For my final session of the river season I went down to a local river which was at a very nice height for pike fishing. Plenty of slacks to fish. I fished four of them with float-fished deadbaits. Herring, sardine, and roach were used. None of which were attractive to the pike. Like most last sessions it was a bit of an anticlimax.
Not the best of pike seasons at all. All jacks not even a double. The stats are as follows.
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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.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.
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.
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.
Thursday I headed to a stretch of river I'd never fished before in an attempt to christen my new rods. Their previous outing had been a blank and fishing a unknown stretch of river probably to christen them probably wasn't the best idea. I'd been for a walk on this section previously so had a good idea where the pikey looking swims were. I wandered upstream to the first swim I fancied. There was no sign anybody else had been down since the water dropped. My tactics were to drop a bait in under a float just over the shelf behind over hanging trees and place a bait midstream with a ledger. The first bait out was a small roach under the float dropped into seven foot of water. A trout was flung out on the ledger. I also had smelt and sardine with me. After a runless hour I moved swims. This one was just as unproductive, as was the next. In the fourth swim the shelf was somewhat closer and the depth nearer nine foot. I changed to a smelt on the float rig. A spot of oil was added to the trout before it was plonked midstream. Just as the kettle boiled the float started to bob about. A quick strike and I was in. A small but rather athletic jack was quickly chinned. At least one rod was christened. Another angler turned up at this point. He was doing a spot of lure fishing for chub and/or perch.
After my cuppa I moved on to the next swim, then the next, then the next. I was all rather quiet apart from a Great Tit. Their 'singing' is OK for a little while, but when there's several of them doing their squeaky wheelbarrow impressions it gets a bit annoying. By now the collie from the farm had come down to investigate. Though it spent most of it's time sticking it's nose down rabbit holes and barking at them. I'd just got my Pot Noodle ready when the alarm went and the drop-back dropped back. Keeping one eye on my lunch in case the dog tried to nick it I struck into what felt like some debris. It wasn't until it got to the surface that the little jack woke up and started to thrash about. Second rod christened.
After it had chucked it down all day Tuesday there was an awful lot of closed roads around the area. I therefore decided to stay local for Wednesday's session and headed to the estate lake. There were a few cars in the car park when I arrived. A couple of anglers fishing the end of the island had two pike while I had a quick natter with them, so things looked hopeful. I opted to fish the far side of the island.
I started with a small roach on the inside and a headless joey mackerel over to the island. Things were quiet through the morning with nobody else catching as for as I could tell. As I had my lunch I contemplated moving but was dissuaded when a few fish scattered close to the island. This happened a couple more times under an overhanging tree but the closest I could get my bait, now a headless sardine was about six foot away. By mid-afternoon there was also fish topping to my right so I moved the small roach over there. Oils had been added to both baits but this didn't make much difference.
Another pike was taken on the far side of the island giving the pair three pike around the 4-5lb mark and a couple of dropped runs. They were the only one with any action at all as far as I could see. I didn't have so much as sniff. That makes it three blanks in a row. Like many I blame the unsettled weather and hope that the upcoming settled spell may make life easier.
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
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 river had risen a lot higher than expected when I looked at the gauge this morning. It was at the height I expected in the afternoon and didn't look like it was going to ease off. My mate was just setting off when I rang him. As he said "It's easier to give up than get started." Despite misplacing himself he still arrived at the same time as me. Our first thought when we saw the river was that we should have brought worms and not dead-baits. Still there were plenty of slacks in evidence so we picked the first two and got underway.
I'd just finished plumbing the depth when my mate shouted frantically. I whipped down to his swim to find him trying to keep a decent jack out of the semi-submerged tree and get his snagged landing net out of the tree roots and brambles. I untangled the net and soon a feisty 5-6lb jack was on the bank. Apparently it had taken the roach on the drop. This gave us some hope.
The only other anglers we saw all day arrived on the opposite bank just after lunch. One of them was obviously well sheltered as he managed to get a brolly up, something we couldn't do. It would have been nice as the periods of rain were getting longer and heavier. We slowly worked our way back fishing the swims the other had fished on the way down. By the time we got back to the top of the section the river had risen a metre and showed no sign of slowing.
Having successfully negotiated The Stile Of Doom, the one that maimed me last year, and got to the top of the hill I had my first sight of the river. It looked wider, browner, and deeper than it should have. I'd looked at the levels the night before, at that time it was dropping having risen nearly eighteen inches the night before. I'd forgotten about the second wave of rain that moved across The Dales which had lifted it again. I decided to give it a go even so. There river has plenty of bends here so there should be a few slacks on the inside of the bends.
On to the next swim and the same tactics although this swim was somewhat shallower at eight foot. With no action after ninety minutes I moved on. As I arrived at the third swim there was a splash and a swirl. Pike feeding I thought (hoped). The furry face of an otter popped up took one look at me and dived again. I wondered if it had been feeding on the fish bits I'd tossed in earlier. Despite the otter I gave it a go while I had a cuppa. As it was a tad bigger than the other swims I put half a small mackerel out on the ledger rod in the main current. It took four ounces of lead to hold bottom. Again a blank. I did wonder whether to spend a bit longer in the swim but decided my best hope was to move.
The fourth swim was a snag pit. I could feel the lead hitting branches on the way down. By now the river had dropped six inches and the fifth slack had all but disappeared. I tried dropping a bait in but it was soon dragged out into the main current. The sixth slack, though, had turned into a larger slack, so out went both baits. I spent two and a half hours in this swim as I was now hungry so spent lunch time there as well. Not that the extra time help as nothing was feeding apparently. A bit of a scout round and another slack had appeared where there wasn't one before. Again devoid of feeding fish.
That was it one otter, an egret, some long tail tits, and no fish. The Wharfe is bit of a bogey water for me when it comes to pike. I've had more pike attack swim feeders and maggots when I've been winding in than I've hooked and landed while pike fishing. I'll crack it one day though, provided I remember to look at the water levels before I set off.
Another trip to the gravel pit as I suspect the brick pond would be still frozen, and the rivers are rising and or falling. Again I was the only one there, apart from the robin. I was surprised to see a large area of ice still floating about. The wind was blowing it into the corner I wanted to fish so I opted to fish the corner I blanked in last time. There was, however, a larger area of water to go at. The other problem was that the branches thrown at the ice and leaf debris kept drifting backwards and forwards throughout the day dragging the line and rigs about.
Baits were the same as last time. The sardine was placed near the tree roots in two and a half foot of water and left there as the pike are known to patrol along there. The trout would be cast about the area and be moved every 45 minutes or so in the hope of landing it in front of a pike. Apart form being pestered by two robins, one having a more orange chest than the other, nothing much happened except a visit from the bailiff. Another angler had set up on the far bank maggot drowning. I didn't see him catch anything. Three lads also turned up deadbaiting but didn't catch either. The sun also turned up which meant I had to be careful where I cast the floats, as pike floats go invisible in winter sunshine no matter how big they are.
