Two weeks left

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



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

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

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

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

Little Tykey boy, what a cracking little dog.

It's coming.

Savage Gear 3D hard eel

I've started to panic a little. The river closed season seems to be closing in on me really fast and I can't do anything to slow it down. When the river looks good, I'm at work and worse still I'm on a crap shift that means I can't get out to fish. When the weekend comes it's rained a day or two earlier and the rivers are usually a no go zone or at best, somewhere to go but you know it's going to be a struggle. Looking forward to this weekend we're tipping another write off as storm in a tea cup Juno heads our way. We might not get anything spectacular storm wise, but you can guarantee Wednesday and Thursday it'll piss it down that much the rivers are ruined for another weekend. Honestly, I feel like I'm just reposting an old blog entry here, it's every weekend that it is ruined. I'm running for Prime Minister in the next election and the first thing I'll be changing is the working week. Tuesday and Wednesday are the days off and we will work the rest of the days. Vote RiverPiker for Prime Minister.

I think part of the panic has come from being a little sidetracked messing around with my Youtube videos, the warm weather that seemed to go well in to October and then pretty much one of my first proper piking sessions I went and had a bumper day. Just after that I'm in chill out mood. Just go fishing and catch a fish or two. I'm not driven by big fish after big fish so not on a constant hunt for the big girls. Then there's a few half arsed weekends, a few tough ones and before I know it I'm now looking at that bloody deadline and fearing not catching another good fish. Is that lesson learned? May be I should be one of the lads who is on a constant chase for the big ones, keep at it full throttle and make it happen again and again. Maybe I should, but for now I still don't see that as being my aim. I'll settle for just getting a few fish and enjoying my time out on the river for now. Still, it's panic mode so I'm starting to get that drive to make the most of every opportunity, no matter how small. Hour before work, hour after work whatever I can

I'm not friggin stupid though. I finished work today and I'd figured out that I could grab a whole half an hour with the lures before dark, and before I was doing my evening job of dads taxi. Walking to the car after work I was met with bright blue sky, a hell of a wind but the sky was bright. If it stayed like that, last light comes a little later and I can squeeze out a bit extra fishing. But upon arriving at the car, in the distance all I can see is dark grey skies. Not clouds, just one dark grey wall. I started the engine while I pondered and while I pondered that bright blue sky was quickly getting eaten up by that big dark grey wall. I plonked my arse on the seat and headed for home. Yes you need to put the effort in, you need to be a bit daft, brave it plenty and you need to grab every little chance you can. But stuff that, I'm not friggin stupid.

Savage Gear 3D hard eel

I've not done bad though over recent weeks. I've had a few fish with the best being mostly low doubles. I'm not at the point in my piking where I turn my nose up at a low double and a hard fighting fat river pike like that is a great reward for braving the crap weather. I know I'm getting a bit of a name for the Squirrelly Burt lure, even being nick named "Team Burt" as often both Woody and I are catching many of our fish on them. But another lure that is doing the business for me has been the Savage Gear 3D hard eel. I think I'm liking it better than the original real eels at the moment, though I think that is because I'm able to fish it ultra slow in shallow water. Yeah I said shallow water. Who was it that told you all the pike are in the deep waters in winter? Well we've hardly had any proper cold weather so it may be that would be the case if it were cold, but I'm finding the pike are often in six foot of water and less. So if you are out and about make sure you are fishing the usual Autumn river spots and not just plugging for the deep waters.

Savage Gear 3D hard eel

Make the most of it boys and girls. Get yourself out whenever you can. I know some flooded rivers are not that great, and when it's cold, wet and windy it's not really enjoyable if the pike aren't playing ball. but we've not got too much longer left so go make something happen. I don't mean blindly just going on the river no matter what, if you reckon it's not right, ten foot up and colour of mud then yes sack it off and go to a still water somewhere. But if like me you love your rivers, get out and have a look as you never know. I've found that looking at the river levels on the web often tells me plenty but it doesn't tell me enough. Sometimes, that extra water that is in isn't actually that bad. It's not the colour of mud, it's not full of crap and sometimes, if those fishing Gods have been kind it's actually not too bad at all. Worth a look at least because if that extra water is in, and the clarity isn't too bad at all. Those bait fish will be shoaled up tighter than ever and those pike will be right on their arse and they will be on the munch. Have your plan B ready but at least have a look and see if plan A is worth a go. Personally I'd much prefer a steady day with a slight chance on the river than a perfect day on a boring canal. Pike is pike and catching them is what we love, but I love all the rest that goes with it. I'll be out this weekend on an up and coloured river giving it a go with most probably not much hope of anything at all. But I'm making the most of the time I have and I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to enjoy the struggle, the hard work, the birds, the sunrise and the sunset because that's what I do.


