Big(ish) Pike on Light Tackle

 A short session on a canal on a very sunny morning with gin clear water probably isn't the best idea. Somebody told me a few boats had gone through yesterday so I assumed there would be a little bit of colour in the water. As I looked down from the bridge I could see the bottom  so there was at least three foot of visibility. As it doesn't get much more than three foot deep I don't know how far you'd be able to see. I was doubting the information I'd got but a dog walker confirmed at least one barge had come down the previous day. So armed with my perch set up off I went.

The perceived wisdom is bright day bright colour for your lure. A white and silver sparkly shad went on. One of the problems I quickly found was that a lot of debris had been washed to the bank and trying to run the lure close to the reeds invariably end when some was snagged, Most of the time I had to run the lure two or three feet from the reeds. I watched a small shoal of small tench appear out of a cloud of disturbed silt. These were the first fish I'd seen. They gave me the idea to change to a dark lure so a brown with gold sparkles was chosen. First cast with it over to the far bank and I was in. Before I could do anything the pike had dived into a cabbage patch. I saw the pike zoom off, but my lure wasn't going with it. I'd just about reached the end of my time when I spotted a good size pike moving along about a third of the way across. I flicked the lure four foot ahead of it and about half way across. Bouncing the lure along the bottom so it sent up small clouds of silt. The pike seemed to ignore it, just swimming steadily along. The pike swam past the lure then suddenly turned sending up a cloud of silt. It hit the lure and shot off back from whence it came. After each run just as I thought it was beat off it went again. half a dozen runs later it was in the net, just, I nearly didn't lift the net fast enough and it nearly got back over the rim. At 83cm a nice pike which felt heavier than it looked.. It felt like it might go to double figures so out with the weigh sling and it was a pound below at 9lb.

A nice way to end the session given how bright it was and how clear the water was. I'm surprised how quickly the colour had dropped out of it as being so shallow the boats do stir up some silt.