way through. Neil sent me first to trample down all the nettles and find out where all the hidden trip hazards were. I think we both stuck on a jerk bait to start with and I chose one of three I'd had made by Mark Houghton and not had a chance to use yet.

Chatting and casting around and it wasn't long before we had some attention. Neil had a follow which he only spotted right at the end of the retrieve when the pike turned away then a few minutes later I had a pluck but missed it. I can only put it down to being a bit rusty. It wasn't a proper hard hitting take but I was a little slow reacting and failed. However not too long after, possibly the same fish, hit again in the same spot. Though this time a combination of it hitting harder and me reacting faster meant I was in. A nice bright fish that must have been easily a low double and the new lure from Mark was now a proven fish catcher.

Back fishing and chatting and we were switching things around and trying to get another hit. I thought we'd have had at least another jack by now as time had moved on a little since the last fish, but no luck. Neil chose a smaller Fox Replicant and lobbed it out. He could get this lure down a bit deeper and hope to run it past a toothy predator. The tactic worked and I heard a noise as Neil shouted that he had one on, ah no, then off. Wait, no it's still on. The fish steamed right at him and at first he thought it was off but then quickly realised what was happening so wound like mad to try and get some line back in. Once back in contact with the fish he got it under control and after a head shake and a jump, it was in the net. Again this fish was a nice low double and we were both happy at that. Both of us off the mark on the night but also just great to be back catching a better stamp of pike. Summer ultra light fishing means we still catch pike but on the whole they are small fish. Being back out with the big lures means bigger fish, and we do love pike.

We worked hard, moved pegs a few times and switched lure types and styles to try and get something else but a lively start ended with nothing much more. Just one more fish came and that was to Neil, and again he bagged it on the small Fox Replicant. This time a smaller jack of five or six pounds but we were happy enough. For me I was happy to be back on the pike and I'm sure Neil was just glad to be on the bank after his limited fishing in recent weeks. I know he got out with Matt not too long ago for a frogging session and they had a few fish and even more recently he got out on the boat with Woody for some fun. We all work and have other things to do so sometimes you need to make time for a bit of fishing. It's easy to get out of the habit and not fishing often leaves you not thinking about fishing. I'm sure we'll be out again with the jerk baits now it's much cooler for those hungry pike.

Since Neil hasn't really been out fishing he's not featured in any of my videos yet so I thought I'd knock up a short video from that evening. RiverPiker welcomes Neil to Youtube, I'm sure there will be more to come in the future.

Epic session is epic

Ooh, err... What do I write here? It's a little embarrassing to say the least. I know loads of people who would be happy with one fish as it's often a struggle to catch, I'll happily take one fish as I know how tough it can sometimes be..... but then this happens.

First week of the season and I'd had some fun on the river then by Friday I was ready for a change. I didn't want to do the same thing and also wanted some new scenery. I scratched my head as to where to go and what to do before finally deciding to go look at somewhere I hadn't fished for about nine months. I expected perch and pike and quite fancied a steady session on the ultra light gear. Catching a few perch on my small soft plastics and cranks was the plan. Next to a bit of flowing water and a bit of sun there was nothing to beat it right now, well that's what I thought anyway.

I got my small box of lures sorted and put them in my bag, a drink to keep me hydrated but last minute I also decided to take the pike gear so chucked in a few bigger pike lures and took both rods. It gave me options and since there was a chance this place hadn't been fished this year yet, who knew what could be waiting. I was to be throwing the ultra lights but if I needed to I could have a bash with the pike lures and see if anything bigger was about. I also had a back up plan of a couple of spots to drop in on the way home should fishing be a bit steady. Ha ha, steady!

Scything my way through the grass and nettles I was a happy bunny, it seems no one had fished here yet, great stuff. I plonked my gear on the ground and stuck on a Zman shad. I have a sneaking feeling there's a decent perch or two living here. I've never had anything too big, possibly a couple of twos if I remember right. These shads are quite long, maybe four inches and have a nice paddle tail wiggle. That could bag me a big perch if there's one here I was thinking. I had a couple of knocks but maybe I was just bouncing bottom, but then the rod tip bent round and I was hooking in to a jack pike. Maybe five or six pounds and super fun on the light gear. Well at least the lure works and I wasn't going to blank today. Great start.