If you haven't noticed, I've not posted all my recent videos on here so go check out my Youtube channel to catch up, there's plenty to watch. If you are struggling for a bit of motivation though I'd suggest you watch these two videos to help you get your arse in gear. This first one is me out on the river with my pike lures trying to find where the Esox are hiding. Just a few lures and my walking boots and off I go. All hard graft and I bag a few fish and even teach myself a few lessons along the way.

This next video is me making the most of the little time I have. Dashing out after work and getting to the river and I go right at it. Hitting a peg with all I have then running off down stream to find more pike. Hard work, yes it is but If I can get up at the crack of dawn for a shift I can put in that bit more effort for a pike or two, and it pays off.

 

Effort equals reward

Heard it loads of times, said so myself plenty. Sometimes you forget and expect it to just happen. Sometimes you forget and go home without giving that one last push. Sometimes you push harder than ever but it just doesn't happen and you're thinking, "effort equals naff all" so stop kidding. Fishing can be full of clichés and a roller coaster of emotions at times.


I usually save a few days holiday to the back end of the year, just in case there's a kids school panto to go to or something along those lines. Seems this happens less now my two are older, which has left me with a couple of days holiday still to take before the end of the year. "If you don't take them, you'll lose them" claims the boss, who probably rolls a few over in to next year. So when to use them? I need to put them in a week or two early so I get the nod, but then that means it will most probably piss it down just before and I'll be sat at home bored stiff all day, watching the river levels on line and trying to work out if 14 feet of extra water in is still worth a go. My other major problem with putting in a days holiday is everyone seems to find out and then ask me to take them to the airport, baby sit, wait for the postman and all sorts and my day or two off is ruined. The Mrs doesn't mean to, but to make sure she didn't let it slip that I had a few days booked off I didn't even tell her until the night before. Need to know basis, and I felt no one except me needed to know.

I was up at two hours before light which meant I was surfing the web, checking the weather and river levels one last time. It had to have rained up in the hills, it always does when I have the day off. But no, all is well and apart from a bit of blustery wind I should be fine. Turned out to be pretty mild and even though I'd dropped one layer I still had another too many on, which meant I was stashing layers of clothing along the river bank. No one hardly comes here so I was sure they would be still there when I got back. Looking back along the bank from a distance it wasn't that easy to spot my camouflage gear, hopefully I'd remember where I'd left it.

Wow, some of these swims look spectacular. If there isn't a fish in here I'll eat my hat. The hat tasted a bit dry and like cardboard. Jesus fecking Christ I'm knackered here, where are all the fish? The bank is covered in soft mud, I'm having to climb down and then back up to get to each swim. I put my bag on the floor and the next time I look around it's rolled down the bank. As I clamber back up the bank the mud is sticking to my boots and I'm now carrying an extra two stone on my feet. Who's bright idea was it to book the day off work? It would be easier at work. I look back at where I started out and it's a bloody long way back to the car. Head down I trundle on, struggling with slippery bank side and scraping more mud off the boots. I was giving each swim a good go, with trusted lures both big and small. Smaller first just to try and find any fish before chucking a lump in to see if the pike were about. Effort equals reward my arse.

I headed back to the car. It seemed to take me ages. I usually walk pretty fast but paced myself or I just knew that by the time I got back I would be shattered. All this gear, all these layers of clothes and it's stupidly mild for a winters day. Finally I was at the car and I was down to my boxers. The thermal under layers were off and I was now down to my fighting weight. I sat in the car and necked a full bottle of coke, all the time trying to hatch a plan. As I drove I was eating and the plan was still hatching. I was at the point where I didn't have a clue what to do. I didn't feel confident in any of the local spots I'd been fishing and pretty much nearly threw the towel in. For a moment I was Sandra Bullock, "stay on or get off, stay on or get off?" and then Keanu finally made the call and I was off to my next spot.

I hadn't fished here in a good while. I picked up the pike rod and went to catch a pike, I was determined now. Food and drink had refreshed me and I was ready to go at it full speed again. There was a bit of a shallow pool, probably about four feet deep just off some fast water. Typical ambush spot in the summer but would a pike be here now? First cast through and something rolled on my lure and by the looks of it, a pretty decent sized fish. I flicked back out my trusty Squirrelly Burt and as it came past the same spot the water erupted again and for a brief second I didn't feel anything. Was the pike on or just doing another half arsed hit. I felt the smallest amount of tension start to build in my line and I lifted the rod in to the fish. It thrashed and rolled before I quickly slid the net under a really well marked fish. Get in, finally a fish!

