A hard earned fish

I managed to nip out Tuesday for an evening session of about two hours. I managed to blank. If you want the details, the rivers were in flood and full of colour, the ponds were full of summer weed and the canal didn't produce. I first of all tried to fish a pond but the weed was just too much. I had a few small tiny pike charge at the lures which were as big as them. I gave it up. I then had a chuck in a canal I'd not fished before. It looked the part but I couldn't manage to wangle anything out in the half hour I was there. I did see signs of promise though as I had one jack follow and then strike the lure as I lifted out of the water. A combination of failing light and murky water meant I never even saw it, that could have been a blank saver had I had visibility a little more in my favour. Finally I tested my luck in a bit of river I've never fished. It was murky as hell, carrying water and I saw nothing. A chat with an old fellow walking his dog told me that there were some good perch coming out and a 22lb pike had been banked recently. Nothing I didn't already know even though I've never fished here, but it's the same river I've fished higher up and lower down with same results so stands to be the same here.

Wednesday I watched as the rain came down all day long. I awoke at 6am, checked out the curtains and then got back in bed. I sat bored all day until I managed to catch up on a stack of fishing programs. The Fishing Adventurer, Cyril Chauquet lives a lure anglers dream fishing all over the world for all kinds of predators. It passed my rainy afternoon on but it also fuelled the fire inside me and made me want to fish even more. It was still raining, very very fast.

I was in my lads bedroom looking for an advantage. He's in the loft conversion and has a window on the north and south side of the house from which I can see for some distance. I spotted in the far, far distance a break in the clouds and one that looked like the calm after the storm. I went down and got my waterproofs on and set off, wife and kids looking at me as if I was some kind of lunatic. I think fishing is turning me in to some kind of lunatic to be honest.

As I got out of the car the sun came out and it was like being somewhere other than England. I went back to the canal I'd tried yesterday but after 45 minutes I'd not seen a sign of a fish. I then moved up to the river but before I could manage a cast I was greeted by an old chap asking for my permit. I didn't even realise this bit of water had a club running it and after a brief chat with the nice old lad off I went. I'd passed a small cut thousands of times and often figured it would hold a fish or two, because when the river comes up the whole area is flooded and then when it subsides the cut is all that's left. It was surrounded by a jungle of nettles and thorny bushes. I managed to have about a dozen casts in two very awkward spots but I gave it up. The water was crystal clear and I never saw anything follow. A pike laying wait in this water would have spotted my lure the moment it hit the water.

I trundled back to the car with my tail between my legs. My car was pointing home and there wasn't much water in my way. There was no where to cast a line except for the flooded river. Only problem being this bit of river has never produced for me in the half dozen times i've tried it. I quoted my only rule in fishing, and that is you won't catch if you don't fish. I parked up and grabbed the bare minimum and trundled down to the waters edge to find the bit I was expecting to fish from under about a foot of water. I managed to hop, skip and jump across a few boulders and grass sods to within fish landing distance. This was one final shot at a fish, a small slack pool right after some fast water.

I cast in and started to retrieve the rainbow. I've hooked fish here before but lost every single one of them, so as I was winding in that thought was in my head. I then saw a swirl right behind my lure. A pike had had a lunge at my lure but I can only assume that with the dark, murky water and low light the pike had got it's bearings wrong. I gave the lure a sharp flick to make as much vibration as possible and kept the retrieve going and then "Fish on" said Cyril. It gave a good fight but I always had the upper hand and quickly got it in to the flooded shallows, weaving through the grass and then safely chinned out. The hook up was a complicated one but I managed to get them out only later to realise I'd had a close scrape as the pike had flipped. A flying treble had nicked my wrist, it was a small cut but was so close to being a nightmare scenario. The fish was still attached to the hook at that time so a treble in my wrist would have been fun. A quick blog photo and back it went. I had a few more casts and then decided to leg it home and get a brew down my neck.

2012 pike tally 
Doubles 28
Total 171

Largest 22.5lb
Twenties - 2
Bonus Perch 8

Trolling with Woodchucker - Part 2

So off we set, armed with the heavier set ups in the water, dipping them in the water for a troll then lifting them out and moving up river a bit faster when it didn't seem fishy. The river changed and went from a wide river to a much narrower one. The banks were lined with willows and occasionally we'd spot an angler or two on the banks, hidden away tucked behind a bush. The rain was holding off and we were even promised a bit of sunshine if it could just break through those clouds. At least we were drying out a little by.