Zman shad

Happy with the fish I stuck with the same lure in the hope a perch might be about. I felt something pluck at it, then saw a tail but couldn't tell if it was a perch or a small pike that had nipped at my lure. Then the rod bent again and I was in, but then it was off. Oh well, keep going lad and before long I was bagging fish number two, another 5lber and losing another. A pleasing start. I fancied throwing a few cranks so put on a Mark Houghton crank and no sooner had it gone through the swim it was nailed by yet another jack pike. A few more retrieves and I was in again, great sport this. I switched to another MH crank and caught again and then again. (Sorry about the poor pictures)

Mark Houghton crank

Mark Houghton crank

After about seven or eight pike I was now sure there were no perch about. Catching pike on the light gear is great fun, but if that's what you keep catching then you are not geared up for it. The 25lb wire traces don't last for ever and can become kinked after a fish or two. The jacks thrash around a lot and there's more chance of something going wrong. Add to this the fact it takes much longer to get a fish in on the light, soft rod as even a jack has tremendous power and when it goes you have to let it go. The clutch is set light, the rod is soft and all you can do is take your time. The most sensible thing is to use stronger gear, and that's what I did. I got the big rod out, big lures and that is much better suited to getting the fish in with no fear of a kinked trace snapping or over playing a fish. Well done me for being arsed to bring a second rod. Maybe the bigger lures would winkle out a bigger fish two, who knows?


I think I put on a Savage Gear lip lure first. Wiggled and jerked it through the same spot and it wasn't long before another jack obliged. Then another, and another and another. This is a bit mental to say the least. Fish after fish after fish. I changed to a Squirrelly Burt and it was fish after fish after fish. I'm glad I had my GoPro switched on for this as no one would believe these fishy tales otherwise. Fish, fish, fish. I've now lost count. I've now got arm ache. I've now caught an unbelievable amount of pike.

Savage Gear lip lure

Most pike were between four and eight pound. I managed just a couple of bigger fish. Though I never weighed them they were a little better stamp of pike. Nothing huge but both were low double. They were solid muscled fish and made a nice change to the crazy jacks. It didn't really matter what size any of the fish were today though, I was in a bit of a daze after this as I would imagine anyone else.

 

I got in the car just short of three hours after getting out of it. I sat and tried to work out how many fish I'd caught but gave up. I realised that I could count them all up at home when I checked out my GoPro footage. I must remember to add on the five pike I caught after my memory card had filled up though. Usually if that were to happen I'd switch on the wifi, iPhone and the app' and delete any of the footage without fish on. However I figured that was pointless as pretty much all the clips would have some kind of fishy action on. Back at home I was sifting through the videos and the tally was rising. I ran out of time as I now needed to be at work so I had to wait all day, not knowing the final count until later that night when I could finish checking the last dozen or so clips. More fish to add to the tally, not forgetting the misses too, there were another ten or so hits where I didn't make contact.

Thirty five pike in less than three hours. I wasn't boat fishing all day, I wasn't on a large lake or anything. There' weren't two of us fishing. It was just me, 80 yards of water and a stack of pike. The number of times I've said it, right place right time.

First weekend of the river season came and went and I didn't even go out fishing after Fridays spectacle. I might get the stick float out next week and just catch some silvers....

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

MH Custom Lures Alphabet crank - lure review

Mark sent me a few of his new lures and asked me to do him a video review on my Youtube channel. When I originally said I'd be happy to do it, I didn't give it too much thought but then when the lures came and I had to knock out a video I felt a bit of pressure. Firstly, to make a video that Mark would like and secondly to catch some bloody fish on his lures. I kept imagining I'd go out and blank, then blank again. I don't normally fish under pressure, I just fish for fun. Now I know how the big lads feel! lol

MH Custom Lures Alphabet crank

Normally when you're lure fishing, you choose a lure to suit your swim. On this occasion it was the other way around, I had to think of somewhere to give the lure a chance to work its magic. A river would be spot on but it's not quite time yet. Most of the canals I fish are probably a little too deep for this lure, especially when coloured up. I remembered a shallow canal not too far from me. If I was lucky I might get a few fish from there but it was a race against time to get on it before it weeded up. In a months time it'll be surface lures only. Bank Holiday weekends on a shallow canal are a nightmare, boat traffic up and down churning up weed and muck. But I had to go and have a crack even though I expected the worst on this water.