17lb pike - Musky Mania Squirrelly Burt

So a fish in the bag and I was feeling good again. Amazing that just one fish is all it takes. I'd have taken a jack but a fat seventeen pounder has me bouncing. Not for too long though as I'm back struggling up and down steep muddy bank sides and for the next hour I'm having no more luck. Just ahead where the river comes towards a bend there's a bit of a decent slack. That will do me I'll have a few chucks here and then see how I feel. I can at least have a rest, food and drink and then ponder whether to keep going or make my way back. I've no idea of the time by now but I can tell there's probably a couple hours of day light left at most. With a half hour walk at least back to the car, then a drive to a new spot, I'd need to get it right or I would be wasting these last two hours of daylight. Forget that for now, let's have a chuck in here and see what happens first. It looks a decent spot to me anyway.

14lb pike - Musky Mania Squirrelly Burt

What a super looking fish. Nailed the Burt after two or three casts. Top result, I'm over the moon now. The mornings hard graft for nothing was well behind me now and I was throwing lures with a smile again. A feisty little jack smacked my lure and went mental before a bigger fish smacked my Burt and this time it was a fish of around twelve pound. Three pike in three casts now from this spot and who knows what else is in. I switched lures and put on the Savage Gear line thru trout. After about eight casts and nothing I popped the Burt back on and it was only a few casts more before I got a tap on the rod. I missed it but not long after I had one and then another and before long I'd done about four more fish, one being about twelve pound and then another stunner at fourteen. What a day, what a cracking finish and I couldn't ask for any more.

14lb pike - Musky Mania Squirrelly Burt

This swim produced loads of fish for me, but I'd also had a follow from something that was bigger. It came in and turned away as I lifted the Burt out. Was I too quick? Would it have taken if I'd ave left it there? I'll never know and I didn't let it bother me. I might be re-living the moment in my head that night or thinking about it at work all week but for now I was just focussing on the lure and where it was in the water. Casting out to the flow and letting it slowly sink and then bringing it back at different angles to cover the whole swim. The rod went solid and immediately I knew. "Big fish, BIG FISH!". I still panic. It's all part of the buzz for me. That initial whack, a brief moment in time where everything is a blur before finally you realise what just hit. When it's a big girl, it's a mixture of emotions. I was loving this. I saw her and knew she was big, knew she was a twenty and I couldn't help but be in awe. It thrashed on the surface once, before diving towards my feet, then turned to go back out and slowly rose to the surface once more. Wow, what a moment. The gills flared and she shook her head again, what a fantastic sight. The net only just got her in and I was buzzing, absolutely buzzing. Effort does equal reward.

23lb pike - Musky Mania Squirrelly Burt

23lb pike - Musky Mania Squirrelly Burt

23lb pike - Musky Mania Squirrelly Burt

Here's the video from the full day. It has to be my best video to date by a mile. Takes you on my roller coaster ride and finishes in spectacular fashion. A memory for me to cherish and share with everyone thanks to the GoPro. Watch it, I guarantee you will love it.

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.

Video updates.

I just thought I'd share my last few video updates on here just in case any of you lot have missed them. I'm trying to keep them a little bit different each time so it's not just the same thing all the time though eventually I guess it might just be me and Woody catching more fish, and then some more. Where I can though I'll try to keep it fresh if I can manage to be creative enough.

Anyway this first video was posted up to my Youtube page about over a month or so ago and it's just a bunch of pike action shots, slow motions and just general spectacular stuff that happens when pike fishing. It's why I do it.

Next we have one of my best productions to date. Out with Woody on his boat there's a few fish and some few high speed boating fun. A short fast and loud video for those with a short attention span like my kids, and probably most other peoples kids too.

 

Then we have a little video from a few weeks back where I went off on my own to a new bit of water looking for a few fish. I had no idea what to expect as I'd not even scouted out the place before. I was met with a hot day, peace and quiet with a few fish to the ultra light rod and the trusty Kopyto shad.

Finally we have another boat ultra light video with a few more fish caught and a few laughs on top. It won't be a box office smash but it shows what we get up to through the summer while we wait for proper piking weather, not this hot and sweaty crap we have right now. What's all that about?

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....

My start to the river season.

All through the closed season, I like many was waiting, and waiting and waiting for June 16th. At times it seemed like it was years away but finally we're all back, it's great to be back.

