Attack Of The Mega Pike

A short early morning session on the canal with ultra light gear turned out to be a bit of fun and also gave me the chance to hear my first Cuckoo of the year. In fact there were three Cuckoos about cuckooing. This is ideal territory for them as there are lots of Reed Warblers in the Norfolk Reed along the edges of the canal. While I only caught a glimpse of a Warbler I could certainly hear them as they are very noisy.

 

The first lure was a 7cm Salmo Minnow in dace pattern. Twitched about among the cabbages it looked just the thing a pike or perch might eat. It was a little jack that took a shine to it. I had seen the fish but didn't realise it as it just looked like a root until it snatched the lure. The next one shot out from under the cabbages but managed to throw the hook as it did it's best trout impression cartwheeling about. This was soon followed by another that impaled it's self on the belly hook.

The lovely sunshine disappeared not long after this and I went some time with out seeing a fish or getting a bite. A bit a a gusty breeze then got up which made casting very light lures into gaps or along the reed line rather awkward. I seemed to spend quite a lot of time reeling bits of plant in.

The next fish I saw were a small shoal of tench as they scattered when the lure passed by them. Another little jack grabbed the lure at the end of that retrieve with the leader inside the top ring. As I swung it in it throw it's self from the hooks and up the bank. A quick photo and it swam off no the worse for wear, I hope. I then spotted a larger jack loitering under the nearside bank which ignored my lure even when it passed inches from it's nose. A change to a Perch pattern  produced a similar response but a tiny jack shot out and grabbed it. This spooked the larger jack.

One of the problems with some bits of the bank along the canal is that you don't actually know where it is. The various plants disguise the edge so you have to trad carefully or you end you sinking into stinky mud. It also means a seven foot rod can't always reach to bring a lure along the edge of the reeds where the predators loiter. It was from here that a decent jack of around 3lb hit the smallest lure of the day. It shot out from the reeds, hit the lure and was over on the far bank before I could even strike. After a couple of minutes of lunacy it lodged it's self under my feet in among the bankside vegetation. A poke with the landing net handle and it was bank out in open water then into the net.

Stopping to listening to the Cuckoos and Warblers, and maybe get a picture of the later the time soon passed. As I headed back towards the car I tried a couple of other lures smaller than the ones I'd been using. I've been experimenting with light wire leaders so that these little lures actions aren't impaired. This was especially true of the 3cm Tiny. With a light mono leader it's action is great but wire can impair it. My solution is a perfection loop at one end with a clip on. and an Albright knot to attach it to the braid, This keeps things to a minimum. The little jacks would have been alright on a mono leader but the large one engulfed the lure so the wire was needed, and worked.

It was nice to hear my first Cuckoos of the year and also nice that my experimental leader worked as well. I'll be trying it with small jigs later to see how it functions with them as many of the waters I fish for perch have a lot of active jacks in them. Unless the jacks are hooked at the front of the mouth they can make short work of mono.

Roadworks, Diversions and Lies

I thought I'd deciphered the various signs littering the area around the ponds indicating when the roads would be closed for resurfacing. Things appeared to have changed somewhat as I headed to the estate lake. That road was closed even though the signs said two days previous. The road to the gravel pit was supposed to be closed today but was still open, so it was back to the gravel pit. As I arrived I witnessed a crow doing it's osprey impression, picking a dead fish from the surface. There was also a heron in among the trees trying it's luck in among the roots. I was also on my own.

After a bit of plumbing around I found a couple of spots the same depth. One four rod lengths out in front and three rod lengths forty-five degrees to my right. The font one was to be baited up with groundbait, a mixture of brown and red crumb in a ratio of 51:49. This was to be laced with dead reds and chopped worm. To my right I was going to loose feed caster and hemp.

The set up was to be a crystal insert waggler with a long insert. I'd picked up a section from the tackle shop. I alternated between red maggot, caster and worm as hook bait. Bites were few and far between but nice and positive due to long insert the lift bites were easy to see. The odd skimmer, tiny perch and similarly small roach were picked out equally on maggot or caster. Worm failed to elicit a bite.  After lunch I decided to ball it in on the line in front of me as the few small balls of ground bait weren't attracting much. This didn't really change things as the bites were still scarce. I'd fished on the bottom, off the bottom, on the drop. None of which were any better than the other.

There was clearly some pike activity as every now and then great clouds of bubbles would suddenly rise to the surface and occasional small fish could be seen scattering. Mid afternoon another angler arrived and fished to swim opposite taking the odd small fish very now and then. The changing wind direction didn't help either as various bits of debris got blown backward and forward through the swims.