I arrived in the evening, hopefully any traffic would be gone and the water would be settling down. When I got there it was near perfect. I could see a bit of weed taking over, but the clarity was bob on. Where were all the boats? So I got set to chucking the Alphabet crank. A small two inch or so shallow crank available in umpteen colours. Mark buys in the blanks, sprays them up and posts them out in super sharp time. They looked brilliant, but that's no good if they don't work right? I cast out and straight away I could feel a bit of a pull from the wiggle of the lure. Happy with that, it's gunna send out some vibes is that. As the lure came in I could see it's arse wiggling away like a good un. I wish our lasses arse moved like that. Five minutes of chucking and I was confident I just had to put it near some fish. Then I actually did. Three fish in four casts and after twenty minutes I'd bagged four and lost/missed a few more. I kept catching after that and it was safe to say Mark is on to a winner with those lures.

You can get them by going to Mark's blog. There's plenty of other lures there too. I already love his Crank n shad and his Slide n shad lures which catch me loads of pike. Those are from his custom built hand made balsa wood range of lures. I also have some larger jerks on order from him too and I can't wait for those to arrive. Go buy some from him, I promise you will be over the moon. If you're not sure what you need or can't see what you want send him a message and he'll happily sort you out. If you need some more convincing, go check out my video review.

MH Custom Lures Alphabet crank video review

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!

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.

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.

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.

Not just the fishing that's dried up

Before the week started I was ready for a bit of fishing. Working the afternoon shift meant I'd get plenty of time in before work. Monday came and I found myself sat watching daytime TV to pass the time. Why the hell wasn't I fishing?This happened on Tuesday, Wednesday and so on.

It's been scorchio out there this week and that hasn't really put me in the mood for fishing. Every person I've met has said to me "lovely weather for fishing" and I suppose it is if you're sat on a comfy chair behind a rod. But when your trudging along riverbanks and constantly casting it's a bit too much of a work out. I love fishing but I'm not stupid (in my opinion, others may disagree). Another reason I didn't get out was simply because of fish welfare. I tend to mainly fish for pike and they don't do too well in the hot weather and low oxygen levels that it brings. I had other options but opted for lazing around watching documentaries about sharks, volcanoes and all the fishing programs I had recorded.

I did manage a couple of short visits though. You lot know that I couldn't go a full week without throwing a lure at a toothy water wolf. I waited for my shift to end and then I had a few cheeky chucks. It was late by now and not far off dark so I didn't have long but I managed a few pike. Most were around the five pound mark with one exception and that was a fish of about eleven pounds. It got me my fix and helped me through a crap week at work.

Saturday came and it was much cooler. A bit of cloud cover rather than clear blue skies and it made me think again about getting out to fish. However the missus had other plans and I found myself wandering around clothes shop after clothes shop. It was crap, none of them had clothes for fishing just stuff you'd expect to find teeny bopper wannabes wearing. I need a new fishing T-shirt too, so someone missed out on a sale there. I finally got home and spent an hour chilling in the garden playing fetch with my dog and as the clock approached 5pm I had formulated a plan. I needed to go fishing.

I managed to keep all thoughts of chasing aggressive pike at bay and convinced myself a steady ultra light session together with a venture along a new stretch was what I wanted to do. I'd fished a new weir pool earlier in the year and today I was going to hit it again and see what else was lurking. I also wanted to go up river from the weir and fish some overhanging willows hoping I could find a chub or two. So armed with one box of lures I was off. The weir pool has a couple of pegs so I was going to fish those then move off to see what the rest of the river had in store. Upon arriving at the weir pool I was met with something I wasn't expecting. Something that would make me change my plans all together.


The weir had dried up. There was no water racing over the top. The whole weir was bone dry and all the rocks below it were exposed. I could walk all the way across the river except for one ten foot wide gully where the water was racing through. I could now fish places you wouldn't normally be able to fish, I had the whole weir pool to target and it looked too good an opportunity to miss.

Where is the water?

I covered loads of water using all sorts of small lure. Kopytos, spinners, little cranks and glide baits and I didn't get so much as a knock. I was gobsmacked. I expected a perch at least but there was potential for pike, chub and even trout here. There was the odd fish surfacing but that was it apart from loads of fry hiding in an among the rocks. Actually I did get a few follows from fish. The fry kept following in the lures even though the lure was about five times the size of the fry. Anyway, I hadn't come here for pike but it was time to put a pike lure on and at least try and get something. A small jack would be very welcome right now.