Savage Gear lip lure

Luckily for me I have been on the dreaded afternoon shift but I don't always mind it too much as it allows me to get out on the bank most mornings and come the 16th I was up and about early doors. I'd got a few things to attend to mid morning so I could just get in a few hours of fishing and enjoy myself. Last year I bagged a twenty in no time and the year before I did ten fish in less than an hour or something so this year I was expecting to come back down to earth with a bang, as far as opening days go. Going with that mentality put me in the right frame of mind for a bad session, and just to go and enjoy being back on the water. Once I'm there, stood by the river there's really no rush, no urgency and no waiting any more and I actually just enjoy it. On that first morning it feels as though I have all the time in the world to do whatever I want and there's no rush or no need to catch. A fish would be nice though.

It wasn't to be a spectacular session fish numbers or size wise. I had a few half hearted follows to the point where you were tapping the pike on the nose with the lure and it wouldn't take. I knew it was going to be one of those days after that. I ended up missing two fish but landing three. A happy return, if not as spectacular as previous seasons, but I'm well happy to be back.
 
After that first session I was in a totally chilled out mood. There was no rush to catch a monster or have an epic session and so no major plans were made for the following day. I just decided to get up and go fishing and see what happened. I then spotted a photo on Facebook where Nathan Edgell had caught on his surface frog. Now I normally use those on still waters simply because there's usually weed and the waters tend to be of a good depth and clarity but I decided to have a crack on the river. So far this year for a few months at least there's been no massive floods and so the weed has had time to spring up in a few spots. Somewhere to aim for and to expect a pike or two laying up. So that was the plan, have a chuck and see what happens and I wasn't to be disappointed at all. After ten minutes I was shaking like a shitting dog. I'd had four surface hits and managed to not hook one of them properly. They were on and then off and crashed about in spectacular fashion.

I did hook one properly, had it on, played it right to the net. As it was just coming over the net, the pike thrashed it's head and the frog shot out. Oh so close! But with this kind of fun there wasn't even any need to land a fish, I honestly didn't care. If you've never done it before, get some heavy braid, a strong rod and a couple of frogs and just go out. Cast out, wind in and try your best not to strike at everything you see, just react to the rod being pulled out of your hand, that's the time to set the hooks. Get yourself over to Lure Lounge and grab a couple of Koppers Live Target frogs as now is the time for surface fun.

After the mayhem, it went quiet on the surface so I had a bit of time left, switched to the usual and bagged two pike, one on a Burt and one on a SG low rider. Two fish in the bag, loads of spectacular fun on the frogs and another great morning.

Squirrelly Burt

Koppers Live target frog

So I'd now got a bit of a frog bug. The adrenaline kicks in, you get the shakes and the visual spectacular show is out of this world. I had to go back and have another go just to get my fix and that's exactly what happened. Wednesday morning I was back with the frog for an hour and again I was in for a treat. Surface to air missiles were being launched from a submarine in my peg. Ha ha, you have done some frogging haven't you? Hooking up with these hits isn't the easiest, I expected to lose far more than I bagged but I was now due a fish to the bag and finally it happened. Success on the river with my Koppers Live Target frog. I even managed it again the next day landing another pike, a two toned fish I know I've caught before so that was pleasing to see again.

Koppers Live target frog

All in all a good first few days of fun on the river and I'm glad to be back. There's going to be more like this, more options and it's just going to get better and better, I can feel it in my water!

Savage Gear lip lure

Hardcore pikers go ultra light trouting.

Last week me and Woody dropped on a few trout so we decided to have a better crack at them with a little more time. Struggling to sort a full day out as I had plans one day and he did too the next, so we just had to go for it and make the most of a few hours in the morning. The night before I was trying to figure out what I would need for a trouting session, and more importantly what I wouldn't need. Travelling light would give us mobility, but we were scraping up stuff to do the job. Lures weren't a problem as we both had plenty that would catch trout.

We knew brownies were here but had little experience on this river. Woody had fished it before a long time ago but for me the venue was all new. I do love fishing new spots, especially when they are quiet and out in the middle of no where. After a while of hunting out pools, crashing through the bank side vegetation to get to the river, hanging out from behind tress to run a lure through a fishy swim, it reminded me of my river chubbing days as a kid. We couldn't wait to get to the next swim every time to see what was in store, holding back and fishing each spot properly was hard. Often the fish came first couple of chucks but we also knew that covering the swim correctly could throw up more or even better fish.

Ugly duckling 2S

The first fish of the day came from the first swim. The water was probably about a foot deep, a bit of flow to it with small pools either side which looked promising. Trying to be as quiet as possible while clambering down the bank so we could get a cast in wasn't easy with still a tiny bit of frost from the cold night before lingering on vegetation. We tested the pool right under our feet before casting across to another pool on the far side. In between us was some fast water and as my tiny Ugly Duckling crank worked it's way through the rapids, I was met with a bend in the rod. I love using a new lure and catching on it, you have complete confidence in it from the off. A spirited fight ensued though I could tell it wasn't a lump, but a welcome fish and a great start.

