Runs Galore

Friday I decided to pay my first visit of the season to the dreaded clay pit, a place I love and loathe in equal measures. Halfway down the path I noticed blood on my right hand. I've no idea how I cut myself. Most of the blood was on the middle finger, but it was the index finger I'd cut. When I got to the water the sun put in an appearance an mad to place look quit pleasant.  It can look I right miserable place in winter. 

 








Normally I us small baits such as sprats or smelt here, but this time I decided on one small bait, a smelt, and one big bait, half a mackerel. The smelt was placed beside a fallen tree on the top of the shelf an the mackerel  at the edge of the dead and dying lilies. The head of the mackerel was chopped up and chucked about the general area I intended to fish. After half an hour I got my first run on the mackerel which I missed, along with the second and third. There was only very slight damage to the bait. I then got a run on the smelt which I again missed. The bait went back out as it was only slightly damaged. The next run was also to the smelt, but I hooked something, or thought I did. As it came up to the surface a little jack which had hold of the head end let go. I had three more encounters like this until I ended up with just half a smelt. After a lull I had another run on the mackerel. Again a similar sized jack had hold of it, but well away from the hooks and let go as it got to the surface. The next run was from a slightly larger fish which put up quite a spirited fight before letting go of the bait. There then followed any lull.

 








I did contemplate moving the hooks further up the bait, but don't really like the close to the head end as it tends to result in deep hooked fish, especially when they get over the 6-8lb mark. Just after three, as I was boiling water for a brew, the smelt moved away and this time I managed to hook the little horror. This one, just hooked in the front of the mouth, was probably the smallest one I'd seen. I didn't get another run after that.

The fact that little jacks appear to have eyes bigger than their bellies probably accounts for more dropped runs than anything else. A some what entertaining, but frustrating day. I do know there are bigger pike in here. I've seen a couple of pictures of 4-5lb bream that were grabbed on there way in and the distance between the teeth marks shows it wasn't little jacks that had grabbed them. At least I didn't blank though, unlike my last few sorties here.