Military Maneuvers

As I had appointments on Friday, Thursday was to be fishing day this week. The recent warm weather and rain had washed the snow melt down the river. Although it did peak on Wednesday it had been expected to continue rising, before falling on Thursday. Given the uncertainty of the river levels and the fact it was going to be wet and windy most of the morning, and I have no great desire to get piss wet through these days plus news that pike were been taken at the clay pit I opted for a day there. There are a couple of spots where you get a good command of the water with plenty of features to go at. I managed to arrive before the rain arrived and got the brolly set up and pegged down before the wind and rain arrived.

I wasn't wholly optimistic when I saw the water as It had a blue green tinge to it as if ice had just melted. This colour was to disappear by lunch time as it turned to it's more normally brownish colour. I'd been reliable informed that pike, mainly jacks, were been taken on small roach or sprat dead-baits suspended around three to four foot under a float, so that's what I set one rod up for. The other was set for the usual float leger tactics with a trout as bait. This was cast over to the far-side ledge. The sprat was allowed to drift over the remains of a weed bed that seemed to be sprouting new growth already. The sprat was recast regularly to allow it to drift different lines. The trout was also moved every hour or so, alternating between a feature and the middle of nowhere.

The rain varied between drizzle and quite heavy downpours. When the noise of the rain wasn't too much I could hear the squaddies on the firing range some three miles away. Mid-morning there was a great deal of chatter from birds in the trees behind me. I couldn't for the life of me identify them as I only got a brief glimpse as the flitted between the branches. I turned back towards the water just in time to see the float above the trout disappearing. Initial contact suggested something decent, but it soon became apparent it was just a small but spirited jack. The fight took far longer than it should as the other float rig had drifted the wrong way and there was danger of a real tangle. I'd left the landing net slightly out of reach as well. Still it had stuck to the hooks and was most welcome even at 62cm.

That had been the last of the trout so a slightly freezer burnt sardine went out. Despite the claims by many that baits should be as fresh as possible, I've done equally as well with old baits that may have been in the freezer over a year. The rain gave up by lunch and the wind eased off but change direction slightly. Occasionally the sun would pop out. I had a wander round dropping the sprat near various bankside features with no luck. For a while military jets were flying over I only saw one through the trees but boy did I hear, and feel, them. The noise really did shake the atmosphere. As I sat preparing a cuppa the float above the sprat bobbed about. Winding down produced nothing. This occurred a couple more times. Just as I was pouring boiling water in the cup the float shot away. I did contact with it but, like last week, it slipped the hook. Instead of my usual double hooks I'd used a single size 6 treble for a change, mainly because it was the only one hook rig I had. I continued on until I struggled to see the floats but nowt else showed. At least I'd landed one this time.

 

Do you ever get the feeling you're doing something wrong as everybody else seems to be having better days. I have no reason to doubt my informant. I have seen him blank more than once so I know he has his of days.

Three Nil

With river having dropped well into it's banks I had a choice of venues. Breaking the ice at the gravel pit or sliding down precipitous icy river banks. I chose the later., mainly because I suspect it'll be on the rise again by next week as things start to thaw out. As I arrived at the empty parking area the was some obvious heat in  the sun despite the fact it was still zero degrees. Three deer were grazing in the distance. It was only when they moved that I realised what they were. Too far away for a phone pic The big coat was strapped to the ruckbag as it wasn't needed on the walk to the river. In fact it wasn't needed all morning.  My plan was to start at the upstream end of the stretch and work my way downstream until lunch, then work back upstream revisiting the swims. I intended to give each swim forty minutes to an hour.

Tactics were a float fished roach near any over hanging trees and a half mackerel over the near side shelf. The ground was rock solid, banksticks were out of the question unless I happened on a half brick or similar. The swims were OK as well, the steps were still flat and been frozen easy enough to get up and down. After forty minutes in the first swim I saw my first pike as it grabbed the roach just as I was about to lift it out of the water. After a few seconds it came adrift. A new bait was cast out and I gave it another thirty minutes, but nothing showed. I suspect it had felt the hooks. Things were rather uneventful as I worked my way through the swims.

