That esteemed coarse angler of my youth,Fred.J Taylor was once asked,'If you had to choose one freshwater species to fish for,for the rest of your life,what would it be?'....Fred selected the roach which,although a worthy adversary,doesn't really float my boat when it comes to freshwater fishing.Pretty they are,tricky to tempt also at times.In fact, some comparison can be drawn with our own favourite sea fish.But,personally I need something a bit more spectacular to get me through the dark winter months,something big ,toothy, wild and that can be fished for with a variety of interesting methods.My choice ,if asked,would unquestionably be,the pike.
Generally I fish rivers,and that means my pike season runs from roughly the beginning of November when the mullet fishing around my way declines, until March the 14th.A short break to carry out any necessary household and automotive 'chores' during April, and then i start thinking about mullet again.It all fits together nicely.I must surely have the most patient of wives.It's taken me five years to renovate the kitchen.....so far.For the past few winters my piking partner in crime, fellow N.M.C member and all round good bloke, Dave Wilkins and I, have tried to pike fish for a full week at the end of the coarse fishing season on our club river venues,and this year was to be no different.Luckily, the water conditions had just recovered in time from recent heavy rainfall and the prospects were looking good.
Monday was to be a short day for both of us.I'd previously completed a long work shift,which had caused me to miss the A.G.M, and it was Dave's wife's birthday so he had to finish early.
We still squeezed in four hours and Dave was rewarded with a half blind fish of 14 -12 (above left) which took his mackerel tail just before we packed up around lunch time.It was a bright sunny day but we couldn't help notice how cold the water was ,assisted i've no doubt by the easterly winds.These winds were to prove our downfall later in the week.
Tuesday was a dawn start and I managed to secure some roach baits.We, unusually, set up with three baits each,my single live, and five deads spread along the river at ten yard intervals and hopping the rods every twenty minutes, slowing the pace down a bit at spots 'with a bit of history'.Locating the fish is our biggest problem.With some times fifteen feet of water under the rod tip they are,as you can imagine, a little more difficult to see than your average mullet.Features on a tidal are rarely permanent,unlike on still waters,but some swims,in particular deeper areas do sometimes prove reliable holding areas.Comparing in detail pictures of fish that we've caught(you'll notice we always hold our pike with the right flank to camera)we've never had a recapture,but where you find one pike,there are likely to be more lurking.
By breakfast time for 'normal' people we'd reached a deep 'hole'. I soon had a couple of takes from small pike and was expecting another 'jack' when the live bait float characteristically bobbed once again.Tightening up,i couldn't have been more wrong in my assessment of the likely candidate- the fish tore off down river actually stripping line-most unusual for a 'jack' pike.
I had a slightly nervous moment when i felt one of the trebles lose its hold (ping!) through the braid,but the second just clinched one size 8 barb-less prong on the edge of the mouth(do pike have lips?) long enough for Dave to net my season's best at 19-08 (above right).A lean muscular pike which would have easily made the magic twenty , had this season's spawning time been normal
Another small pike later finished off day two and interestingly all the fish hit the single live bait rod,the five deads remaining unmolested all day.
After our two successes we expected the week to be quite productive but,as always ,things didn't quite turn out that way.
Wednesday ,a change of river and the only action of the day was a dropped fish, a big single,again to my live bait rod.Curiously this smaller river was noticeably warmer, and we were treated to a rare and privileged glimpse of some spawning activity in the weed strewn margins.The pikes' preoccupation with more pressing matters probably accounted for their reluctance to pay attention to our baits.Can't say i blame them.
Thursday back on the original venue but a ways upstream, and two small pike fell again to the lives, but that was that .
Friday and Saturday turned out to be total blanks so we decided to not bother with the Sunday session, both needing a well earned rest from our efforts.
The live baits probably scored better over the week because of the low water temperatures.Most of the pike were 'leeched up' showing signs of inactivity and we've found it sometimes takes a live bait to trigger a take in these circumstances.Dead baits working better in milder conditions.
One little bit of action on the Saturday was the appearance of a seal some twenty miles from the sea and following the incoming tide.Click on the picture to get a slightly better view.We both leaped out of our chairs and hastily retrieved our rigs fearing that we might encounter the 'fight of our lives'.We needn't have worried. The seal submerged,and reappeared some two hundred yards upstream.
A couple of hours later, the tide had turned and the seal stopped by once again,on it's way back, to give us the 'eye'.A fantastic sight,but probably not conducive to good fishing.During the week we were also blessed with regular visits from a barn own and a herd of deer peering over the flood defence, as well as the seemingly common kingfishers that dwell on these stretches.I'm still waiting for the day when one parks itself on one of my rods.