Ugly duckling 2S

We worked a hundred yard stretch, clambering banks, dropping the lures in the near and far side pools  and working the faster water. We knew that the lures would probably get nailed as soon as they were seen so we were confident that between us we'd covered the water. We managed a few more follows and hits  between us but nothing stuck. Time to move on, but a really fishy looking spot of rapids and pools was met with not a sniff. We reckoned this was a place that must get hammered as it was an obvious spot and the worn out banks gave away the biggest tell tale sign of other anglers. We moved on and just around the corner we had a bit of fishy action, again some follows and hits. Fish on and off. These small trout were hitting at lightening speed and then managing to unhook themselves just as quickly. More follows came, sometimes small fish though occasionally something a little bigger would come along. The fish seemed to stay low, just a foot or two back from the lure, so the use of polaroid glasses was essential or you would never know that fish were in the area. Casting back at these follows we would pick up the odd fish. For me again, the Ugly Duckling doing the business while Woody was using small shad raps, plus we also mixed it up with small silver or copper spinners.

We were now in to guerilla warfare mode and had to creep through trees, bushes and branches to get to the river. The constant battle with tangles and hook ups with these branches proved not just annoying but a distraction. While you're faffing with trees you're not fishing and similarly when on the riverside we often struggled to cast and were forever flicking our lures out of the branches above our heads. Despite all this, the fishing proved to be much better and we were getting more rewards. More follows from bigger fish but as yet none converted in to fish on the bank. A flurry of small trout came before finally something larger was landed. We found a half decent sized pool that screamed trout and first cast Woody had a follow from a small one. He cast back out but this time his shad rap was nailed by something bigger and all hell broke loose.This fish went a bit mental and gave a good scrap on the ultra light rod before finally it was in the net. The first decent fish of the day.

 

We expected the swim to have been spooked but still gave it a go as you never know. We'd taken a bit of time unhooking and photographing so may be the tiny rest would help? I still had a silver spinner on, cast to the far bank, let it sink a little and then started a fast retrieve. It got smacked and my rod whacked round before another similar sized trout leapt about four feet in to the air and flicked the lure free. A super sight to see and I don't mind losing fish to something so spectacular. Moving on again we kept plucking out small trout from random bits of water, sometimes really fishy areas, other times just having a crack in the shallows. We eventually found another spot which looked trouty as hell, Woody one side of a tree and me squeezing in at the other side. Woody had some interest straight away with fish battling to get close to the lure and then first cast out, half way back across the river my little duckling wiggling across river suddenly disappeared as the flash of fish whizzed across my view, I was in. Again this fish was bigger than most and it went ballistic, leaping two feet out of the water on more than one occasion before finally I could get the net under for my first proper trout.

Ugly duckling 2S

For the rest of the session it was more small fish landed, more small fish on and off with every now and again a better fish sighted following. On one occasion I was over looking a pool, struggling to cast around and under a tree to get to it. There was a flash as a decent fish struck at the lure and missed but it hit again. I lifted, saw the fish shake its head twice and the lure pulled free. A better fish and Woody a little further away shouted he'd seen a proper trout follow. We moved on and a couple more trout were banked. It was coming close to me having to get off home so we had a quick brew and then planned to skip most of the river on the way back except a couple of the better spots where we'd had the bigger fish or seen them. At the spot where Woody had seen the biggest fish we both had a chuck. I had a follow from something decent but it went quiet. I moved off around the other side of a bush to try another angle and Woody stayed where he was, still trying to tempt that big fish out from the dark hole it was hiding in, this time using a small Salmo which had a good lip to help it get down. I couldn't really get to fish the spot I'd moved in to so I followed the bend around and crossed the river, climbing up the far bank. I figured I could get a different angle of Woody fishing for a photo. I stood and watched him as I pulled out the camera. Woody shouted to say a fish was following, and then I saw it come steaming up from behind. Some of the follows from bigger fish had been a bit timid and shy. This fish was charging straight for it and even from where I was I could see it was a good one. It nailed the lure right below his feet, the surface erupted and the battle was on.

The trout tore off across river, upstream and downstream and I think it even launched itself airborne a couple of time. I was a bit far off but could still see the fight, in fact I'd probably got the best seat in the house for this. Woody was fishing off a steep bank and I'd left him my long handled landing net just in case. I could have tried to get around to help him land this fish in an awkward spot but I felt that by the time I got there it would be over. So I just watched and took photos, aren't I a great help. One ore two dicey moments as the trout tried for cover, with a soft ultra light rod there isn't too much you can do to stop them. Woody was getting the upper hand but to land this fish would be a bit tricky. I clicked away as the water around the net was thrown all over. Finally Woody had it in the net and the last fish of the day was landed. A super fish, much bigger than the others we'd had and a fitting end to a super little session.