After lunch I found the roach bait snagged. Now nine times out of ten the forty five pound braid either bends the hooks or pulls a big branch out. This time it snapped at the knot with remarkable ease. I tied on another rig and stuck the hook on a fence and gave it a good pull. All seemed solid enough, I'd certainly applied more pressure than it took to snap the braid earlier. I did the same with the other rod and all appeared OK. The temperature was now four degrees, but with in half an hour the sun had disappeared, a very chilly breeze had got up and there were a few snow flakes getting blown about.

Eventually I was back at the first swim. As I sat having a cuppa the float started to jiggle about. It took me a little while to realise it was a bite. A strike met with solid resistance then back came the bait. A remarkably intact trout. I'd run out of roach as I'd only put two in the bag for some reason. I decide to stick it out until home time. Twenty minutes later the same thing. This time I didn't get my bait back. I moved the mackerel to the tree I'd got the bites near, but nowt else showed any sign of interest. It was now minus 1 degrees.

At least I'd got some runs even if they didn't stick. I have had good look at the hooks and they seem sharp enough. I've certainly landed pike on far worse. Pike are quite good at falling off hooks, even after you've played them for some time. One thing though, I've got the action cam to work in the cold by plugging it into a power pack which is kept in an inside pocket so doesn't get cold.

At Least It Wasn't Frozen Over

Given the weather forecast, snow showers and a nor'esterly wind giving a wind chill of -5C, I wasn't sure if there be anybody else down at the gravel pit. I was slightly wrong with that prediction. Four pike anglers were already there and a couple of coarse anglers along with a lure angler. This left a limited choice of swims. I plonked myself in one corner and set up the shelter. Once behind that things were not quite as bad. The first of the snow flurries started just as I cast a small roach into the little bay to my left. A popped up trout was rigged on the second rod. This went out near the middle at the bottom of the shelf.

 

There we all sat staring at a selection of pike floats or waving poles about. Another couple of lure anglers visited through the day and had a quick thrash about in the two remaining swims. Part way through the morning a pike was taken opposite me. Towards lunch the pole anglers started to catch the odd small silver. The rest of has nothing what so ever.

I suspect the amount of water that has come in to the pit lately has an effect as I've not seen it at this height for a long long time. I suspect the next trip may well involve breaking ice given the weather forecast.

Too Wet, Too Bright

I was surprised to see four cars parked up at the gravel pit when I arrived. There again, with the local rivers and canals in a sorry state I shouldn't have been. Strangely there was only three anglers, all on the far bank. One of these was a lure angler who left, fish-less, not long after.  I set up in one of the corner swims with a nice row of tree roots. One rod, with a small roach on, was cast as close to the roots as I dare. The other, with a sardine on, was to be cast about the swim to different spots each for an hour or so. It wasn't long before the fist of the rain showers arrived and the brolly needed putting up.

 While I was faffing with the stove to boil some water for a cuppa I heard the slow click of the centre pin. I turned round just in time to see the float pop back up. The roach was totally unmarked, so out it went again. Even if I'd been watching the float I don't think I'd of hooked anything as I'd have given it another few seconds anyway. A bit of oil was injected into the sardine and it was cast near a dead weed bed. Just after lunch the sun came out and for an hour there was quite a bit of warmth in it. Not that it made any difference to the pike fishing. Late in the afternoon the angler opposite had a pike around the 7-8lb mark. This came from the only swim I've never caught a pike from in winter. That turned out to be the only fish of the day.

Fourth trip of the year and only one fish so far. We agreed it has been too wet and today was too bright for pike fishing. The weather isn't looking promising for the next week or so either.

First Fish Of The Year

With the rivers on the rise again I made my way to the gravel pit. I was surprised to find ice still on it. In fact there were only four fishable swims, two of which were already taken. I did ponder whether it was worth fishing as there was only a couple of rod lengths before the ice. While having a natter one of the anglers landed a broad headed stubby pike of 15lb. This gave me some hope so I set up in the other corner swim.