We found a bit of water that looked good to troll the lures again. Still coloured and still probably much more murky than we'd have wanted. Woody kept me up to date with depths and would advise even before we hit a bit of water which lure to chuck on. "Something that hits 12 feet mate" or "get a big one on that gets down, it reaches 20 feet plus here." sometimes you could stick with the lure that seemed to hit the average depths while others a total change was needed. We hit a shallower stretch of water where the depth was mostly about twelve feet and so I stuck on a SG lowrider. I've caught on them before and will use them in murky water, retrieving them fast to make use of the vibrations they give off. It looked good to me in the water and providing I could get it down it should do a job.

I felt a thumb, the rod bent and I felt a few thumps in the distance behind the boat. This was a fish and Ade quickly stopped the boat. It's a bit misleading I found, the fish being towed for a short while way back down river feels like a right lump (and I was on heavy gear) but until you can get the boat stopped and get it closer it's tough to figure out just how big it is. Unless as Woody explained, it's under about five pound and then the force of the boat usually brings it straight to the top. This one was still giving it a bit and all though not a double is was the best fish we'd had so far and more importantly for me it was my first trolled fish. I was a happy chappy. It was a decent jack with a huge head on it for it's size. It gave a bit more of a scrap at the boat showering me with water. Woody got me a souvenir photo and we put it back.

First trolled pike

We moved further up river but nothing else was caught from the bits of water we trolled. We came to a bit of the river which opened up slightly, with the main flow down one side and on the inside had the odd slack bit of shallow water. Woody stopped the boat, it looked like a place a pike may lie up. We quickly switched to the rainbow and the Burt again, cast to the shallows and started jerking (woah, that sounds wrong) retrieving. A pike nailed Woody's Burt in no time, a bit of a tussle and then a few head shakes and then we got a glimpse. A good sized fish and the net was going to be needed for this. The fish went round the other side of the boat and I sorted the net, and then Woody led her in and she was safe. A nice double in the boat and we put her at about 14lb without bothering with the scales. I clicked away and got a few photos, Ade unhooked her and we got the mugshots done before slipping her back. The first double of the day and possible sign of things looking up, whatever happens it was a gorgeous fish.We put that fourteen down as a bonus fish, and a well earned one at that. Having initially set our plans on either trolling or motoring up to the weir, we'd spotted what looked like an opportunity for a fish. Yet again it showed that if your original plan isn't working you have to adapt, change and spot a chance for a fish and the rewards can be very pleasing indeed.

Decent sized lump

Trophy shot of the 14lber

We thrashed a little more in the area and I felt a small hit but no hooks set in. We moved off and Woody decided he wanted to troll with his Squirrely Burt and within less than a minute he had success as a small jack lunged. I think I need a Squirrelly Burt in my collection, it's not a bad lure is it.

We moved off up to the weir pool we'd been heading for. There was a bit of water in and you could see the brown stained water coming over the weir. The fish were here if we could find them. There were slack pools, deep pools, fast water, shallow bays and sheltered walls to target. We both cast toward the bank where it was a bit shallow and Ade picked up a jack and I lost one off. Drifting around there were more signs of pike with the odd missed take or brief sighting of one. I managed to land a small jack and Woody bagged a couple more while in between all that we stuffed a pasty down our necks and even managed to take in a bit of hot sun. The weir pool seemed to be surrounded by occasional anglers and they seemed to look at us boat men with a bit of envy as we moved in and fished all the places they had no chance of reaching.

Deciding we needed to make tracks we set off back down the river with the idea of doing a spot more trolling. We were in the area of where Woody caught the fourteen and the slacks looked inviting, I couldn't resist casting to the bank to start my trolling off as Woody started to speed up the boat. I jerked it a couple of times and then a pike crashed in to it breaking the surface. Another jack of no notable size but one that was appreciated none the less. Thinking back about it, maybe the conditions had pushed most of the pike in to the shallower slacks away from the main flow.

Jumping between making tracks and having a dabble at trolling we covered a bit of river on our journey home. I managed to hit a snag at one point while we were motoring a little and as Woody fought to slow the boat, I watched as line was stripped at lightening speed from the reel. I was glad I'd got plenty on or it could have been fun.

