The Final Count Down

 Despite there been very few days left of the river season and the rivers at a reasonable height I didn't fancy battling the very muddy riverbanks. I therefore took myself down to the local estate lake. I was not best pleased to find little poked into the brambles by my chosen peg. Especially as I'd recently done a littler pick around the lake. 

The first baits out of the bag were a herring and a roach. Out they went under the usual float rigs. Twenty minutes later the roach was grabbed and the float moved away. Like the previous occasions I'd been here the fish came adrift half way back. I wasn't too bothered as on the previous occasions it was the third run that produced a fish, so two more to go. 

The replacement bait was a smelt. I also chopped the head of the herring to get more scent into the water. Baits were moved, drifted, popped up, etc, but nowt else took a fancy to them. This didn't do my average for the season any good. Still I had could fit in two more trips before the end of the season.

Inverts and Jack

 I spent the morning invertebrate sampling for the River Monitoring Initiative. Along with quite a few sticklebacks and bullheads the usual suspects turned up in the samples. Plenty of Cased Caddis, Caseless Caddis, Baetis, Gammarus, and a couple of BWO. Stonefly and Mayfly are occasionally found but Heptagenes aren't found in this beck at all.

After this I headed to a local lake for a short pike session. I was the only one there so dropped in the most convenient swim close to the car. After a quick check of the depths a small roach went out to the left and a headless bluey was cast towards the island. An inspired cast saw it land very close to the overhanging tree and not in it. Next job was luncheon. Like last time here I was just tucking in when the float bobbed and moved away. A strike contact with a fish which came adrift half way back. There was surprisingly little damage to the bait though.

Lucnh passed with out any more interruptions. I shallowed up the roach to allow it to drift along into the bay. to no effect. I tossed it out to a bit of a hole near the island and various points in-between. The bluey had been cast back under the tree, again with out getting snagged up. Another cuppa was had mid-afternoon while if rained.. Not long after this the Bluey float bobbed and moved very quickly away. A quick strike again contacted with a fish, and again it fell off half way back. Nowt big, but that was probably the problem. Little jacks have a habit of picking deadbaits up but don't get near the hooks on bigger baits. Late afternoon a repeat permanence of the previous two runs. Again I contacted with a fish but I got this one in the net before it spat the hooks out. A spirited beast of 73cm.

 

That was that for the day. I'm now edging closer to one pike per trip but not quite there yet. Next day I was back, but this time for a work party. I spent my time picking litter out of the brambles with a litter picker. Others were involved with opening swims out a bit and clearing undergrowth impeding the path, along with the usual arson. 

 

 

After which it was back to the beck to assist pegging out for the Grayling match.
 

 

Three Day Bender - Day 3

 Sunday I arrived first light at another stillwater. Nobody else about until I started setting up, when another angler arrived and headed round the pond. I'd decided where I was fishing on the way there. It's roughly square and I'd caught on three of the four sides in the past so decided to fish the side I'd not so far caught from. There was a nice overhanging tree to my left and a small corner to my right. A bluey went to the left and a sardine to my right.

Around mid morning, as I was contemplating a cuppa, the righthand float bobbed and moved away. A feisty little pike had taken a fancy to the the sardine and was soon bundled into the net. A pot bellied little piggy of a thing covered in leeches. A new sardine was tossed out to the same spot.

As I set about boiling the kettle for a cuppa the 'pin stated to scream. Another. slightly longer, little piggy pike had snaffled the sardine. This one put up a bit more of a struggle but was kind enough to spit the hooks out in the net.

Another sardine was plonked into the same spot. This time I was allowed to make my cuppa in peace.  After my cuppa I move the baits about a bit. When the breeze got up I tried drifting a bait about but nowt else bothered me. The rain had stayed away, but started around lunch time just as I was packing up. Two more to the tally but the average is still under one per trip.



