Well it's not exactly shining, in fact it was a bit of a wet and miserable day today but the river still looked in excellent condition. The rain wasn't substantial just very fine rain, so hopefully there won't be any wash outs for a while and the pike can get on the feed, with me picking up one or two in the process. Yesterday was a good result with that bonus pike on the way home from an ultra lite session, but today I wanted to get out with just the heavy lures to see if I could get another fish or two.
I started off using a real eel. I like to start off with a slow working soft lure, trying not to create too much commotion and try to get a reaction from a pike laying up in the edge who sees an easy meal slowly passing by. I managed to hook a pike of the typical seven or eight pound size I get around here which didn't half hammer the lure on the take and then put in a fight a bigger pike would have been proud of. I thought I had the fish beaten after a battle and as I was bringing it in the fish turned and the hooks slipped out before I could net it. Pity as it looked a good conditioned fish.
A good half hour passed and nothing. I'd rung the changes with the lures and was on to the SG low rider. A large lipped lure with good vibration and bright flashes as it is worked through the water aggressively. When I'm at this stage, it's either murky water, or like today I'm trying to wake up a fish or force a reaction from a pike usually after a while of not much action. Nothing, it didn't work.
I moved swims and went back to the softly softly approach of the real eel. I worked all the close areas and nothing. In this peg there is a snag out in front of you and it won't budge, it's a lure taker. With a bit of skill and luck though you can work either side of it but if you do end up hooking a fish out in front of the snag then you risk getting snagged up if the pike gets down in to it. I cast long and to the side of the snag. I've had pike from here before but it's always a risk. As the lure got to about ten feet away from the snag, still on the far side of it I had a take.
I bullied the fish, it's the only thing you can do. Rod held high and plenty of pressure. The pike didn't know what had happened and before it knew it was already well passed the snag and closer to safety. Then the pike decided to have a go back and it put a right bend in the
rod. It launched clear of the water before I could ease off (if you
bully pike that are about to jump they jump, if you can ease off they'll
back out of it) and I was worried a little as this is often where they
shake the hooks free. However I could now also see that the lure was no
where to be seen. The fight continued and eventually I slipped her over
the net.
The hook up was a tough one. The hooks were well down.
Big pike can still swallow a big lure easily and this one was hooked
behind the gill rakers. I reached for my longer tools only to find they
weren't there! Shit, I'd left them in my other bag. This could be tricky
but I soon used my unhooking experience to make a difficult job easy.
The small nosed pliers could easily reach the hook coming in through the
gills. I got the hook out but it would prove difficult to then get the
hook out through the mouth, so since this was the stinger treble I
instead threaded it out through the gills and just cut the wire with my
pliers. It was a home made stinger anyway and I can knock one up again
in no time, much better to make sure the fish is back in the water
quickly. Job done, another mid double banked and this one went 16lb.
I wish I could do self takes to do a fish justice. They just don't look as good in a photos I take with a ten second delay.
After yesterdays release shot video I wanted to do better and get a clearer look at a big pike in the water. I've got a large lump of concrete pointing out in to the river where I am and it makes a perfect launching platform for releasing big fish. I'm safely on solid ground rather than muddy banking and the fish is in a nice bit of deep water. I put the fish in the water and held her by the tail as normal and then proceeded to get some under water footage of her, all the time praying she didn't fancy a bit of revenge and have a go at my hand waving around in front of her. Admittedly not the brightest thing to do but worth the gamble.
2012 pike tally
Doubles 33
Total 207
Largest 22.5lb
Twenties - 2
Bonus Perch 54
Largest 3lb 12oz
Bonus chub - 1
I've not been out a great deal this last few weeks. The river has been up, down, up down (repeat to fade). I really wanted to have a good bash on the river before the colder, slower months came in but the rain made my peg a right old mess. I really should have just gone somewhere else, there's plenty of water for me to try but I didn't have the enthusiasm for it and instead opted to try my luck for ten minutes here, twenty minutes there, on the river no matter what condition it was like. Mostly it's been full of rubbish, murky brown and a waste of space but me being me I still had a go because you never know.
A few weeks ago I took Neil with me to my peg in the hope of a bit of action but not a great deal happened. Neil had one fish hit and then shake the lure before he could get a grip of what it was. I then had a follow before finally hooking a fish. I guestimated 6-7lb at the time but as Neil says it was probably a little bigger.Good bit of fun but a pity we didn't get a bit more action. Gorgeous pike though!
I then had my little spell of bad river conditions and little to no fishing and what bit I did I wasn't even hopeful of anything. Still, just to prove theories wrong, on the odd occasion I did get a hit or two from pike so they were still about and hitting lures in the wrong text book conditions. One of the days I was in Morrissons and ended up buying some sprats and a few mackerel. The next morning I had an hour before work with them tied to something called a float, which moves about and goes under if a pike gets a hold of the bait. What a strange way to fish this is? Not a great deal happened but I did manage a small jack of about 3 or 4lb so it was a bit of a success. I might try it again one day who knows. However I need something to do while I'm stood at the side of the river watching my float. I ended up taking photos of random things to amuse myself and pass the time. I managed a Facebook style photo. All that was missing was me pouting my lips and giving it the big V and I'd have been a right cool dude, or just looked even more of a twat like everyone else who does that over and over on Facebook (repeat to fade again).
