Twelve years in the making

 I’ve not had too many pike sessions this season, consciously spending the time I would usually target pike, fishing for barbel and perch instead. A decision which paid off as I caught new p.b’s of both species, however as the end of season was approaching I was eager to finish off the season with a pike session.

I had two stretches of my local river in mind but my preferred stretch had two cars in the car park (a lot for this stretch) so I did a quick u-turn and headed to the back up choice.

Within 20 mins of arriving I had a screaming take on a margin fished sardine, almost immediately after striking a huge chub was on the surface and with a quick flick of its tail it was gone. I have caught a number of 6 pounders over the last few seasons and this dwarfed any chub I'd previously caught or seen.

I was still at a bit of a loss when my second bait was taken, smelt this time and again fished in the margin. A very fast positive take, instantly I was hoping the chub had came back for a second helping, but thought more than likely it would be a jack. Thankfully after striking there was healthy curve on the rod, which was maintained during an uneventful but dogged fight. The pike was netted at the first attempt, a definite seasons best so scales and camera were sorted whilst the fish was resting in the net. 

Only on lifting the net from the water did I think this would be anywhere near the 20lb mark.

Late season, as fat as butter and just over 20lb.

For an accurate as possible reading the Reuben Heatons were hung from a tree branch and thankfully they went passed the 20lb barrier, only just, but I'll take that any day !

Just over the magic mark

Over the moon, a quick couple phone calls to a couple of close mates and despite being in a shite reception area they got the gist of what was going on!

I caught my first pike from this river in 2006 and started fishing for them properly from around 2010. Since then I have been dreaming of a 'twenty' from this river, I've had a number of close calls, both near misses (19lb plus fish) and losses of definite (known) 20lb plus fish. 

I had spent a lot of time in previous seasons focusing all of my pike sessions on this river (borderline obsessed) , but after landing fish to over 19lb and becoming a little burnt out from the hunt I decided that I would move on and just pike fish this river as and when and without too much of an agenda.       

The decision paid off as the pike was landed on only my second visit to this river this season and I've had some great times pike fishing on other rivers and targeting other species during times when in the past I would of been going through the motions on this river.

The pike was my last fish of the season, I had a chub session (different river) until midnight on the 14th but didn't manage to land anything. The capture will definitely see me through the close season and has reignited the drive to pursue a 20lb plus pike from another local river. Club tickets have been bought, google earth surveyed, recces have been planned, time off work requested............

Roll on October !!

 

New Years blank

I couldn’t make it out on New Year’s Day, dog walks and a family meal took priority however I was on the bank on my first opportunity, the 2nd! For a change my closest river was looking good, a nice winter level carrying a slight colour and stable weather in the preceding days. I took a chance and headed to a difficult stretch, feast or famine!

A ball breaker of a stretch, long walks, steep banks, massive snags, no fish.....

When its fishing well this stretch is very rewarding, however when it’s bad I question if the stretch has been polluted as it seems lifeless. I knew what type of day it was going to be after dropping in on a banker peg! Anyway I worked hard, enjoyed the time on the bank but didn’t start the year with a bang!

Backend chub and pike

Amongst the perch sessions I’ve had the odd short pike session and a few flying visits to the river for a quick after work chub session. I landed pike on every session, mostly on rivers but I also had a first pike session on a large gravel pit, which produced two of the skinniest jacks I’ve seen. 

One of the gravel pit pike

Almost a double from my local river

The chub fishing was steady, with a good average size fish of 4lb + on most sessions, but it was often only a single fish landed, not too concerning as these sessions are very short, 2-3hrs maximum. My last session of the year was a bit better, two fish landed with one being 5.08lb and a new river best. I’ll be continuing to target the chub in this river throughout the winter, with the long term target of increasing this river best to over 6lb.

5lb 8oz with plenty of room to fill out, potentially a very big chub at the right time of year

The 5.08lb next to a low '4'

First cast on a flying visit after work 4.14, only bite of the session though.

2019 highlights 

I don’t have the time or motivation for a full year review, so I’ll just stick a few highlights up.

Barbel - 11lb 7oz

Chub - 5lb 8oz

Perch - 3lb 6oz

Tench - 5lb 2oz

Any other species were either not weighted or are not worth mentioning.