Even though I have my light outfit I can still chuck a 13cm savage gear lip lure and since I know this lure catches pike I always have one with me so if I'm out and I see a pike follow a small lure or I see one chasing fish I can have a crack at it. Third cast and a few cranks and I'm in. Smart move old lad, you've just saved a blank and got yourself a little jack. The fish thrashed on the surface a while and ripped a bit of line off as the clutch was set light. It then charged towards me and gave me a bit of a run around before eventually I got a glimpse.

Shit, it's a frigging chub get the net! I clambered across rocks to where I'd left it, making sure not to fall in. I was glad the rocks were bone dry as if they're slightly damp I wouldn't have been anywhere near here as it would be too slippery. I pulled the chub into a bit of slack water between some rocks and slid the net under. What a result, it looked a beauty of a chub, and on a big lure too. I couldn't believe I'd covered all that water with the smaller lures and nothing and then as soon as I stick on a big lure I'm in. The phone rang and so I left the chub to sulk in the net while I took the call. It was Woody phoning to fill me in on his day out on the boat. It was another half decent, but steady day on the boat but he and Graham had bagged over forty fish between them, a good day is that. I told him I had a chub of about three and half pounds waiting in the net so he left me to sort it out.

I clambered back on to the weir sill and got a few photos before putting the chub back in the net and in to a shallow rock pool for it to recover. It was ready in no time and didn't need any nursing like a pike would have done after that battle. I remembered I'm usually crap at guessing the weight and it was a chunky, wide fish so I got the scales out and was chuffed when it went just over four pound. I'm happy with that. A gorgeous, healthy chub.

I gave the area some more stick but got nothing so moved off the weir sill and the rocks and moved downstream to fish the back end of the pool. Again, it was tough and I managed naff all. It was now knocking on a bit and my original plan was to go upstream of the weir and check out the over hanging willow trees. However I decided to ditch that idea and go back on to the rocks at the weir, there had to be more fish there.


I started with my small lures again hoping for some perch and eventually I was rewarded when I started to get some fun. I took small perch on a few different lures, kopytos, spinners and one of Mark Houghtons little "chunky minnows" and it made for a good bit of fun. Finally a few fish from a spot I expected to catch. A little later the surface came alive with fish taking flies off the top. Most probably I guessed small chub but every now and again something larger would take something, though I couldn't make out what they were. Needless to say I tried every lure in the box to try and tempt them but couldn't get anything of size to take. I then managed to get in on the small chub, again on a few lures which was good. I decided to call it a day and head back to the car as I had a bit of a trek ahead of me. It was a good few hours out on the river, all by myself except for the wildlife, brilliant!

Evening frogging session with Neil

On Wednesday I upgraded and bought a new camera as my old one has a scratch on the lens and it was spoiling photos. I opted for a Nikon L810 bridge camera. A little bulkier than a compact camera but I do like a nice camera and since I can't afford a proper photographers camera this one is a decent one to settle on.

Me and Neil nipped out for a bit of surface frogging last night. There was a bit of wind giving a ripple but eventually it calmed and we had good enough conditions for it. I had a take very early on, I saw the fish, it swam away with my lure, but I know I struck too soon and didn't hit hard enough for frogging and it got off. Neil had a good hit but the hooks didn't stick on that one either. Some of the swims looked fantastic and we thought we were nailed on for a fish but most of them didn't produce.

There's not a covering of weed but plenty of lilly pads coming through and some places looked really good.

We had a few more hits along the way but just couldn't get one to stick. They were all small fish so no major loss but then we had come expecting just small fish so we really did want one or two of these. I had a play with the camera and was hoping to get a shot of a fish on the take, though we both knew that needed either loads of luck or plenty of perseverance. I eventually got half a take, nothing spectacular but it was as close as I was to come.

I got back fishing and we missed a few more, had a couple of follows and also had a few pike crashing around us. On one deeper part I switch to a crank bait and had a few hits from small perch, then had one on and it dropped off just as I was lifting it up out of the water. Time was knocking on so I switched to one of Mark Houghtons little twitch baits and then got a pike second cast. Neil owes me a twenty and he has repaid that now with my fish today which was knocking on a twenty, twenty ounce, but it saved me a blank. We didn't do anything special on the fish front but we had a laugh and it was good to be out on a nice night.

We had to hop and skip sharpish back to the car in the end as we didn't realise the time, but I got a few sunset photos. Here are some of my favourites.