I’ve been out after the eels
again recently but have limited it to two short sessions per week now. I’ve
been emptying my bait freezer of all my old deadbaits and have been putting in
1-2lb at the end of every trip but yet again there is no sign of the eels!
I knew I was limiting my chances
by fishing evenings only but my catches have been disappointing, at the very least.
Since the two eels just after I started I’ve not had another eel so haven’t
learnt much that might help in the future… that’s the real rub for me, I’ve
blanked plenty over the years but I always like to learn something. I suppose I
could say that the prebaiting hasn’t worked… in fact, it might have worked
against me, but at least the pike got a free feed. They need the help after
being hammered by bad angling practices over the last few years.
Anyway, I’ve got just under 100
lobworms and a few weeks left yet so I may as well stick it out until the end.
I’m not hoping for much but think I’ll fish one of the weekly sessions in other
parts of the lake.
Not sure if anyone else has
noticed but it’s felt a bit like late September to me recently! The stormy, and
not particularly warm, weather has got me thinking about pike… I usually fish
for pike with lures all year round but this year I’ve not done much for various
reasons, so the other day I thought I’d get out.
The river was still low but a bit
of recent rain had meant it had come up a bit. There was a slug of water coming
downstream that would reach my stretch the following day, when I planned to go,
but most fish get caught in the mornings here so I decided to go anyway.
I arrived and the water was as I
expected; a bit of extra depth, flow and a tinge of colour but apart from a few
follows I struggled for the first couple of hours and noticed the river was
rising all the time. I eventually saw a decent fish hit the lure properly and a
mid double was hooked. It went a bit berserk during the fight and made a few
leaps out of the water... it was on one of these jumps that I lost her! Hmmmm, that wasn't in the plan!
I carried on struggling before
getting to the last couple of swims but the foliage had been cut behind them and
some was piled up against the overgrown swims. I knew there were a couple of
spots to fish but I couldn’t see them so it was obvious they hadn’t been fished
in a long time. After 5 minutes of getting stung and bitten the first spot
proved fruitless and I could now see that the river had come up quite a bit and
was getting coloured. Another 5 minutes clearing the next swim and I needed a break…
it would also give the swim a rest after my noise but this was probably my last
chance looking at the chocolate brown colour the river was fast turning.
I pitched the lure 20ft along the
upstream tree and it came back. The second one was straight out about the same
distance and, as the lure came into view a few feet from the end of the rod, a
good pike shot upstream and nailed it, turning 180° and shooting off round the
bushes so I couldn’t see it or what was round there. With 100lb braid and a
strong rod it didn’t get very far though and I could feel what was going on so
steady pressure bought the fish back up to me, with a short foray into a clump
of grass being the only worry. It felt quite heavy and was very lively and it
took a couple of attempts to get it in the net but in she went… where the hooks
promptly fell out!
A nice chap walking past was good
enough to take a quick photo but I didn’t weigh her. At a guess I’d say about 16-17lb in her summer condition. A lovely looking, fit fish that shot off as fast
as it appeared.
On a tough day it’s always a relief to catch a decent fish. The disappointment of a blank is averted and you can go home a happy man.
I had another chance in the same swim from a fish about 7lb, which I missed, but the river had come up even
further and was completely chocolate brown colour, with big branches coming down. I fished on
for another hour or so but it was getting unfishable so the time came to head home.
It’s nice to be back with the
pike! J
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