The overall highlight of my fishing year was the capture of a double figure barbel from a river I’ve been working hard on for a couple of seasons. At 11lb 3oz it equalled my then p.b and really did make my fishing year, doubles from this river are definitely few and far between and they seem to be getting rarer each season. 

The highlight of my angling year, despite catching larger barbel from the trent this capture definitely brought me the most pleasure. I'll be surprised if I ever catch a larger barbel from this river. 

Autumn and winter perch part 1

A little burnt out from barbel fishing hard all summer and early autumn, I had a couple of weeks off with the thoughts of targeting pike on my local rivers on my return. However the rivers have been constantly up and coloured, far from ideal conditions for pike. 

Luckily a water that had been closed to fishing for a few years had changed hands and was now open to anglers again. The water, a small farm pond, holds some carp, the odd tench, a ridiculous amount of roach/rudd and some quality perch. Ben fished it a dozen or so times a few years back and caught good perch every session, with the largest going 3.02lb.

My first session was a good one, fishing live baits on light float paternoster rigs I landed 6 perch over 1lb with the largest going 3.06lb (a new p.b) and a brace of high 2lb’ers to back the ‘3’ up. 

My first fish from this water, a new p.b of  3.06lb

I also lost a lot of good fish, which I eventually put down to using too stiff a rod. Ben also landed a p.b on his first session back with a fish of 3.05lb but he was also losing more than he landed. We were both using avon rods, I was using Drennan series 7 1.25’s and Ben had an older pair or  rapier 1.5lb’s both over gunned but I thought the 1.25lb’s would be just about ok, however they were just slightly too stiff in the tip.

3.05lb 

Good perch have been landed on each visit with Ben landing the largest so far, 3.10lb. My aim was to catch a ‘3’ from this venue but after that first session visit we have both decided to try and get a four pounder from there before they spawn in the spring. The farm pond is a good 2 hours drive from home so visits there are going to be infrequent but I have also started looking at other waters closer to home. I’m hoping to visit the farm pond a couple of times a month before the end of spring, hopefully we can find those bigger fish.

New rods 

We have both invested in new rods specifically for the perch I initially bought a pair of 11ft series 7 pellet waggler rods, soft in the tip, bend forever but with enough power in the butt to stop commercial sized carp these rods are ideal for perch and have all but stopped hook pulls. However when underarm casting a fair size livebait and rig set between 6 and 8ft they struggled to achieved the distance needed so I also bought a pair of the new Drennan Specialist 1lb twin tips. These rods will be used when live baiting in deeper water or when distance is required, for most of my perch fishing I’ll be sticking to the pellet waggler rods.

Ben went for a pair of Greys 1lb TXL specimen rods, a bargain in the sale at around £60 a rod. Although I haven’t used them they seem a nice rod and have significantly reduced hook pulls.

Another catch up - January to March

The last three months of the season were spent chasing pike during the day and chub on night sessions. Nothing significant in terms of size was caught but chub and pike were landed on most sessions.

A session on the coldest day of the year, - 6.5°C when I arrived rising to - 3°C by the end of the session. I knew the river banks would be empty so I could of headed to any stretch and had my pick of pegs but I choose a completely new stretch. 

A few small chub were had on bread and cheese paste, definitely one of my favourite sessions of the season.

It was my nephews birthday in February so after a trip to the tackle shop we went out in search of grayling. Despite the river being in good condition we struggled to locate any, but found plenty of willing minnows to avoid a birthday blank.

Steady action during my evening chub sessions with a few going over 5lb, not troubling my 6lb target from this river but very enjoyable sessions, which are usually a flying visit after work.

The pike captures slowed down and things got worse as I managed to snap one of my rods whilst roving on a small river.

I had put holidays in for the final week of the season and typically my local rivers flooded with 10ft + of icy cold water and killed the fishing. A few attempts for chub with only one bite to show for my efforts. Levels started to drop and I was hopeful of a final day pike session but we had another flood, slightly warmer water this time though so I had a go for barbel.

Surprisingly I managed one, 8lb 6oz which is a good size for this river, a nice end to the river season. 

A few days later I headed down to a canal for a final pike session, a first visit to this waterway. I was hopeful of a pike or two to wrap up the season but it was hard going, a difficult session with zero interest in the baits, perhaps with the warmer weather the pike were focusing on something other than feeding.