Not a bad little distraction to pike fishing and a nice change of target species. I've had brownies before but never really set out just to catch them as we did today. We had some great sport with a few better fish thrown in and just being out among the perfect little river, the wildlife and the peace and quiet was fantastic. I'm sure we'll do this again some time.

The last fish

Happy with my last big fish capture, the eighteen pounder, I didn't really make plans to get out in the final week of the river season. Monday came and went and I didn't even bother getting out. Working the 6am-2pm shift I could have grabbed some quality time but instead went home and cut the grass in the glorious sunshine. I think I forced myself to fish a few too many times during the winter and that's not me, I prefer to go when I get that urge. Tuesday was something similar, bright blue skies forecast and I had no plans.

My thoughts started to switch to what I would do in the close season and I was thinking of all the places I needed to visit. Some of the places I'd not been to in ages so I have no idea of where the fish will be hiding up. The more I thought about fishing the more it made me want to go. It wasn't too long in to my shift when I got the urge so text the wife to tell her I wouldn't be home while dark. With the clear blue skies I didn't fancy the river for pike, but thought I could may be give it a go a little later as the sun was starting to go down. So instead I thought about some perch fun, but for some reason I then thought about something completely different.

If I could find some perch, what about using a few as live baits? I'd spoken to Woody and suggested we do this before on a certain spot but we never had a good crack at the river and didn't get around to it. If I caught some I could use them, if not I'd just switch to the original plan of a last hour big lure session. I finished my shift but had to go home to get the bait rod and my bucket so it was about half two when I got fishing. Finding the perch might prove a bit tricky though.

Half an hour and not so much as pluck. I was travelling light in case I had to carry a bucket of water back, no camera and no net just a handful of kopytos and my pliers. Out of nowhere I got a tap on the rod and then the rod bent and I was playing a perch. It fought hard on the little rod but I didn't think much of it, and then as it came up I saw a nice perch which was about a pound in weight. I'd never caught such a big perch in this spot and couldn't believe it. I couldn't use this one, even though I knew a pike would have no problem swallowing it in one go. The fish went back and I cast around a few times again. Tipy tap, bang! The rod was bent again and this time it felt bigger, what the hell? I had no net and had to get right down on my knees to hand land this perch, which was easily two pound. You have got to be kidding me! I was only after tiddlers. Another half hour passed and finally I'd bagged a few small perch, five in total and I felt that was enough to give me a chance of a fish or two.

The bait rod was set up with a simple float set about six inch above my 18 inch trace. I wanted the bait to cover the swims but also knew that there are varying depths and a few snags about and didn't want to have my bait tangled up in a sunken branch. Much of the water is about six feet deep and so any pike would know the live bait was there, usually my lures only work that depth too and that works a treat.

The first bait went out on the edge of some fast water, just in the slack. It moved around a bit but never went to far, just perfect. I was using larger hooks than you might when dead baiting and my plan was to set the hooks fast on the smaller perch which were about five or six inch long. A simple meal for any pike. If the hooks didn't stick then it might be a small fish, I was confident any trophy sized fish would have the whole perch in their mouth and I could strike early. It wasn't long before I had my first bit of interest and the float slid under. I bent in to the fish to feel a bit of resistance and immediately thought it was a double. The video camera was rolling and when it came in to view I was happy, a nice fish which went fourteen pounds. I turned the camera off and it beeped once. Wait a minute, it is three beeps for "stop" and one for "record." Aah you tit you've missed the action.

Second bait back out and in the same spot. Again not too long to wait and it slid under. I wound down and hit it, but the hooks came flying back at me. Let's all say it was a small jack just to make me feel better. I never felt too much so will never know anyway.

Third small bait out and it was out quite some time. Eventually the bait died on me and so I quickly changed the rig a little to use the dead perch in a sink and draw method. Twitching it back In I thought I saw a shadow and then the shadow emerged in the distance. It looked a good sized fish, but I left the bait there for a while and it never touched it. I decided to leave the spot and moved further down, twitching the bait, sink and draw all over the swim. Nothing else happened so I used my last small live bait and after two or three minutes I'd had another pike at ten pounds. I was now left with a small dead perch and one larger perch of around a half pound. I had saved this larger bait, I was going to put it back where I'd seen that big pike follow earlier.


