Lower river - jack

I was waiting on a phone call (and still am) so needed to stay local, I decided to fish a stretch on the lower reaches of the river so I could get a phone signal. The plan was to feeder fish for the bream and put a rod or two out for the pike.

Early morning on the lower river

The peg I picked was quite tight and after a while I got a bit sick of struggling for space and watching the tip so I decided to switch to fishing a 5m whip to hand. I fished this method many times along this same stretch when I was younger and often did quiet well. The fishing was very easy and every put in I was catching nice perch, roach and skimmers to around the 10/12oz mark. After about 2 hours on the whip I decided to concentrate on the pike, shortly after I take a take on a herring which didn't really develop. Just before midday I landed a small jack which had taken a perch live bait.

Only a jack but I'm happy to catch pike of any size

I needed to be away by 1400hrs so I left a rod out until the last minute, I was about to pack up the last rod when the live bait was taken. Line was quickly being taken via the baitrunner, usually I would hold the spool and strike simultaneously and then disengage the baitrunner, but for some reason Idisengaged the baitrunner and the pike dropped the bait instantly!

This mornings session was unexpected as I thought that I would be working and although the pike was only small it's the first I've caught this far downstream for a couple of years. The whip fishing was enjoyable but possibly a bit too easy as it could only hold my attention for a couple of hours.

Tackle

My crimping pliers snapped today, this is the second time that I've had pair from the same company snap, both in exactly the same place. I've emailed the manufacturer to see what they have to say......

I managed to get a bargain in the shape of a Korum accessory chair, I swapped it for an old reel that I wouldn't probably ever use. I've been after one of these chairs for a while, it's bigger than I thought it would be and I'll probably use it for more static sessions as it's a bit heavier than the chair I've been using.