New jack city

Having longer than expected for my first session of the year I decided to head to a new stretch, further upstream on this river than I’d previously ventured.

Steady action from the off, I pulled out of a jack first cast and with the next cast I landed a nice looking fish which was possibly pushing double figures.

I had steady a stream of runs throughout the session, landing 5 and pulling out of a few jacks.

Enjoyable fishing in beautiful surroundings with an abundance of wildlife putting on a show over in the far bank. I was sat opposite what seemed like a buzzards favourite perch and a pair of kingfishers were continuously working the stretch. 

The pike were also in top condition, even the jacks were well marked. A couple of the jacks showed scars from lucky escapes and a much larger fish followed the last jack of the day to the net.

A good start on this stretch, it seems over run with jacks but I know there’s at least one good fish here so I’ll be heading back soon.

Next Gen

Working a shift pattern of 5 days on, 3 off since July has definitely allowed me more time on the bank. I try and get one short session in after work, then at least one longer session during my time off. This worked well for the barbel over the summer and I’m planning on continuing this during the winter months, night fishing for chub after work then switching to pike when I can get out during daylight.

My first chub session of the season was a bit of a disaster, the river was low but pushing through very fast. Most of the session was spent in snags.

Next up was a pike session on my favourite river, which was extremely low and clear. Not usually a problem but I probably chose the wrong stretch, I’ve caught some decent fish from this stretch in similar conditions but not on this session. The river seemed dead, other than a mink pissing around on the far bank.  It’s rare to see another angler on this stretch but this time I bumped into a familiar face, who had the same story to tell, another blank.

A change of pace for my next outing, a short whip session on a local stretch with my youngest nephew Will. 

A quick hours fishing for silvers, I think it’s the third or fourth time I’ve taken Will out and we’ve always done ok. Will definitely seems to have the ‘fishing bug’ and I can see him being the next generation of angler in my family. It’s his birthday in the spring, so maybe a trip to the local tackle shop then a trip to a pond for crucians and tench.

Jack attack

At the back end of October I headed to another new stretch of river, conditions were fairly shite with a bitterly cold northerly but this river seems to hold a decent head of pike so I was confident of some interest.

It took some time, a couple of hours and a few peg moves before getting a jack on a paternostered live. Whilst unhooking the jack it flipped and caught my palm at the base of the thumb with one of its front teeth, not the usual minor cut or raker rash, but a deep down to the bone laceration. I managed to return the fish and after a while stemmed the bleeding, I thought I would have to leave my gear on the bank and head to A&E but thankfully I was able to  patch myself up and continue the session.

Steady action for the rest of the day, 4 more pike to just shy of double figures and a nice perch of 1lb 15oz made it a decent first visit.

I managed to keep the wound clean and dry but after checking it when I got home it was obvious that I needed to have it looked at. A quick trip to the minor injuries unit, some butterfly stitches, a tetanus booster and a coarse of antibiotics and I thought that would be the end of it. However one of the potential side effects of the antibiotics I was taking is tinnitus.

It drove me crazy for a few days, but it’s either eased off a bit or I’ve gotten used to it. Not the nicest thing to live with but it could be a lot worse. In future I will only taking antibiotics when needed not as a precaution. 

Early sessions

I was still chasing barbel at the start of October so didn’t have my first pike session until the middle of the month.

With the mild conditions we’ve had it didn’t really feel like pike weather but I was becoming a little jaded with the barbel so the pike gear had to come out. My first sessions were all on stretches I recced this close season, none of which seem to have had that many visitors as the banks seemed relatively undisturbed.

The 1st pike of the season, just a jack but a such beautifully marked fish, hopefully we cross paths again.

The first session produced 3 jacks, all to ledgered sea deads. The second outing was much further upstream than the first and despite having longer on the bank it was more difficult and I only managed the one jack, which snatched the bait on the retrieve.

A different river for my third session, a lovely stretch of water which seems to have a bit of everything, lots of near bank features with deep holes in the margins, faster sections mid river and the odd far bank slack. A steady session with 3 fish landed to just shy of 11lb.

My first double of the 18/19 season (10.10lb)

Nothing spectacular but a reasonable start, 7 fish from the 3 sessions all on different stretches. 