A heron returned swooping over the edge of the pit causing a few fish to scatter and swirl before it landed it a tree where it spent the rest of the afternoon. Strangely the robin never appeared to demand maggots. There were, however a very large number of tadpoles around the edge of the pit. At first I thought it was just some black silt on the bottom until I looked closely.

With rain predicted for the evening I packed up the moment the drizzle started which was good timing. I'd just got everything in the car when it really chucked it down.  It was a bit of a disappointing session, I'd expected  a lot more. There's plenty of fish in there but the pike just seem to prevent them for settling.

It Rained

 Back down the gravel pit for another match hours session.  Waggler fished maggots or casters over groundbait laced with dead reds and chopped worm was the plan. Like a twit I'd forgot to put the tube of insert wagglers I'd sorted out back in the bag. The only ones I had with me were straight wagglers for river fishing. I dotted it down as far as I could and still see it. At least the was only a short burst of sunshine and very little wind so the float was quite easy to see. After a spot of plumbing about I set the bait just on the bottom over a little ledge. The ledge handily lines up with an over hanging branch so you have a marker for casting. A dozen small balls over groundbait went in. It wasn't long before the noisy little robin turned up demanding to be fed.

First up were a couple of perch which gave quite positive bites. Alternating between double red maggot, single didn't get any bites, and single caster a couple of roach followed. The first sign of pike activity then followed when a few fish scattered under the over hanging tree. Twenty biteless minutes later and the swim started to fizz. A couple of skimmers took a liking to red maggots. Another pike turned up grabbing a skimmer as I brought it in ripping it from the hook. this is how it went for the next couple of hours, the odd fish or two the nothing for a while. I kept topping up the swim with groundbait.

Around lunch time a second angler turned up. I then started to get silly bites which occasionally turned into little roach. The lack of sensitivity on the float started to show. As it got into the afternoon it started to drizzle then turned to quite heavy rain. This slowed the bites down considerably and the last couple of hours produced very few fish. The other lad, who'd happily been catch a few skimmers then had his swim disrupt by a battle with a double figure pike. Which he managed to land on a whip.

 

I reckon that the answer to the pike problem is to have two lines set up and alternate between the two. This would allow time time for one to settle after a pike attack. I also need to remember to put the insert wagglers in the bag as well as I reckon the long tipped ones will show the bites from the roach a lot better. The rain, though, came as a complete surprise. All I'd expected was a little bit of drizzle. Not that it would make a lot of difference as five miles south west at my house it hadn't rained at all, according to the neighbours.

Down The Cut

I arrived at the top of the length the club controls to find the canal the boats had been trundling up and down stirring things up. The canal had turned cocoa coloured and bits of vegetation covered the surface. It was very hard to get any sort of lure  through the water with out picking up debris. I persisted for a while hoping the the coloured water may provoke the perch into action. No sign of any fish but an otter entertained us for a while. Any attempt at a photo of it proved futile as it had the psychic ability to disappear when a camera was pointed at it. While having a cuppa and pondering what to do next I was informed that the water was less coloured and there was less debris near the other end of the section. Cuppa drunk and biccy eaten I set off down there.

It was as described, but the fish didn't seem to be any more cooperative on the first section I fished. There was, though, a large clump for bankside vegetation doing a very good impression of an island slowly drifting along. I also found an alien invader in the shape of a skunk cabbage. There also seems to be quite a few apple trees on this section.

Back near the car I contacted my first fish. A small jack that followed the lure until the trace swivel was an inch from the tip before it hit it. In the ensuing thrashing about as I tried to switch the anti-reverse off it came adrift. I then connected with another very close to some far bank stone work, but a rather ineffective strike and this one was escaped too. Very next cast back along the inside stonework and I was was into a rather angry perch of 1lb 13oz. 

Working the lure close to the tree roots it became apparent that I'd got a bit too close as the lure came to a solid halt. Despite my best efforts it would come loose. Another trace and lure tied on and cast just a little bit further out from the roots. It was just too pikey to ignore. Two turns of the reel and a lunatic jack had hold of the lure. Surprisingly it stayed away from the tree roots and careened about in the middle. Superb fun an a light perch set up. I had to have another go a bit further along the roots. A few cast later and a cute little jack was safely netted.

By now I had to be else where. I got back to the bridge just as the floating island arrived. The breeze had picked up a bit so it was moving quite quickly and looked like it may jam under the bridge but it hit the corner of the stone work and turned long ways on the drift through the gap smoothly. I had a few chucks around it but to no avail.

Not a bad little session in the end. Things seem to be waking up.