 

A sardine was tossed out to the edge of the ice and a roach suspended just off the bottom was drifted into the little bay to my left until it hit the ledge.. The ice did slowly retreat on the side we were all fishing, but not on the far side. Just before twelve a pike drifted through the swim into the bay. Ten minutes later the float moved  very very slowly against the drift. Winding down I was in contact with a lively little fish that was soon in the net, which was a good job as the failure to strike resulted in the hooks dropping out the moment the line went slack. A rather empty fish of 77cm and 6lb 10oz with a rather distinctive scar on one side.

Another roach went back in and the sardine was injected with oil and cast into deeper water as the ice had now retreated some more. Mid-afternoon the temperature dropped and it felt like it could snow. A fret formed over one end of the pit, but disappeared as it started to drizzle. Those were the only fish of the day as far as I know. It was nice to get off the mark and nice to see a double in such good condition. I was also informed that pike a showing on the estate lake, not many but pike no the less.

Music while typing provided by : Idyllic Music Podcast

Second Session of 2021

With the local rivers a tad overfull, one even above it's previous record height, the second session of the year had to be at a stillwater. I headed to the local gravel pit half expecting it to be full of anglers. I was surprised to find only one there. I was also surprised to see some ice still left as well. The other angler, pike fishing, reported one dropped run. After a bit of a natter I set up in the opposite corner, after a bit of umming and ahhing. A trout was flung out to the end of the gravel bar and a roach dropped into the little bay to my left. The water level had final risen, but not as high as I'd expected. Still, it was nice to see it at a reasonable level again. Several other anglers eventually arrived, either pike fishing or maggot drowning. One informed me a couple of anglers had had nine pike out earlier in the week. Today there was nothing  coming out. Apart from the dropped run the only other sign of fish was the ones the kingfisher caught. Everybody seemed to agree last night's frost hadn't helped. It wasn't a bad day though. there was a bit of warmth in the sun for a while and when the chill breeze dropped the big coat wasn't needed.

I think the stillwaters are going to get a bit of a bashing over the next few weeks as we wait for the rivers to drop, provided they don't freeze over again. Which, given the projected temperatures could well happen. As usual when nothing much is happening I didn't take mnay photos, despite my New Year's resolution to do so.

First Session Of 2021

The last few days of 2020 had been cold, hovering around zero, but sunny. The first day of 2021 was to be warmer, up to four degrees, but wet and windy. As I loaded up the car in the drizzle and breeze it felt a lot colder than previous days. I decided to head to the river as it was now only one metre up and I thought the still waters may well be still iced over. The carpark had turned into an ice rink and had yet to thaw. It did mean however that the muddy path down to the river was nice and solid. The ings was covered in a couple of foot of water that was steadily draining away into the beck. Although it looked to have thawed the gulls wandering about on it told a different story. I decided to stat at the bottom swim by the confluence of the beck.

I'd got set up and the brolly up before the drizzle turned to rain. A trout went out just beyond the shelf but still in the large slack. A sardine was placed on the top of the shelf by an upstream sunken willow. My intention had been to fish several swims for an hour or so each. The rain put pay to this idea. In a short gap in the rain I had a quick wander with the lure rod. The rain on top over the frozen mud meant a lot of swims were just far to dangerous to fish. I did fin=d a couple of swims with large slacks in front of them that I could move to. The rain stated gain and continued to lunch time. Apart from a sunken branch dislodging the float there was no sign of activity.

After lunch I moved to another swim. The sun came out for a couple of hours and the breeze dropped which made things a bit more pleasant. No action was to be had after a couple of house I moved to another swim opposite Bishopthorpe Palace. A nice backdrop, but it didn't influence the pike in any way. I was blessed with a short view of the local otter though. Frighteningly it disappeared underwater rather close to one of the baits. I don't know if otters take dead fish, but thankfully this one didn't. I also witnessed a cormorant crash land on the ice which was rather amusing. Rather than fish to dark in the hope of avoiding a blank I decided to navigate the icy path back to the car in daylight. Back at the carpark I talked to a chap that had fished here several times in the past couple of weeks. He too hadn't had a run an any of his trips, but had seen a pike taken on the opposite bank yesterday.

 Not the start I would have liked to 2021, but the action cam worked properly. It clearly doesn't like sub-zero temperatures. Back to work tomorrow, so it'll be next week before I get out again.