Having access to so many different waters I am planning on regularly changing venues, keeping things fresh and learning new stretches. Perhaps if I come across some good fishing I’ll have a few sessions in that area but for now I’ll definitely be visiting a new stretch each session.

Final jack

Out for my last pike session of the season, a first visit to a low stock gravel pit. Not knowing much about the venue and not being able to find a lot of info online, some time was spent walking the banks, chatting to other anglers and having a few casts with the deeper. All time well spent.

Each angler made it well known that the water was difficult regardless of what species you are targetting, but with carp to low 30’s, bream to 14lb + and tench to over 9lb it’s well worth investing some time here. 

The pike fishing is difficult but fish to 26lb have been reported recently as well as the occasional large eel.

Yesterday’s session was hard going, a small jack after two hours gave a bit of confidence but that soon faded. Static deads went ignored, as were drifted, popped up and wobbled baits. Burts, mantas and replicants went unscathed on the heavy lure gear. 

Final and smallest of the season 

Stillwater jacks

After the washout on the rivers I was looking forward to a couple of stillwater sessions before hanging up the pike gear for the season.

Not blessed with many options when targetting stillwater pike I headed to a water which also has a history of producing the odd large eel, a pike session and a recce in one.

An hour or so in and the first interest was on a drifted roach, just a jack but a blank saver and caught on homemade gear.

The lake was fairly lifeless to be expected as water temps are still fairly low, but that first jack and a strong warm westerly boosted confidence. 

Mick had some interest on a bottom fished sardine but the bait was dropped. An hour or so after the first fish I had a take on a paternoster roach, a better fish, a bit lethargic in the fight, and full of leeches.


9.01lb

We continued until mid afternoon without any further interest. A few notes taken for future sessions, most probably after eels but maybe an option for the pike when the rivers are out of sorts.

Hopefully I’ll be out again next week, heading to a gravel pit for a first visit. The waters adjacent to this pit have produced eels in the past so no reason why this one won’t, so another pike session/eel recce.

One before the thaw

The river levels have been stable but with working solid for the last 6 days, (not much fun with the weather we’ve had up here, but like most I’ve got plenty of bills to pay!) I haven’t had a chance to get out. I was tempted to go for a chub session last night, even had the gear ready, but ended up having a beer and watching TV instead.

After checking the levels this morning, it looked promising, no sign of any extra water, locally or further upstream. All optimism faded as soon as I saw the river, even from a good distance I could tell it was heavily coloured, not a good sign when pike fishing on this river.

Unexpectedly I had some interest in the second peg of the day, a margin fished lamprey was taken, a good positive take, a quick strike lead to a solid fight. With the rod bent well, the fish staying deep, I thought I was into a good one. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed when the fish surfaced, I was expecting at least a mid double after the fight it gave.

Just shy of 11lb, felt bigger in the water

Unfortunately the fish has had a rough life, a damaged jaw and a few fresh wounds on its flanks, I’d also managed to catch the top of its gut with the lower treble.

The trebles on this trace are purposely spaced slightly further apart than my usual traces, around 4.5 inches, usually these are used on large mackerel, sardines or a whole lamprey. It took sometime but I managed to remove the trace, resting the fish for a few minutes a couple of times during the unhooking procedure. I find it easier to remove all points and barbs from both trebles whilst dealing with a deeply hooked fish. Thankfully the fish went back fine.

The rest of the session was uneventful, the river was slowly on the rise, the water more heavily coloured than when I arrived and most of the snow on the riverbank had disappeared. It’s safe to say that the river will be out of sorts for a while, which makes it pleasing to get one on this session, fingers crossed the rivers are fishable before the 14th.

Well the bad run continues......

Well the bad run continues. After a very early start and a 2.5 hour drive we arrived in Lincolnshire to find we had the stretch to ourselves. The water was heavily coloured due to the constant pumping, which is normal for this time of year, weather was reasonable, with fish topping as we arrived, things looked good.

I've only fished this drain once before, a difficult session in freezing conditions but we managed steady action from jacks throughout the day. Ben's fished it about half a dozen times, never blanked and the pike are always of a good average size.