More Gravel Pit Nonsense

Another trip to the local gravel pit on what should, according to the weather forecast, have been an overcast day. I'd decided to just stick with the float rod to see if I could put a decent net of fish together. I was to be fishing match hours. Things didn't get off the a flyer  when the end of the landing net handle broke as I was screwing the net on. Thankfully I had my faithful storm pole with me which makes a reasonable landing net handle. For bait I had red maggots, worms and a rather fetching red groundbait. The repaired rod was on it's first outing after the mishap. A 3BB insert waggler with the shot initial bulked about two foot from the hook completed the business end. A couple of red maggots on a size 18 for hook bait. Chopped worm was added to the ground bait along with a few maggots. Four golf ball sized balls went in.

It took a little while for a bite to come from a little perch. A couple more followed before things went quiet for a while. I then had a couple of little skimmers before foul hooking one. As I dragged it towards the net the hook came adrift launching it up into the tree. Pulling the rig out of the tree it came free intact, but the bulk shot rattled my knuckles which smarted a bit. After another quiet spell a couple of reasonable perch turned up. A few more anglers turned up after lunch. By now it was nice and warm but the lovely sunshine really put the fish off from feeding. I managed the occasional little perch throughout the afternoon. The other angler near me was having the same problems. A couple of fish then nothing for a while.

Through out the afternoon I was pestered by a robin which probably got more maggots than the fish. I spent some time faffing with the telephoto option on the phone to see if I could get a decent picture. It appears that it needs to be quite bright to focus properly and also has to be given a few seconds to focus as well. Still it was something to do while the float sat stationary apart from when I wound it in to change the depth. None of which made much difference.

I probably should have had a couple of swim baited up. One further out in the deeper water. There again I may have mad things worse by flitting between the two and not achieving anything. I don't fish stillwaters very much these days, apart from a bit of pike fishing so really need to up my game on them.

Pike Among The Cabbages

 I had a rather fascinating, and frustrating, session on a gin clear canal this morning. Twitching a 7cm Salmo Minnow about above the cabbages I was soon into a dinky little jack. I could see it dash out from under the plants and grab the lure. The next one to have go missed the lure by a few inches. I tried a straight retrieve but it wasn't interested. On the third go I stopped the lure in front of it. The jack just sat there bristling until I twitched the lure. Again it lunged at the lure but missed, instead it got itself foul hooked in the belly before coming adrift as I wound it in.

I then spent some time stalking deer to try and get a decent photo. I managed a couple of the two on the other side of the canal before spooking a pair of yellow hammer which in turn spooked the deer. So intent on the deer I had completely failed to see either of the rather vivid little birds.

Back to the fishing I had another dinky jack miss the lure. As it was turning for another go another little jack hit the lure head on. Despite the fair old thump I failed to connect with it. Next cast one or the other of them hit the lure broadside and was quickly on the bank.  A little while later I spotted the tail of a larger jack poking out from under a raft of weed. As I manoeuvred between the trees to get a cast at it I managed to spook two or three tench which scattered and spooked the jack which shot off at speed.

Another spot of deer stalking followed but I lost track of it as it jumped a hedge.  It did seem it was intent on going somewhere. As I wandered back the where I'd left the rod and net I spotted a small shoal of perch swimming along steadily. Tossing the lure about four foot ahead of them I waited until they were two foot away before commencing a steady wind. The shoal caught up with the lure and followed it all the way to the bank. Giving the lure a good twitch the smallest, not by much, of the shoal shot forward and grabbed the low. It was hooked and swung onto the bank in one move. It's shoal mates just stopped momentarily before swinging back out into the middle of the canal. I lost track of them while unhooking the one I'd caught.

I then had some more fun with dinky little jacks and their astonishing inability to hit the lure. They wouldn't take a lure on a steady retrieve, but seemed to have a lot of difficulty in hitting one that was been twitched  about. They weren't far away but seemed to attack the place the lure was. As I headed back to the car I spotted another shoal of a dozen, or so, smaller perch. Using the same tactic as before, landing the lure ahead of them, I soon had them following the lure. This time I gave if a goodly twitch after a yard and was met with an almighty thump as a fair sized jack hit the lure launching itself out of the water. After a right tussle on the light perch set up I had it in the net. A very tidy fish of 70cm. It had obviously been hiding under the cabbages and left quite a cloud of sediment where it had launched its attack.

Crossing the bridge as I headed back  I spotted a somewhat larger pike steadily swimming along. It looked seriously battered. Probably a result of spawning activity. I left it alone so it could go and hide and recover. 

I was surprised at the inability of the tiny jacks to hit the lure but I suppose most predators have to go through a learning stage. It was interesting to see in the gin clear water though. The clarity of the water also allowed me to manoeuvrer the lure around the plants. By keeping the rod tip high I could keep it above the cabbages, but by lowering ot I could run the lure deeper through the clear areas. With out the clarity I think I'd have spent most of my time pulling weed off the hooks.