 

Three Day Bender - Day 2

 Saturday I was at another lake at daybreak. One man and his tent was in one corner carping. I setup in another corner with the same rigs as last time. The sardine plonked by an overhanging tree to my left and a roach over to the tree to my right. As the day wore on the floats were moved about. The sun got out and made for a pleasant day. Three other anglers arrived at various points. None caught while I was there. Nor did I either. The bright sunshine, clear lake, and very low overnight temperatures probably weren't the best combination. Still it was nice to be out on a sunny day and not be getting wet.

 The blank didn't do my average per session any good as it still remains under one.

Three Day Bender - Day 1

 After a bit of a lay-off from fishing do to the appalling weather and not knowing if the rivers were going up or down I was ready to get back to it. I'd planned a couple of sessions on stillwaters over the weekend, but a change of plan meant I could also get out on Friday 13th. While the weather over the weekend was predicted to be quite good, including the threat of sunshine, Friday didn't look so clever. Luckily for me the drizzly sleet eased off as I arrived at the empty carpark. By the time I'd setup camp the sleet and drizzle had returned.

A float-fished sardine was placed under the tree to my left and a float-fished roach over to the other side of the bay. These were moved about as the morning went on. By lunch time the sardine was under the tree to the right. As I started to tuck in to my Cheese and Broccoli Pasta the sardine rig bobbed about. As it was now sleeting quite heavily I found myself saying out loud " You can stop that", and it did. I wound down but there was nothing there so I left it where it was. Lunch passed with out any more interruptions. An hour later the float boobed again but this time it started to move away. By the time I'd got to the rod the float had stopped. Tightening up showed there to be nothing there again. No sign of damage to the bait either.  For some reason I decided to chop the head of the bait and tossed it back under the tree. A little while later the float moved away. By the time I'd picked the rod up it was heading back towards me. A sweeping strike contacted with a fish that darted all over the place before being bundle into the net. A well fed little beast of 71cm.

I had another hour before I had to be away, but nowt else showed up. The soggy kit in the back of the car soon misted the windows up. With the heater on full blast it eventually cleared by the time I'd got to the gate and undone the lock.

 

 

Faster Warmer Poodle

 Another trip out to the Vale of Mowbray again in rather chilly conditions, along with a nasty cold breeze. I'm sure there are more sensible things to do on a day like that. Never the less there I was on a frozen river bank. Despite the welcome sunshine the wind took away any heat it provided. Even the ice at the edge of the river didn't melt.

 

 

A quick cast about with the Deeper showed 10' next to the snags downstream and 12' by the overhanging tree upstream. Tactics were to be float fished dead bait and a float ledgered dead bait. A sardine went on the float set up. This is set so the bait is just on the bottom which allows it to drift up to the snags. A headless bluey was put on the float-ledger rig. Out they went. They would be recast every 30-40 minutes. The bluey head would be chopped up and chucked about the swim once it had defrosted.

I'd recast the Bluey for the third time and was about to do the same with the sardine when the float above it started to move nearer the snags. A quick strike and I was in. Much to my surprise it shot out into the the river rather than into the snags. That run was it though. It came to the net with barely a struggle.  91cm 8lb 10oz of pike. It woke up when I started to unhook it successfully drawing blood.

The sardine was replaced with a roach and went back out near the snags. Time for luncheon. My old stove has been struggling to function for a little while now and really struggles when its cold so I'd replaced it with a shiny new OEX one. I must say it is rather good boiling water in next to no time and isn't really effected by the wind. The only problem with it is it needs a canister stand. Something the manufacturers recommend but has to be bought separately.  I'd also repurposed an old sock as a Pot Noodle cosy as it had got rather cold before I'd finished it the other day. 

With no more action I moved downstream to the next swim. Snowdrops were starting to appear in this one. With similar depths not much readjustments were needed. The roach was positioned under the downstream tree and a new bluey was placed upstream at the bottom of the drop off. Despite moving the baits several times there was no more action by the time I left. A somewhat scenic route had to be taken to get home due to an accident on the main road. Thankfully no deaths. The average pike per trip is now 0.86.