I lobbed the bait back in the same spot I'd seen the fish, well more where I thought I'd pulled the pike in from. My GoPro was mounted on my head mount but to save battery I had it on stand by. I knew now that one beep would tell me it was recording, no mess ups this time if the float goes. The float went under twice as the perch struggled but then it settled and just slowly drifted a few feet from the spot it landed in. About thirty seconds later, less than a minute anyway, the float went under and stayed under and they way it went under told me it was a fish. Especially since there was now a large boil as the surface water moved beside my float.

One beep, I was recording. A brief pause, I knew the bait was bigger so just gave it a few extra seconds. The slack line was taken up so I hand fed a little more off and as the line started to tighten again I decided it was time. I hit the fish and the hooks seemed to stick, at the same time I nearly went arse over tit on a log. I felt a bit of good force and then realised my net was fifteen yards up the bank and so made my way towards it, keeping my eye on the fish but not putting too much pressure on. Walking with the rod, a bit of tension on the spool and then the fish bolting in the other direction could end up with too much force on the hooks so taking it steady as I made my way to the net was a good idea I felt.  At the net I was now settled and concentrating more on what me and the fish were doing, testing my clutch every now and again. First glimpse at distance and the fish looked pretty good. I dare not say it, but it looked a high double easy.

I worked the fish closer, it saw me and turned away taking line. This one isn't ready yet so I patiently kept on playing the fish. As the fish came up again I saw the top treble in thin air, then caught a glimpse of the other treble. It was only hooked lightly and so I backed off the drag even more, slightly too much at one point. I don't like messing too much with the drag during a fight as you can over tighten or loosen too much which can cost you but I had no option but to play it safe. Another reason is I will then forget to set the drag and the next fish could be a disaster.

The battle wasn't explosive, the fish stayed just below the surface for most of the fight but gave plenty of strong runs and had me panicking a couple of times. I turned the fish and finally it was coming towards me. I dipped the net and pushed it out as I worked the fish in. A brief resistance from the fish but finally it was in the net and immediately I knew I had done a twenty. On the mat the hooks were already free so I just cut the line and lobbed the trace to one side out of the way. I wasn't going to be doing any more fishing tonight after this. No more baits, the sun was starting to go down and I had a definite twenty in my hands. I knew there was a bit more to add to that and the scales eventually settled at 23lb 8oz. I grabbed some photos and put the fish back in the water  and as I watched her sail away in to the depths I couldn't believe I'd done a twenty on my last fish of my last pike session of the season.

Don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel. The video of all the action is nearly complete so subscribe to see as soon as it's released. Thanks!

Good luck to anyone out tomorrow, and I really do hope a few of you can drop on something special. You're own target, your own bundle of fun and hand full of joy. Good luck, tight lines and thanks for reading!

That feeling you get on a Tuesday when you bagged a twenty ealrier in the day.

I don't believe it to be honest, I went and bagged a twenty. I think my own blog writing last night inspired me to get out today after work for the last few hours. Never did I expect the result I got though. If you've been stuck in most of the winter now is the time, make the time, to get out and have one last crack. You never know what could happen. Good luck and tight lines.

There will be a full blog update here soon detailing, and a full video of the fish and story on my Youtube channel. But in the mean time, this is a blatant plug for my youtube channel. Please pass it on to your fishing buddies, like and subscribe and when I think the time is right I'll release the video for you all to enjoy. I currently have 56 subscribers. My son, a youtube fan (not of my channel though) says that for my 100th subscriber I am supposed to do something special. Well let's see if we can hit that magic mark and the epic video will be up.

That feeling on a Monday when you a bagged a twenty at the weekend.

We're getting there folks. We're getting to that point where we can't fish the rivers any more. Just when everything is fat and plump, just when the rivers are starting to get in to a good condition some bugger goes and pulls the plug on it. It seems to happen like this every year, and then it seems like a really long way off before we can get back on it again.

So it's a mad rush for all to get on the rivers this week and try and get one last fish. As a piker it's the last chance to get that one last river twenty, that's the fish we all are chasing, all accept me. No I haven't already bagged one if that's what you were thinking. I finished work today at 2pm, the sun was shining and I had plenty of time to get some river fishing in but what did I do? I went home and cut the grass, it's growing like mad if you haven't noticed. I fixed the shed window too as the last nasty winds we had gave it a bit of a battering. A bit of a tidy up but I left some jobs for late, the closed season will be a long one. I then settled down with a pot of tea to watch the DVD of my team snatching victory in the very last second of the game. Work this morning was with a smile, a bounce, and lots of energy. The last time I felt like that on a Monday morning was when I'd landed a twenty at the weekend.