Despite the promising conditions things seemed slow from the off, hard work catching baits and no interest until lunchtime. Ben missed a couple of runs before connecting with a jack, half an hour later another take for Ben a short fat fish just short of double figures. My only take of the day was aborted when a mass of floating weed hit my float and line, the pike sussed something was amiss and rejected the float paternoster live bait.

A couple more fish to Ben's rod, another jack and double both on float paternoster lives.

Just shy of 12lb, the largest of the day

Despite fishing well and trying hard I couldn't buy any interest, deads went untouched, popped up baits, free roaming lives and twitched baits all ignored. One of those days for me, which seems to be a regular occurrence lately and a good day for Ben.

A 5 hour round trip for a blank, a bit of a kick in the balls really but I was pleased for Ben as this will be his only pike session of the season due to work commitments.

The rivers have been at a consistent level for a few days now, so I'm heading out for a chub session after dinner. The plan is to try a couple of different stretches and fish for a few hours into dark on the second stretch.

A patch of bad luck

Not a lot going on fishing wise this week, 3 days off midweek but as it’s half term I was busy with the kids.

The only times I’ve had the opportunity to get out on the bank the rivers have either been in a state of flood or heavily coloured from local rain. 

Today I had a few hours before work, levels seemed spot on and the colour had been dropping. As soon as I arrived at the river I knew my chances of catching were very low, as the heavy local rain put a lot of colour in the river.

Pike fishing this river is hard going in normal conditions, add some colour and most don’t bother trying. I’ve caught a few when the rivers been in flood before but it’s hard work and most sessions end in a blank. Today was no different, as expected no interest from the few pegs I tried before heading to work.

Unfortunately it’s not just the rivers I’m having bad luck with, a lost bank card, broken boiler, probable speeding ticket and a knackered exhaust all since Friday!

Hopefully my luck changes by Thursday as I’m out again, a local(ish) river if conditions allow, if not a long trip to Lincolnshire to fish a productive drain.

Hard going on a rising river

An off the cuff session with Mick, I was supposed to be heading down to Lincolnshire but due to a lack of sleep and the unfavourable conditions I didn’t fancy the 2.5hr drive. Mick had planned for a chub session but in the end we decided to meet up and chose a new stretch of river to try for the pike.

Only my second visit to this river and a bit of a late start, arriving after 9 to find the river pushing through fast and seemingly up a couple of feet. For the first couple of hours we fished a straight section of river with the downstream wind adding to the fast flow and rising water restricted us to the margins. Snow, loads of rain and howling NW winds drained our confidence so we wound in and went for a look down stream.

The inside of a large bend seemed more sheltered and the river was slightly slower, definitely looked more promising.

Around midday I had a take on a float paternoster bait, a screaming run but only very lightly hooked, Mick came over to help net the fish, then his rod went.

Mine went 9.02, Mick’s dropped the bait as he picked the rod up.

Occasionally our drop arms would be pulled off by debris coming down and the fast current made it look like a screaming run. We had a dropped run each then I had a take from a small jack, maybe 5lb, again very lightly hooked which saved me the trouble of netting it as it threw the hooks at the net.

I forgot to mention the catch of the day, a frog taken in 15ft of water on a smelt. Not the best photo but it appeared to have tried to take the smelt?!?

Anyway a hard session, but always good fishing a stretch for the first time.

Almost a hat-trick

Another session before work, further downstream than my recent sessions. A stretch that I rarely bother with and only chose due to the easy access.

One rod only on this part of the river, a relatively deep stretch so a simple running lead and deadbait setup.

First cast at 1130hrs and a take less than half an hour later.

10lb 3oz, very pleasing after a few blanks.

A change to a larger bait, 30 minutes with no interest and I decided to slowly wind the bait in to see if anything follows. Something did, I was running out of water so I give the bait a fast pull as it approached the bank and the following fish nailed it. 

For a seceond I thought it was the first fish again, until it powered off and put a good bend in the rod. A really good scrap with the fish staying deep for a lot of it.

18lb 2oz, the best of the season so far.

The fish was carrying some obvious otter damage, fresh wounds down both flanks and half of the adipose fin was missing. I haven’t seen otters this far downstream, but there’s no reason why they wouldn’t be here.

This fish was hooked just in the scissors on the bottom treble, with all three points embedded, a bit of a pain so I cut the barbs and points of to make things easier and the treble fell out.