 

 

 

 

First Fish of the Year

 Some people fling themselves into the icy North Sea for fun on New Year's Day. I decided on something more daring. I ventured to the Vale of Mowbray to fling dead fish into a river while sat on a muddy river bank in what purported to be a moderate breeze. What was moderate about it I don't know as it was a damn cold northerly blowing straight downstream.

 

A quick chuck about with the Deeper showed there to be 16' of water from a third of the way out nearly to the far side. The first third was just over 6'. A small smelt under a float was dropped downstream near an overhanging tree and a half Bluey tossed nearly 30yd to the far side. Over the next couple of hours they were recast to different spots but all to no avail.

 

After a spot of lunch I moved on to another swim not far away. Fresh baits were chucked to similar spots. The old baits were chopped up in to small bits and flung around the swim. Just as I sat down the downstream float moved away. I tightened down to something but the strike hit nothing, and the bait was gone. The something happened again then minutes later with the same result. I brought the far bait back across the river until it was at the bottom of the drop off on the near side. I was beginning to think I may blank the float stated to head upstream. The strike hit a fast moving fish. After a bit of a battle a nice fish was in the net. The pike round these parts a quite powerful for their size. Given it's barbel territory it's not surprising really. A slightly battle scared fish of 12lb 15oz and 101cm. My second double of the pike season so I was well pleased.

 

I didn't recast the rod as it was nearly time to depart. The other float trundled off towards the middle of the river as I was just about to wind it in. Again I contacted with nothing. Not sure what was taking the little smelt, Jack, chub, barbel could all be to blame. The first half of the season hasn't been great with an average of 0.75 pike per session and only one double. Hopefully the second half will be better.

Final River Pike Session

 With the rain in the Dales there was a distinct possibility that the rivers fed from there were not going to be fit to fish on Thursday the final day. The rain hadn't been anything like as bad on the Moors, so I headed for a a river fed from there. I know there would be a couple of decent slacks to fish in. One of which does produce some good pike, but is rather muddy as the field behind tends to drain that way.

 had two rods set up. One float and one ledger. The float rod had a small smelt on and was fished down the edge. The ledger rod had lamprey on and was chucked out into the middle. I worked my way back towards the hot spot with out so much as a sniff. The baits were given and injection of oil each time I moved.

By lunch time I'd reached the hot spot, a large slack. Upstream, to my left, it was seventeen foot deep and downstream, to my right, seven and a half foot deep. I started with the ledger rod to my right with a large smelt on. The float rod went to my left with a small roach on a circle hook. After lunch I decided that along with the oil a bit of movement may  be needed to attract the fish. The float rod was altered to a paternoster rig and the ledger rod had a pop up added. This seemed to do the trick as the float disappeared. Unfortunately I forgot I was using a circle hook and struck into the fish. It was on momentarily before coming adrift. Never strike with circle hooks. Allow the fish to swim away and tighten into it. Bugger. Out went another roach. When I went to recast the ledger rod and add some oil it was snagged. A good pull bent a hook out. Out went the bait again but it bit further out

Again when I tried to retrieve the ledgered bait for a recast it became snagged. When I moved up the bank to get a better angle the braid snapped like cotton. A new rig was attached and a popped up sardine was flung out to a different spot. Just before I interned to retrieve it and add some oil the alarm went and the dropback bobbed about. I lifted into the fish and started to retrieve when every thing came to a halt. I could feel the fish head-shaking. A good heave and ]I was again in proper contact with the fish then everything went light. Upon retrieving the rig the weak link to the lead had snapped but the trace and a very chewed sardine was was still there. A new lead and a large smelt went back out. Half an hour later I lost another lead in the snags, which seemed to cover a large area. Leads aren't cheap these days either.

I fished on until dark with only one more lead lost but no more action. Maybe I'd have been better downstream barbel fishing but I did want to try and get a double on my one of my new rods. While pondering the snags it occurred to me they may be masonry from the bridge as quite a bit had been knocked into the river by a lorry. Oh well there's always next pike season. Next up it's flinging flees at troot. I suppose I ought to sort the flee flinging kit out and check the waders.