Last weekend I didn't even fish the river, I was out with a few forum lads who had booked a lake for a lure social. Most of them where new to the sport, some hadn't caught or even seen a pike before so I went as the "experienced" angler. It was hard work, crystal clear water and apart from a few follows not much happened. I reckon the place had seen a bit of lure action, despite the owner telling us it didn't get fished for pike. Every pike that followed was hesitant, and on a place that is not pressured at least a few jacks will smash the first lure they see. We didn't fail though in our quest. There was a follow from a couple of pike and two of the lads were trying to entice one. I passed my polaroids to Nick so he could see the action as he didn't have any and then I stuck on the reliable rainbow lip lure and wobbled it in. I couldn't see the pike or the lure and then Nick commented that the pike was following one of our lures, and then I realised it was following my lure. Both lure and pike came in to view but I had ran out of water, so I showed them a trick. Lure hanging right below the rod tip, a foot from the edge of the water and the pike sat face to face with the lure suspended a foot off the bottom. They were spellbound at this point, and I explained that you should never be in a rush to lift the lure out of the water. "Watch this" and I gave the smallest of flicks of the rod tip, the lure moved slightly and the pike smashed it. Don't let a pike think, let instinct take over. Not a monster but it was a fantastic sight to see and the lads were buzzing, plus we got to show them how to handle a pike so that when they bag a fish they can do it with confidence. We nipped off to a canal at the end and all bagged a couple of perch so no blanks. I also later got a message this week from Dave who was over the moon at catching two pike on the lures now he was confident that what he had been doing before was right all along. He just needed to put his lure in front of a hungry pike.



This Sunday saw me helping out at the Selby region PAC teach in day, as Mark Green had asked if I could get down and pass on some knowledge on lure fishing. It was a crazy March day, and the planned frosty fishing session with extra layers was instead met by glorious sunshine. It was a good turn out and a good few lads were keen to learn about lure fishing and I was glad to help. Too many things to talk about and too many questions for us to get fishing with the lures but I think those that came were happy with my mumblings. I tried to focus a little on the lighter lures as that is what has kicked off big style this last year or so in this country. Most of the lads weren't the serious pike fishermen, throwing huge plastics and jerks, so I just gave them a glimpse of that part. I think in the end about four fish came out to baits, so it was good that some of the new pikers got to have a close look at a pike and everything to do with handling. After my latest hook up the other day though, obviously I took a back seat for that demo!

You're not going to bag a twenty at this rate pal, you need to get some serious piking done. But that's not my aim, I class myself as a pleasure angler, a pleasure piker. I do love the big girl sat on my knee but I hate the hard grind of chasing one. You can dig back through this blog and often the general message about my fishing is, little and often. I enjoy getting out, armed with a few lures and the aim of catching a fish. Many times I blank, some times I get the result but that's how I like to approach things. It keeps it casual and keeps me away from the hard slog. Despite dropping on some good fish over the last few years I don't get about too much and I'm pretty new to this piking game, serious piking anyway, so I don't have stacks of waters to go at.

I had no plans at all to fish on Saturday, the wife and kids had far too many plans for me to even consider a small session. I resigned myself to a day of shopping. School shoes, party outfits, living room furnishings. Why doesn't she just order the stuff off the net and get it delivered to work like I do? Hell the day was that bad I even suggested taking the mother in law along, she's not that bad if I'm honest. Looking back, may be I did harbour a sliver of hope of getting out on the bank later in the day as I used a few time saving ideas. I used the in car sat nav to get me to all the locations as quickly as possible, gave a few words of encouragement and agreed at the first item they all wanted to buy. I was home for half two and when the wife asked "are you off fishing now?" there was only ever going to be one answer.

I love these off the cuff, spur of the moment sessions. No plans, no pressure to catch whatever I get is a bonus. It can be a fish, being outdoors, watching the sunset, anything and everything. Just anything on these little sessions is what it's all about for me. I just fished without thinking of anything and was just glad to be out.

There was a big swirl at my lure and I was in. The swirl gave me great hope as the water moved look decent, though within no time I saw a flash of tail and it looked like a jack. I'll take that, a fish is a fish. I moved the net closer to the water as I wasn't going to risk another self hook up if anything on this landing looked dodgy. I gave the fish some pressure to get it in and the jack gave me some back, going off on a typical crazy jack surge. I gave more, the pike gave more and after the third pass in front of me of the pike going up then downstream then back up, I was now hoping for a half decent double. Slightly more excited to see the fish, a little more effort was made to get the fishes head up and this just made the fish fight even more. Hold on a minute this is a good fish. As it neared the bank I was definitely netting this pike, an upper double easy and it doesn't matter where the hooks are it's going in the net for safety and as I pull the tail over the lip of the net I'm beaming. Super super fish. Most probably the last river pike of my season. I can't spake!