Winter hat is out
One of the local noddies?
With this weekend approaching I was keen to get out and do a bit of serious fishing. I then got a message from Matt asking if I wanted to get out for a session and so we opted for Sunday, but wrote off the rivers since we didn't want to have those plans ruined by more rain. Instead we decided to make use of the free time to go exploring a little. We'd got some water we wanted to check out, some canals, drains and rivers and so we met up bright and early (poor choice of words) at half past five. It was absolutely pitch black and there was a nice fog rolling around. Navigating the small roads at this time with thick fog made for fun in itself. A couple of times I drove right past the turn off and had to go back to find it. We also managed to find a small bridge that was our only crossing for miles blocked off as men were working on it (Sunday morning at half five?) We eventually made it to our start point and it was still dark, but within five minutes or so we could see the light was winning that battle over dark and fog and we could see enough to fish so off we went.
We were fishing the ultra lite set ups and Matt stuck on a kopyto lure while I opted for a small SG lip lure thinking we'd have a good chance of finding out what was in the water. Within minutes Matt had a take on the drop which caught him by surprise and he missed it but next cast or so he was in and it was putting up a good fight. But what was it, small pike or another decent perch? I pushed out the net ready for what ever it was and as it came to the surface we were surprised but very happy with the catch. It was a chub of about 3lb and a great start. Not too long after and Matt had another fish take the kopyto and would you believe it, another decent chub probably a little smaller but still pushing 3lb. I'll save the trophy shots for Matt on his blogwrite up but I took this photo of him releasing one of the chub and like it so I'm showing it off.
I quickly switched to the kopytos and then as I walked up to the next peg I scared a small jack out of the shallows, then first cast had another small jack hit my lure and shake itself free before finally I managed to hook in to one and land it. A small fish but at least it was me off the mark. I also then had a tiny pike hit the lure right in the edge but it flicked itself free. We thought we were in for a bumper day but it went quiet then and we didn't get much more. We continued to go exploring and finding out what was further along, trying a few casts when we felt we might pick up a fish. It was tough going but it was still early so plenty of time to drop on a fish or two. The fog still hadn't subsided and we could only see a hundred metres or so in front. We knew eventually we needed to be on the opposite bank but had no idea where we might be able to cross and with our view distance cut short we just had to put our heads down and get on with it until we dropped on a bridge. We finally made the cross over and then worked our way towards the next lock where we were sure there would be some perch action and we were right. No big stripeys but we had some fun catching a few small perch with the odd larger one of half a pound to three quarters mixed in. Matt had been suffering a little with hot then cold spells and was obviously starting off with something that'll have him cuddling under a blanket and having the missus take care of him for the next week. We decided we'd covered lots of ground and so made the call to go back to where we'd started, to have another bash and then get in the car and head back home. We passed a small cafe and I suggested Matt get a warm drink inside him but he told me he was ok as he had a flask in his bag. Back at our starting peg Matt then got out his flask for a warm up drink, but dropped the flask shattering the glass inside. It hadn't even lasted 24 hours with him as he'd only bought it the day before!
Back at our start off peg it was much more quiet than before but Matt managed to pull out a small pike which took his species tally for the day to three on the lures. We set off home but still had one last bash at a canal lock we passed on the way though yet again nothing showed. I dropped Matt off sometime after late lunch time where he probably fell in to the house and then fell fast asleep, with probably not much sympathy from the missus either. It was a good session and we learnt plenty. I'm sure we'll target those chub again and the water we covered should do better for the perch at least when it's a little warmer, we'll be back.
I headed home, but on the way couldn't get the thought of trying my luck at my local river out of my head and the car seemed to go there in auto pilot. I decided to take both light and heavy set ups and started off with the kopytos to see what was about. I soon hooked a small jack of about four pound which put up a great scrap before finally shaking free just short of the net. Not quite a notch on the bed post but a good bit of fun anyway. I flicked through a few lures before finally getting the heavy lures out. I tried the real eel first and had one take. I saw the pike grab the lure but my hooks didn't stick in to anything. I tried a few more casts and then put on a lip lure in blue/silver. I then had a pike follow three times and hit the lure three times and I managed to miss it each time. I've no idea why, just guess that lady luck wasn't on my side then. I kept at it covering the water over and over even though I felt I'd missed my chances. Finally I had a take and this time it stuck, and not only did it stick but it took about twenty yards of line with it. Jet powered pike on board, hold tight! It then made a sharp turn and then launched itself well clear of the water and I could see I had on a good fish. It crashed back in to the water and then went in to a death role, wrapping itself up in braid and then unfortunately the fight was over. I didn't lose the fish, it just couldn't do anything by now as there was so much line around it. I then had to pull it in backwards but luckily not too far as I could reach out with my telescopic net. The hooks came out easily but the line was a right old mess so I just cut it off. I wasn't faffing about risking harm to me or the fish.