Penultimate River Pike Session

My pike season on the rivers, like many other up here, hasn't been great at all. The constant floods have made life awkward with some especially slippy banks when the water has dropped. In the hope of picking things up a bit I headed for a well known hotspot. The river had been up about a metre following Sunday's rain but was dropping so things wouldn't be too bad I thought. Following a later than intended start due to finger trouble I arrived at the pot after a rather laborious trudge through muddy files and slippy paths. I was surprised to find nobody else there on either bank.

A float fished roach was dropped into a nice slack in thirteen foot of water and a large smelt was ledgered in twenty three foot of water. I moved the baits about as best I could in the slacks. A couple of other anglers arrived and setup in another larger slack that I intended to move to later if nothing was happening. Both baits were given a dose of oil after an hour or so. The slowly dropping river meant the slack changed shape necessitating changing the position of the baits. The drizzle and chill wind wasn't making life pleasant. Part way through the morning one of the other anglers landed a pike. A high single by the look of it.

While investigating a couple of other swims, now the rain had stopped, I spotted a Tansy Beetle loitering on some nettles. I don't know if the eat nettles when there's no tansy about. These things are rather rare. The Yorkshire Ouse and somewhere in Cambridgeshire are it's only remaining populations in the UK. After lunch I moved to another swim upstream that has produced pike in the past. The float now sporting a piece of lamprey had to be set a twenty two foot and was tossed in at the upstream end of the slack. The edger was dropped in at the downstream end with a small headless mackerel. The same angler that caught earlier had another. His friend, like me, ended up with  a stick. I must admit the stick I caught gave a very convincing impression of a pike run.

The trudge back up the hill was damned hard work with the sticky mud trying to rip my wellies off. Not the day I was hoping for but one more session to go and a my be able to pick things up, or not.

Earp Pike

Thursday I set off to a section of river renowned for it's humongous pike, that nobody ever captures. The rumours have been around years and just seem to stick. It has, however, been producing some pike recently which is why I was heading there. The info I has was that the pike were been caught late morning into early afternoon so I didn't get there too early. There weren't quite as many swims accessible as I'd hoped do to the water level,. but enough to spend an hour or two in each.

 

A float rod was to be fished next to any overhanging trees and in the slacks and a ledger rod for out in the middle. Bait was limited as I didn't want to buy any more before the end of the season. I had a small herring, some smelt, roach and lamprey. I put a section of lamprey out in the middle and a roach on the float was my starter.After half an hour or so the float started to drift downstream and I contacted with something that didn't feel like a pike. When I got it to the surface it was a pike, nearly. Probably about a foot long it thrashed about on the surface and detached itself from the hook. I put on a roach and cast out again, but with no more action after an hour moved on the the next swim. 

I decided on a cuppa after casting the baits out. This didn't result in any runs, but as I brought the float rod in to recast I thought i saw something following the bait so dropped it back close in. While I was waiting I got the lure rod ready. After bringing the float rod in I had a cast about with a eight in shad with a rattle fitted. After half a dozen cast I had the most almighty hit, obviously something big. I was somewhat disappointed when a little jack surfaced but at least I wasn't going to blank.

If one pike was active and willing to take a lure maybe more were. I therefore spent some time wandering up and down chucking lures about, but didn't see anything else. I settled down in an new swim with quite a large slack the was only about eight foot deep compared to the twelve to fourteen foot of the previous swims. Recasting the ledger rod I slipped and launched the whole lot up into a tree. While I retrieved everything else the lamprey detached itself and landed in the river. Time for the headless herring. It hadn't been out long when the alarm bleeped and the dropback dropped back. Pretty soon an 84cm 6lb 8oz fish was in the net. Despite the powerful rods it managed to put up a reasonable account of itself in the fast current.

Nothing else came from that swim so I had another go with the lure rod to no avail. two more swims were fished before dark, but nowt else had a go at the baits. I'm hoping the rivers have settled and the last few days of the season will produce something better. Hopefully it won't be washed out like last year.