Last Pike Session Of The Year

 The plan was simple enough. A trip to the sales at the tackle shop for some essentials, then down to a clay pit for a spot of piking. The wander round the tackle shop went well enough, although my card may think otherwise. The trip to the pit was another matter. It appeared that the code on the padlock had already been changed and I didn't have next years book with me so didn't know the new code. Next stop the Estate lake.

There was half a dozen other cars in the car park when I arrived. As it was now late I selected a swim near the car park. A sardine was tossed out to the island and a small roach dropped halfway down the slope on the inside. Luncheon was then prepared. Another pike angler arrived and set up at the other end of the island. We discovered a carp angler had had a couple of carp including a 22lb. One of the maggot drowners had lost a pike that had taken a maggot and the third pike angler had had nothing.

Just as the last two of us were packing up the bailiff turned up to change the code on the lock. Us pike anglers all ended the day with a blank which buggered up our plans for a pike on the last day of the year. Hopefully I'll manage one on the first day of the year.

Happy New Year All

Gravel Pit Piking - Again

 With the local rivers up at silly heights it was stillwaters that looked the only option on Friday. I trundled across the county to a gravel pit I'd fished only once before. That session had resulted in one rather tatty pale little beastie so I hoped to do better. I was the only one there when I arrived. When I looked at the water I wondered why I'd trailed all this way as the water was very coloured.  After a wander round  I started in a swim with my back to the wind. I could fish to one of the island, not that this had done me much good last time. There was also two over hanging trees either side of me that looked pikey.

A small roach was dropped under the tree to my left and a headless herring tossed over to the corner of the island. One cup of tea later and the float under the tree trundle away. A rather lethargic pike of 89cm 8lb 1oz was quickly netted. Long and pale it really should have weighed more but was rather hollow. Still it was quite a bit bigger than the previous little jack. I dropped another small roach under the tree to the right.

Another angler turned up at lunch time for a spot of silvers fishing. he managed three tiddlers by darkness. After lunch I moved to a corner swim. A small roach dropped by a dying lily bed and a lamprey tossed out to the corner of another island. Despite moving the baits about nothing more showed.

Boxing Day Piking

 I thought it best to get out fishing before storm Gerrit (pronounce herrit apparently) hit, so I was up bright and early on Boxing day. Not too early mind you, but it was a bright morning. Arriving at the clay pit I was surprised to find a couple of carperists there all ready. In fact they'd been there  since Christmas Day hoping to final get a Christmas Day carp. Which they nearly managed only it fell off at the net. I set myself up opposite them in a swim with plenty of features.

A small roach was placed near the overhanging trees in about three foot of water and a lamprey was tossed out to the bottom of the ledge in ten and a half foot of water. Sunglasses on, as I was facing into the sun, I sat back and waited. I moved the baits every forty minutes or so. Just after lunch a couple of carp swim along under the overhanging trees before disappearing near my float. Not long after it stated to bob about at first I suspect the carp were causing it, but it slowly started to move away from me. I lifted in to it and there was clearly a fish on the end though it didn't put up much of a struggle until it was under the rod tip where it decide to thrash around for a bit. A tidy but chubby little beast of 5lb 15oz and 75cm.

The rest of the afternoon was rather quiet. The sun disappeared behind the clouds and the temp stated to drop. Around four I started to pack up. I only had the unhooking stuff and rods to put away. The float above the lamprey fell over then shot away. I didn't even strike as the rod lurched over into what felt like a good fish. After a brief bit of all over the place the pike gave up and came in quietly. As I chinned it, the landing net was snagged on something, the hook fell out. A specimen with a damaged jaw. The damage was from some time ago as the wound had repaired. 85cm long and 9lb 1oz in weight it appeared to be in good health. By now the floats would be hard to see so I finished packing up.

A pleasant day and couple couple of fish. Just the thing after the Christmas day excesses.

Even More Estate Lake Piking

After a change of plan, then another change of plan I arrived at the estate on Thursday a little later than intended. Although I initially didn't intend to fish the estate lake. Surprisingly, given the state of the rivers, there was nobody else there in the car park. I opted for a swim that allowed for several different features to be fished including the end of the island. usual sort of float set up was used with a small roach being dropped to my right at the bottom of the nearside slope. A lamprey, finally managed to get some, being tossed out to the over hanging tree in front. Actually it took several casts to get it where I wanted it with out snagging it in the tree.