Well worth my time calling in on my way home, you never know what's in store on this patch. Had lady luck shone on me one more time I could well have had another good double because ten minutes later I had another take, felt the tug and saw the fish but the hooks pulled. Shame because that was another good fish and who knows what it might have weighed. Can't grumble though and I'm happy with the day and the finish to it.
Fifteen pounds bonus fish
EDIT- i've just realised this fish is a repeat capture. I caught it three weeks ago in the same spot and it's put on half a pound. It fought like a demon back then and I named it The Brute, and today it put up a massive scrap again until it got tangled in line. What a fish, what a fish!
The Brute goes back to fight another day.
2012 pike tally
Doubles 32
Total 206
Largest 22.5lb
Twenties - 2
Bonus Perch 54
Largest 3lb 12oz
Bonus chub - 1
Recently I entered the Pike and Predators magazine monthly Savage Gear competition. I use plenty of their lures so there was a good chance I would eventually drop on a decent fish while using one of them (I've actually had a 22.5lb pike on the rainbow lip lure earlier in the year). Last month I received those fancy new Real Eels in the post and managed to wangle a twenty one pound beast out within less than an hour of opening the parcel. It didn't dawn on me straight away to do it but not too long after I emailed my entry and the waiting began. I was at the local newsagents as soon as the latest edition was out but resisted opening the pages until I got home. I then quickly flicked through to be greeted with my mug shot and that fish and I was over the moon. I never win owt!
£250 lure prize
Today I got home from work to find a box sat waiting for me and I knew what it was. I do often have a parcel waiting for me when I get home, that lure addiction is a bit of a killer but seeing the size of this box I knew it wasn't something I'd ordered. What a pleasant surprise. The prize was £250 worth of Savage Gear lures but you all know that doesn't go far when you start buying lures. There was plenty in the box and even better there was a good chunk which I didn't even own any of. There's the odd lip lure and low rider of various sizes and plenty of soft 4plays in all sizes, some lip skulls and a good colour selection too. I was chuffed to bits with the selection of cannibal shads inside because they are a lure I have yet to purchase or try but I did fancy them. I haven't got around to fishing for them yet, but I reckon they will be a top lure for zander! So a nice little surprise and welcome addition to my lure addiction. I'll be out as soon as possible to give them a try.
Finally a big thank you to Pike and Predator magazine and of course Savage Gear while not forgetting of course the pike herself. She was a great adversary and I hope she's out there causing havoc among the silver fish as we speak!
What a shame this last week has been another river wash out as far as my pike lure fishing has been concerned. Rain, rain, rain and the river has been up and down and then back up again before you can even cast a line out. So my fishing this last week has been limited and I haven't got a great deal to write about. I did feel the need to put something here though which I'm hoping is a post to draw a line under the recent bad weather. I did manage to catch a few fish, one small perch and three pike which actually brings my pike tally for the year so far to two hundred. I've no idea if that is good or bad since I've never counted them before but it gives me something to think about of the next few years at least.
I somehow forgot to photograph the 200th fish, but it was only a tiddler of not even two pounds but at least I did get a trophy shot of a fish I caught from the river in between crazy levels.The river had been really high and then subsided, and I got out first chance. The bank was covered in debris, logs, bottles you name it. I couldn't even get a good spot to stand up on where I normally go. To make it even worse the bank was covered in two inch of silty mud which added to my troubles trying to stay stood up. Not a great deal happened but I did get a fish follow my firetiger real eel. I couldn't persuade it to take so left the spot half an hour or so and then cast into the same spot with my trusty rainbow lip lure. I figured the action of the lip lure might this time do the business and the pike took first cast. It put up one hell of a titanic battle and gave me great pleasure but the battle wasn't even over on the bank and I struggled for a picture as the fish just kept on fighting. A muddy and bloody fight for me in the end but I'm glad I at least got something to keep from this encounter with a truly fantastic brute of a fish.
Fourteen pound brute
I'm hopeful of a trip or two this week for the odd hour. I actually resisted the urge to get out today and gave the river a rest. It wasn't too far off a fishable level, the colour was getting better and I probably could have wangled at least a fish out as I'm sure the pike are ready for a feed. Instead I did something I don't normally do and I know it will give me the urge to get out next week. I had a lazy, boring Sunday doing nothing. I know what I'm doing tomorrow now.
2012 pike tally
Doubles 31
Total 200
Largest 22.5lb
Twenties - 2
Bonus Perch 49
Largest 3lb 12oz
Bonus chub - 1