Nothing much more of note happened but there was time for one last bit of fun. In the distance behind the boat my lure was just tapping the bottom every now and again. I then felt a "thump" but I called "snag" only to change my mind as I felt something "thump" back. I held my rod up, and it went again, "thump, thump". It's a fish, I can see and feel my rod randomly tugging back. As I pull the fish closer I'm cautious to claim it a decent fish, but it was a bit heavy. "Thump....thump, thump". Woody noted it was staying low while all the time I was trying to reel it in and up toward the surface. Finally, it broke the surface and we burst in to laughter, tears rolling down my cheeks.

Well that's a first. Shit hole seat pb

The heavens opened as we made our way back to the car in the boat. We got a right good soaking as it absolutely smashed it down. It didn't put a damper on it one bit for me though. I know Ade has much better days and he was hoping for one of those days but with the conditions, the weather and the colour of the water we didn't get as many as he had hoped. Personally I'd set my goals on meeting a top angler, learning something new, getting out on the water for the first time and if I could get a few fish I was happy. I achieved all that and more and thoroughly enjoyed it. I bagged four pike and a toilet seat and Ade says he got eight pike but I was sure he's got a couple more at least but then there was so much happening I haven't a clue to be honest. My first boat fish, my first trolled fish, I got to piss in a bottle and Woody bagged a nice pike to cap off a great day. It was great to fish with someone who you could tell knew how to fish. He knew how to fish his bit of water and also proved he could change it when the going got tough to wangle us both a fish or two. He proved his skills at trolling and casting picking fish up both ways and more importantly for me, he put me on the fish too. It was the kind of experience I would expect to pay a decent whack if I went with a guide. From that one session alone I learnt plenty, should I rush out and buy a new boat, I would be confident to tackle a river and know what I was doing rather than figuring it all out from scratch. Maybe it's time to open a secret savings account and get saving up?

Cheers Ade!

2012 pike tally 
Doubles 28
Total 170

Largest 22.5lb
Twenties - 2
Bonus Perch 8

Trolling with Woodchucker - Part 1

I received an invite to go fishing with a fellow pike angler. It was an offer that was never going to be refused. A chance to get out on a boat fishing, which I'd never done before. A chance to try my hand at trolling which I'd not done before. A chance to fish a new river, which I'd not fished before. It was also a chance to meet a top angler, yes you guessed it, who I'd never met before. Plenty of people in and around the predator community will know of or seen of Ade, a guy who goes by the name of Woodchucker on the forums.

He's managed to knock up a bit of a reputation, mostly good I think, of being a knowledgeable pike and predator angler. He's given myself and plenty of others advice through forums, talks at local PAC meetings, teach in days and even like today taking the odd lucky angler out on his own boat. He's one of many of his kind in our sport who go out of their way to help the inexperienced and even the most experienced of angler. Being a pike angler who was self taught as a kid, and pretty much learnt myself most of what I do and rarely if ever fished with any other pike anglers, getting out to see how someone else does it was an opportunity not to be missed.

We'd pencilled in Saturday as the day but as the weekend came closer the weather didn't look like it was going to do us any favours. Plenty of checking of river levels and weather reports gave us an idea of what we could expect and all though Ade felt there was a chance this weekend could be a wash out, Friday night we decided to go for it and we met up at 6am Saturday morning to see what was in store. On the way to the river we had a little chat and exchanged the joys of lure fishing and he also started giving me tips on what to expect while boat fishing, what we are trying to do, how to do it and also the safety aspects of boat fishing. Now you should always listen when someone is telling you about how to stay alive while fishing, but when someone is telling you how to catch fish then you should definitely listen, take on board and use the knowledge. Especially when you're getting the tips from a guy who catches plenty of fish. I've caught plenty of pike, but in my bits of water and using my methods. I'd be a fool to do anything but follow his instruction on his bit of water.

We arrived at the launch ramp and a quick look at the water gave Ade the impression it would be a little tough, the water was coloured and visibility was low. But you don't catch if you don't try and we didn't let it spoil our plans. Giving me plenty of pointers, we set off trolling with ultralites in the hope of some perch or small pike fun. The fish finder was showing the odd spot of bait fish and there was even a mysteriously large pike looking blob hovering over a drop off but the first half hour or so didn't produce anything. Ade had previously explained, that a fish in this first bit is often a sign of a decent day in store, but no fish here can often mean it's going to be a tough day.