A quick sort out of the gear before re-casting and I couldn’t find my cutters, I usually carry two pairs, but on a short session like this I try to minimise kit. I couldn’t find them anywhere and I was convinced that I’d left them in the landing net when returning the fish.

The margins are deep here so I couldn’t see anything, pissed off not wanting to recast without having the right kit I spent another 15 mins searching then decided to pack up and go to work early. 

As I was packing away I found them under some vegetation, It must of took me 10 seconds to get the rod out again!

The wind had picked up with some powerful gusts so I had to tighten the drop arm on the back biter, as I like to have them set very lightly to minimise resistance.

10 mins before I had to leave and 2 beeps on the delkim, then nothing, a couple of seconds later, a few more beeps, a nod on the rod tip, then the back biter went. I must of tightened the arm a bit much as I rarely get any indication on the tip, the arm usually drops without any movement on the tip.

As soon as I struck I thought to myself ‘that was a bit early’ and so it was. A low double on the surface, bait and both trebles easily seen, carefully edging it towards the net. As soon as the pike saw the net it rolled and easily threw the hook hold.

I tried another last cast but it was to no avail and I ended up late for work..... never mind.

Hopefully I can get out again ASAP, before any snowmelt makes it into the river and kills the fishing.

First sessions of 2018

12/01/18

My first session of the year, first session for almost a month and a first visit to this river.

The morning didn’t start too well as we couldn’t get access to our chosen stretch and had to head to another one blind.

We needn’t of worried as the fish seemed to be on the feed from the off, Mick lost one and had a dropped run before I’d even cast a bait.

The first fish landed came to my rod though, a nice 12lb 8oz fish to a ledgered smelt.

Mick was up next, a jack taken on a ledgered sardine.

Both fish were covered in leeches, obviously laid up on the bottom during the extended cold spell.

After a couple of hours in the first pegs we moved downstream to a double peg for an hour. I had one rod on the bottom with sea deads and a margin fished live in a float paternoster. Surprisingly the live didn’t get any interest, all interest on baits hard on the bottom, so I reduced the height of the paternoster so the bait could  just get to the river bed.

Shortly after the live was taken.

Smaller this time, unweighted, but definitely welcome.

Mick had another dropped run in the double peg before we moved again. Plenty of appealing pegs on this stretch, deep margins and willow lined banks, spoilt for choice really.

No interest for a good hour in my last peg, a change to a full lamprey cast mid-river and an immediate response from a jack. 20 minutes later the margin live was taken by a similar sized jack.

And that was that, back to the car just as the last light was fading and home 50 minutes later. A good first session back and a good first session on this river. 

19/01/18

A week later conditions were completely different. A few days of below zero temperatures and heavy snow followed by a slight rise in temps. I was struggling to decide on which species to target, chub or pike, the pike usually win and they did this time.

I was hoping to get on the river before any significant snow melt made its way in. Tactics for this short session were trotting baits.

Arriving at the river I could see that I had things wrong, a nice level but pushing through fast and coloured not ideal for trotting baits and as I had minimal gear with me I didn’t have the option of changing tactics. A blank.

26/01/18

A big winter flood carrying warmer water saw reports of a couple of winter barbel showing. The rivers swelled and were well up,16ft higher than usual on some stretches. I went down with Mick the day after the flood had peaked, the river was still up a good 6ft and pushing through fast. 

We didn’t have a great choice of pegs as the flood left the banks covered in slippery silt and we didn’t fancy taking a dip. 

I didn’t get a touch all day, Mick had a bit of interest in the second peg and the tip flew round as we were having a brew.

A small but welcome chub.

That’s things finally upto date, I’m still having problems with photobucket as I’m not willing to them pay $400/year to host my images. There are plenty of free options (google images seems decent) however most of my older posts (2014 and older) still the have photobucket ransom link instead of the intended image.

Catching up with the blog I’ve also realised how incompatible blogger and apple devices (iPhone/iPad) are. Trying to compose a post of a reasonable length is difficult as you can’t scroll up or down on the blogger editor. A limited work around is the app ‘BlogTouch Pro’ it works reasonably well but some functions are limited.

A better work around will be shorter more frequent posts....