An hour or so later the float by the tree started to wobble about a little bit. I wasn't sure if it was the breeze, that had got up a little bit, or maybe bait fish in the area.  Eventually it slowly moved away and I was in contact with something not very big.  A jack of 73cm was soon in the net and unhooked. I even got my piece of lamprey back.

 

The rest of the day remained relatively quiet apart from the canada geese. I moved the baits about to various spots at regular intervals. Around three, no doubt prompted by my cup of tea, the roach moved off at a rapid pace and I was connected with something that felt a decent size. The fish swung in to the bank to my right and ended up among the twigs and debris in the shallow water. As seems to be a common problem lately it managed to impale a twig on the hook and come free, but leave me with the twig. 

I stayed until I could no longer see the floats. It had been a remarkably quiet day in a swim that normally produces more. The loss of the larger fish was annoying but just one of those things.

 

Hopefully the rivers will have dropped to a reasonable level soon and I can have a go on them.

Pike Fishing A New Venue

 Friday I went to a brand new venue. I'd passed the place several times over the years but never taken an awful lot of notice of it. Earlier in the week I was in the area and stopped at what I thought was the entrance, but wasn't. All I could see was a frozen pond. Getting there on Friday after Thursday's downpours could have turned problematic as the road was flooded. A change to wellies and a quick paddle showed it wasn't too deep and therefore passable which would save a long detour. I was surprised to find another angler had arrived just before me and was setting up. He was after bream, or whatever. He'd manage to forget his landing net handle so I lent him a storm pole. He also reckoned it was the highest he'd seen the water level. In fact a couple of swims were flooded.

I had a wander round and picked a swim at the end which allowed me access to an island in front. A bay top my right and a nice looking margin to my left. A small roach was dropped in front of some tree roots to my right and a sardine to the right of the island on a corner in five foot of water. I moved the baits about every hour or so. Injecting the sardine with some oil after it had defrosted. It was nearly midday when I got the first run. The small roach had been taken by a very apathetic little jack. A rather pale and tatty little thing of 63cm.

The other chap left around two having only had a single bite. Not long after I had another run on the roach which was now back in front of the tree roots. I wasn't quick enough with the strike and the fish had got into the roots and transferred the hook to a root. A good heave bent the hook out. I fished on until dark for nowt else. The island in front looked ideal for pike. Overhanging trees on the left and vegetation on the right looking like great ambush points. I'll be back though.

First Pike Of Winter

 Friday was the first day of the meteorological Winter and the first proper cold day of the season. The gravel pit was covered in ice. Not thick, but still thick enough to be nuisance. Much like the lock on the gate to the old estate lake which was frozen. A bit of heat from a lighter  persuaded it to work properly. The old estate lake, though, only had about two thirds of it's surface covered in ice. Unfortunately it was the far end of the lake that was ice free so I had an epic three hundred yard trek to make in the cold foggy morn. I also had a brand winter suite as well. The old one, especially the trousers, was falling apart after eight years of abuse.

A medium smelt was dropped next to the reeds to my right and a 7" trout was tossed out to the old stream bed in front. Gradually the sun managed to burn through the fog and it became quite a pleasant morning. A cormorant sunned itself on top of the tree behind me. Just before lunch I wound the baits in to move them. The smelt went in front of a coppiced  willow to my left. The trout bait was falling apart, it had been in and out of the fridge for a couple of years. It was replaced with a large smelt and sent a bit further out into the lake.

The sun disappeared and the fog dropped in thicker than before. Not long after I'd finished my lunch the float to my left trundled away and I was into a rather lethargic little jack of 63cm.

 

Another piker turned up at this point. Making it two idiots sat in the cold fog. I could only just see him when he got to the far bank. Halfway through the afternoon I injected the baits with a bit of oil but his didn't this did nothing to stir the pike. I fished on just into dark but nowt else happened. The other angler lost a fish on his only run.

 Two pike willing to feed after the first really cold night of the winter isn't bad even if the one I got was rather small and lethargic. A bit of consistency in the weather should see the pike back on the feed.

Some More Gravel Pit Piking

 Wednesday I had a trip down to the gravel pit. It had now turned to winter weather wise. A cold day but with a bit of sunshine. With the ground frozen I felt it was safe to drive into the field up to the swim. I did keep checking the ground to ensure it hadn't defrosted and turned to slippy slidy mud making it hard work to get the car back out.