Woody cranks one in

Moving up and down a short stretch of river we switched and changed between the ultralites and the heavier pike set ups we had. I managed to figure out what the bottom felt like and what a branch hooked was like, all I needed now was a knock from a fish and if I was lucky enough, one in the boat would be good. But Woody was first to score landing a small jack on his light set up. At least the boat hadn't blanked, that was one thing chalked off and pretty soon after he'd landed another two small jacks. Woody was in to the action and showing the way to go.

The going was a bit tough and the prospects of a bumper day looked slim, add to that the rain was coming down quite a bit it seemed as if the Gods might not be looking in our favour. But I was enjoying myself no matter what. I'd already extended my fishing knowledge and was learning some new skills so I was winning, and despite the rain it was still good fun. I'd seen some fish banked too which was only going to spur me on further. I'd also learnt one more valuable thing already. My waterproof trousers aren't that waterproof.

Bait fish on the screen

When you're fishing, it's good if you can find the fish or bring them to you. You can use bait to bring them to you or you can use water craft to find them. My own predator fishing relies on water craft, being able to read a bit of water and figure out where the bait fish are and hopefully a pike or two will be knocking about. One useful tool in the boat fisherman's armoury is the fish finder. It has three main uses. First is to check the depth, which will then help you decide which lure to put on. The general rule being, try to get a lure that will work the depth of water you are fishing. There's no point using a shallow runner in 25 feet of water and similarly using a deep runner in shallow water will have you losing lots of lures. Another great feature of the fish finders is that they can help you spot the under water features such as drop offs, sunken features and those dastardly snags. You can use these to your advantage because fish like to live around these kind of features, and you can also make sure you get your lure out of the way of a sunken lure eating willow tree. Finally, just like Ronseal, those fish finders do what they say, they enable you to spot the fish.Every now and again we'd spot a ball of fish and sometimes we spotted a mammoth sized shoal of fish. Unfortunately despite nipping back for a bit of jigging or further trolling we couldn't pick up a fish.

My first boat caught fish

Woody and Burt

We moved off in search of better water. The colour and cloudiness didn't seem to be helping us but Ade explained he knew a spot which might just hold a clearer bit of water, where a small river fed in. We arrived at a small bay, switched off the engine and proceeded to throw a few lures around. The water wasn't deep, just two to five feet in parts. It wasn't crystal clear, but there was much more visibility. This spot was much more suited to what I'd previously done in lure fishing, a shallower bit of water and me throwing some lures about. Apart from being stood on the front of the boat, the rest was all the same and so I stuck on my trusty rainbow lip lure in the hope of a fish while Woody put on a Squirrely Burt. Not too soon after I hooked a pike and as I started to bring it in, Woody hit in to one too. His fish managed to come loose but I managed to land my first boat caught fish.Not a monster by any means but an enjoyable fish. We kept at it and a few pike showed, one coming and grabbing Woodys lure and then letting go and I felt one but couldn't set the hooks before finally another pike was landed, this time to the Burt. We'd seen a few fish and caught a couple but Ade wasn't quite happy with today's catch and the prospects of maybe only few more fish in these conditions. Sometimes in fishing you need to make choices, sometimes those choices pay off and others they don't. You have to work out what is your best bet and go for it and that's what Ade decided. We were heading up river to a weir pool he knew. I was excited at that thought because I know what any weir pools is capable of.

We headed off, sometimes with a spot of trolling and sometimes we'd leave it and try to cover a bit of distance. It was a fare old trek to this weir pool so if it didn't seem like anything was happening we'd move on, stopping off when we felt there could be a chance of a fish.

I think I'll leave the story right here, saving the best bits for another day. Up to now we'd not managed anything of note-able size, and I've still got to break my trolling duck. Part 2 should be fun!

2012 pike tally 
Doubles 28
Total 170

Largest 22.5lb
Twenties - 2
Bonus Perch 8

Fox easy twist trace wire - trace making PART 1

It's the worst thing you can do. Go in to a tackle shop when you didn't even need anything. Luckily I spent just less than fifty quid on crap I probably will never use. One thing I did buy though is some more trace making material. I always have a few of those cheap and nasty, one pound odd costing, ready made lure/spinning traces in my bag. It's good to have a variety of stuff and every now and again I do use these. They're not the best and won't stand up to the constant biting from the pike, but for a few fish at least they're not too bad and will get you out of a pickle. They're cheap enough to chuck away if they get too kinked up.

