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.