I started with a small roach under the trees to my left and a joey mackerel out to the area where the weed beds had died back. The sun, while providing a bit of warmth, made it awkward to see the far float at times. Mid morning I moved the small roach to the right after seeing some bait fish scatter. The float failed to settle properly so I wound down but it was only a leaf that had snagged the hook. As I lifted it from the water a small jack swirled just below the surface. Removing the leaf I dropped the bait back in. Less than minute later the float headed towards me. I failed to contact with anything. The roach had a couple of teeth marks near the tail. Out it went again. The little jack grabbed it just after it hit the water. Winding down I could see it had hold of the tail again. It quickly turned ripping the bait from the hook and disappeared. Out went a fresh bait to the same spot along with some liquidised bread. Some more went under the tree and some on the bank for the robin.

After Lunch I moved the roach back under the tree as there had been no more action to the right. The mackerel was injected with a bit of oil and launched back to the dead weed bed in the middle. Three o'clock, cup of tea in hand, the float over the weed bed fell over and stayed there. Winding down I found there was nowt there. I retrieved a chewed mackerel which I launched back from where it came.

Five minutes later the float moved away to the right and this time i contacted with something fierce. After the initial run, which felt like a good fish, it just kitted left and right and felt a lot lighter as I wound it in. A rather plump little beast of 70cm.

 

I chucked out another joey to the same spot for the last hour or so But nothing more was forthcoming by the time it got dark.

There seems to be a lot of activity from the little jacks in the last couple of months I'm hoping the cold weather may slow them down a bit and that the big 'uns will start to fatten themselves up.

Pike Fishing an Old Estate Lake

Having carefully considered the moon phase, air pressure, water temperature, wind direction, etc. etc. and with only one other angler at the lake I opted for a swim near the car park that had produced pike before.

A small roach was dropped in by an overhanging tree and a large smelt into deeper hole in front. A small handful of mashed bread was dropped in by the floats in the hope of attracting  some baitfish. Despite a couple of cups of tea nothing happened. A Bank Vole popped out of the undergrowth occasionally. I tried putting a bit of the mashed bread down in the hope of getting it to stay still long enough for a photo but it didn't seem to be fond of bread. I could hear it at time munching on whatever in the undergrowth.

About midday the float by the tree bobbed about and headed under the branches. There was no time to strike as the pike shot towards the roots, just a good heave to pull it away. It felt like a little jack at first but soon burst into life taking three attempts to net it. In the net it was clearly bigger than I'd thought. At 10lb 1oz and 93cm it was one of the biggest I've had from here in recent years.

Another little roach went out, but this time next to the overhanging tree to my left. A bit more mashed bread was tossed in as well. The smelt was replaced with a larger roach and the smelt chopped up and the bits flung about the swim. There they sat until dark. The Bank Vole became bolder in the afternoon and I was able to get a few shots of it on video which helped to pass the time.

Another double so not a bad session. Should I have moved to another swim? Maybe, but this is a swim that often produces two or three fish so I couldn't see any point.

Clay Pit Success

 For some barmy reason I decided I'd have a go at one of the clay pits today (Friday). My success when pike fish clay pits is not good and I don't know why. The three I fish all have a good head of pike which are happy enough to grab your rudd when fishing in summer or autumn but seem to disappear come winter. They all have nice pikey features as well. Reed lined swims, dead and dying lily beds, drop-offs and deep holes fallen trees. They're all there, but where the pike are I just don't know. So far this season I've fished three clay pits and extracted two little jacks out of one of them. Perhaps it's the desire not to be defeated that brought me back to this one.

The swim I originally intended to start in had a couple of problems. Despite been a well built wooden platform it was slippy as hell and I nearly ended up in the drink when I stepped on it. It also happened to be facing straight into the lovely sunshine, so I'd probably have a problem seeing the floats. The swim I choose had chicken mesh nailed to it which solved the slippy problem and also the sun behind me. A mini mackerel was dropped into the deep hole next to the dying lilies in front of me. A small four inch roach was dropped to my left under a tree and next to bankside reeds. The tiny roach were part of my cunning plan as there was a lot of little rudd and roach that size in the pit.