I wanted to make some lighter traces myself and also have the ability to quickly knock up one or two while on the bank so while in the tackle shop I grabbed some Fox easy twist wire and some extra crimps (you get about ten in the pack of wire). Today the river was slightly up, very coloured and full of debris, typically not the best conditions I've found to fish this bit of water. So I set about making some traces for when I'm chasing the perch or using smaller lures. Sometimes the tough, stiff titanium is just too tough and stiff for the lures to work correctly and a softer material is needed and 100 Ti traces aren't quite right for sticking a tiny Mepps spinner on!

It's pretty easy to make traces and will work out much much cheaper than buying ready made ones all the time. This Fox wire will cost you about £7.50 for a 25m role at 30lb breaking strain. Add to that £3 for some more crimps and you can knock up plenty of traces. I already had some swivels and clips at home in my little box of tricks that I'm slowly filling up with things I'll need on the bank. I noted that I needed some more clips of varying types so will have a scan of the web later. As I set about knocking a few up and then found I'd got something missing. Nothing too important, but you can make the job a bit tidier if you have some shrink tubing to cover your crimps and help prevent them catching and picking up weed. Of well, fifty knicker spent and still didn't get everything I needed.

I know many anglers will already make up their own traces, will have done so a million times more than me and will also have found better alternatives and combinations of tackle to use. So for you don't bother reading any further as you'll lose about three minutes of your life you'll not get back. But for those who have never done so or have no idea about making traces then here's a quick tutorial of what I did.

• Slide a crimp on to the wire.
• Slide a swivel or clip on to the the wire. EDIT - The clips in these pictures are rubbish, do not use, especially for pike fishing.
• Loop the wire back around and back through the clip (fig 1). Leave a bit of a loop so it is easy to manage in the next steps.

Fig 1

Fig 2

• Next, thread the wire back through the crimp one more time. Push the wire back until it just pokes out of the crimp.You now should have a bit of a figure of eight with your wire. (Fig 2)
• We now need to get rid of the loops and tighten up. The first one to get rid of is the bottom one in Fig 2. By pulling on the wire on the top loop, the bottom loop will close up. Pull the wire so the loop is gone but make sure not to pull the wire back through the crimp by pulling too hard.
• You'll now be looking something like Fig 3 below with the bottom loop gone and the top loop probably a lot bigger than before.
• Simply pull on the main length of wire to make the loop at the top smaller leaving just enough room for the swivel or clip to move around freely. (Fig 4)
• Using a decent set of crimping tools (not pliers) apply pressure to the crimp once you're happy with the tidiness and the size of the loop. Not too much pressure and not too little. If there is signs of damage to the crimp or wire then start again otherwise you risk losing a fish.
• Finally, and very importantly, test your trace! If it fails, it's your fault and you'll blame yourself for losing that biggie. Get a couple of small screw drivers or something and place them through the swivel and clip and simply stretch the trace to test your crimping. Don't forget if you are using lighter wire that you can easily break it so apply just enough force. When using heavier wire you might actually break a clip or swivel. You could use an old set of scales to give yourself an idea of how much force your trace is taking. Take note though, if that wire snaps you don't end up punching someone or stabbing yourself with the screwdriver. Use a bit of common sense (common sense not so common these days it seems).
  
  
  
  

  

  Fig 3

  

  Fig 4

  
  It's as simple as that, swivel at one end, clip of choice at the other and crimp them both securely in place. Make a loop with the wire through the crimp then back through one more time, tightening up the loops and then crimping up. You can add some heat shrink tubing to make the crimps and wires tidier and you can mix and match swivels and clips to suit plus you can make decent length traces too, because don't forget those big pike have big mouths. The best bit about this is that you can knock these up quickly and can do them on the bank when needed in no time. Here's another tip, if you want to be able to make traces up on the bank don't forget to take some terminal tackle with you, possibly in a small box or plastic zip lock bag. Plus the most important bit of kit, the crimping tool.
  
  You have a choice, make the traces at home and leave the gear at home only to find that when you are on the bank you need the tools and tackle or cart it all around with you and never ever use it! Whichever you choose will be wrong no doubt. Another final tip. Crimp a swivel to your roll of easy twist wire. It'll save time the next time you come to make a trace and it'll save you losing the end of the wire in the roll.

PART 2 HERE - No crimps needed!