So ended our little adventure - an enjoyable, if tough few days.It also ends another pike season and a winter that's been our most difficult one yet.We both caught some nice fish with several in double figures, which is a good result for the rivers, but it required considerable effort,and our numbers were down on previous years due in no part ,to the floods,snow etc
Let's hope next season provides more opportunities and in particular to help some mates on to some public waters for their debut pike-something i've failed miserably at this time around.
For the past few winters my piking partner in crime, fellow N.M.C member and all round good bloke, Dave Wilkins and I, have tried to pike fish for a full week at the end of the coarse fishing season on our club river venues,and this year was to be no different.Luckily, the water conditions had just recovered in time from recent heavy rainfall and the prospects were looking good.
Monday was to be a short day for both of us.I'd previously completed a long work shift,which had caused me to miss the A.G.M, and it was Dave's wife's birthday so he had to finish early.
We still squeezed in four hours and Dave was rewarded with a half blind fish of 14 -12 (above left) which took his mackerel tail just before we packed up around lunch time.It was a bright sunny day but we couldn't help notice how cold the water was ,assisted i've no doubt by the easterly winds.These winds were to prove our downfall later in the week.
Tuesday was a dawn start and I managed to secure some roach baits.We, unusually, set up with three baits each,my single live, and five deads spread along the river at ten yard intervals and hopping the rods every twenty minutes, slowing the pace down a bit at spots 'with a bit of history'.Locating the fish is our biggest problem.With some times fifteen feet of water under the rod tip they are,as you can imagine, a little more difficult to see than your average mullet.Features on a tidal are rarely permanent,unlike on still waters,but some swims,in particular deeper areas do sometimes prove reliable holding areas.Comparing in detail pictures of fish that we've caught(you'll notice we always hold our pike with the right flank to camera)we've never had a recapture,but where you find one pike,there are likely to be more lurking.
By breakfast time for 'normal' people we'd reached a deep 'hole'. I soon had a couple of takes from small pike and was expecting another 'jack' when the live bait float characteristically bobbed once again.Tightening up,i couldn't have been more wrong in my assessment of the likely candidate- the fish tore off down river actually stripping line-most unusual for a 'jack' pike.
I had a slightly nervous moment when i felt one of the trebles lose its hold (ping!) through the braid,but the second just clinched one size 8 barb-less prong on the edge of the mouth(do pike have lips?) long enough for Dave to net my season's best at 19-08 (above right).A lean muscular pike which would have easily made the magic twenty , had this season's spawning time been normal
Another small pike later finished off day two and interestingly all the fish hit the single live bait rod,the five deads remaining unmolested all day.
After our two successes we expected the week to be quite productive but,as always ,things didn't quite turn out that way.
Wednesday ,a change of river and the only action of the day was a dropped fish, a big single,again to my live bait rod.Curiously this smaller river was noticeably warmer, and we were treated to a rare and privileged glimpse of some spawning activity in the weed strewn margins.The pikes' preoccupation with more pressing matters probably accounted for their reluctance to pay attention to our baits.Can't say i blame them.
Thursday back on the original venue but a ways upstream, and two small pike fell again to the lives, but that was that .
Friday and Saturday turned out to be total blanks so we decided to not bother with the Sunday session, both needing a well earned rest from our efforts.
The live baits probably scored better over the week because of the low water temperatures.Most of the pike were 'leeched up' showing signs of inactivity and we've found it sometimes takes a live bait to trigger a take in these circumstances.Dead baits working better in milder conditions.
One little bit of action on the Saturday was the appearance of a seal some twenty miles from the sea and following the incoming tide.Click on the picture to get a slightly better view.We both leaped out of our chairs and hastily retrieved our rigs fearing that we might encounter the 'fight of our lives'.We needn't have worried. The seal submerged,and reappeared some two hundred yards upstream.
A couple of hours later, the tide had turned and the seal stopped by once again,on it's way back, to give us the 'eye'.A fantastic sight,but probably not conducive to good fishing.During the week we were also blessed with regular visits from a barn own and a herd of deer peering over the flood defence, as well as the seemingly common kingfishers that dwell on these stretches.I'm still waiting for the day when one parks itself on one of my rods.
So ended our little adventure - an enjoyable, if tough few days.It also ends another pike season and a winter that's been our most difficult one yet.We both caught some nice fish with several in double figures, which is a good result for the rivers, but it required considerable effort,and our numbers were down on previous years due in no part ,to the floods,snow etc
Let's hope next season provides more opportunities and in particular to help some mates on to some public waters for their debut pike-something i've failed miserably at .
.
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