Halfway through the morning I changed the roach to the right hand side, next to the bankside reeds and the remains of a lily bed. Another pike angler came past having failed on the other side he thought he try this side. He wasn't a great fan of this pit for the same reasons I'm not. Some fish scattered  further down the bank so he headed for that swim. He caught nothing and left by lunch time. The float to my right started to bob and move away. I wound down to some thing but a strike failed to contact. Out went another roach to the same spot. Again the same thing. With the hook through the eye sockets of the deadbait I didn't want to leave it too long. I put another roach out to the same spot but this time hooked at the dorsal fin. Again the float moved away and I left it a little longer. This time I felt something when I struck but the bait was gone and I contacted with nothing. Everything was quiet after that.

 

After lunch there was more fish scattering down the bank so I switched to that swim. Again the small roach went to the right in the middle of a dying lily bed. The mini mackerel, now headless and injected with a little oil went to the right where there'd been a gap in the lilies and it was a little deeper. This was the first float away, trundling across the surface. Again I failed to contact with anything. There were no sign of teeth marks on the bait either. The cuppa trick then appeared to work as the mini roach float disappeared and this time contact was made. A very strong and athletic fish which put on a splendid display of tail-walking was eventually netted. A nice healthy beast of 93cm and 11lb. It's belly wasn't full either. Another mini roach was dropped back in roughly the same spot and not long after I was in action again. Another strong a lively fish though somewhat smaller at 72cm was soon in the net. Just after I released it the mackerel float rose and fell flat. I strike again contacted with nothing and again there were no teeth marks on the bait.

That was it for the day. Two blanks then two nice fish in one session. Have I cracked the code. I doubt it. What had nicked my baits earlier I doubt know but I suspect carp were responsible for the two bits of activity on the mackerel rod.

Testing New Kit

As I'd recently bought a shiny new baitcasting outfit for perch fishing and I was going to be in the vicinity of the navigation for a couple of hours I took it along for a bit of casting practice. The new set up consisted of a LMAB La Moustique 2-10g rod, though, I'm not sure naming it after one of the worlds most loathed insects is a great idea. The reel is a Lew's ProSP, one of small number of baitcasters with a half capacity spool ideal for light braid. 

 

I started with a 5g jig head with a small white grass minnow. The first cast ended in a bit of back lash. A bit of a twiddle of the brakes and things improved. After half a dozen casts I was able to get to the far bank some 35m away. On the seventh cast as I jigged the lure back I felt the rattle of a perch and was in. The last three whippings are yellow to help bite detection though I'm not sure it helped.

Over the next dozen or so casts I had half a dozen more small perch. Nothing to really test the power of the rod but the bite detection was excellent. I wasn't too sure about the skeletal reel seat and the small grip but once a reel was on it was perfectly comfortable. I then tried with a 3g jig head. This again I could get well over to the far side but it was too light to fish properly. The tow on the canal combined with the breeze and depths of ten to twelve foot were just too much to keep in contact with the lure. It would be nice, though, if manufactures would make ultra light casting rods in longer lengths. This one is 1.98m, 6'. 2.3m, 7'6", would afford better control of the lures. Still I think It'll serve its purpose.

Sunday I again had a couple of hours spare near another section of the navigation. So had another session with the new outfit. Another angler was fishing near to where I wanted to be taking the odd small perch. Using the same lure as previous I was soon into a record breaking perch, or maybe a little jack pike. The rod performed excellently and quickly subdued the little 61cm beast.  I then had a wander along away from the other angler and picked up a couple of tiny perch from near an overhanging bush. The cold breeze then picked up and I wandered back to the car for a cuppa and the big coat.

While I had my cuppa the other angler left. I changed from a jig head to a weedless setup as the spot I wanted to fish was rather snaggy. The problem with this was the hook up rate was rather low. I could feel the bites but the small perch weren't chomping down on the bait hard enough to expose the hook point. The advantage was that i didn't lose any lures. It took about an hour to land a dozen small perch. Clearly the larger fish weren't in residence. As it got close to packing up time I did manage to snag on something. A length of rope came up followed by a magnet. I suspect somebody forgot to keep hold of the end. It clearly hadn't been in there long as the was no algae or beasties on the rope.

Overall the outfit works as I'd hoped and I look forward to using it on some of the smaller canals.