Heads It Is

I'd been unsure where to go on Wednesday, but I'd heard rumours of a few pike coming out near the Nidd mouth. Nothing big, but pike none the less. The only thing was they were taken early morning apparently. So there I was just after first light hurling a big mackerel head into the large eddy. I'd opted for ledger rigs as it's an awkward spot to float fish, also because I was going to use a popped up sardine on the other rod and a vertical line near a popped up bait is just asking for trouble.

It was an hour before I got my first run, on the mackerel head.  No contact was made with a fish. I thought the large bait my be a problem if there was a few jacks about, but hoped it may sort out a bigger fish. An hour later another run but this time contact was made and a spirited jack of 78cm was soon netted. So much for the big bait theory. It had quite a few leeches on it. I would have thought with spawning imminent they would be of the bottom and on the prowl. 

The other half of the mackerel went out. A while later a few bait fish scattered so I had a go with the lure rod. After a few casts contact was made with a fish of similar size. As the net was a few yards away the other side of the chair I opted to chin it, as I grab the leader the fish thrashed in the shallow water and unhooked it's self. This is why a prefer a net. As I'd forgotten to plug the external power into the camera the battery had run down some time early so none of this drama was videoed. I'm really not very good with this camera lark.

A while later I had one of those really annoying incidents. The rig had snagged. I did manage to pull it free only for it to snag again. Again I pulled it free and again it snagged. The third attempted unfortunately resulted in a break. I don't know hat mes is down there, but the last couple of feet of the braid was in a very sorry state. I chopped four foot off and re-rigged. Out went another mackerel head. A lot of people have no faith in the heads so don't fish them, but I've done quite well with them in the past. The cunning ruse with the popped up sardine failed to work despite persisting with it all day. Two other pike were taken, that I saw. One by one of the Bobble TV chaps, and a small jack by somebody lure fishing for perch.

 

This is another of the pike hotspots that seems to have deteriorated over the past few years. Quite why I don't know. The general consensus seems to be the excessive floods of the last few years. The end of the river season will soon be on us and the weather looks like it's taking a turn for the worse. Wind and rain, a combination I loathe. I'll just play it by ear and if there's a break in the weather I'll be out again. I have no real desire to get piss wet through or blown away these days.