Finally the float goes down

      After the family traumas of the last two weeks there was finally the opportunity to get out of the house onto the fen and fish for pike.
      By the afternoon the weather had taken a turn for the worse, a howling gale had begun to blow so the decision was made that it was to be a trip to the old landing stages. It looked like it was going to be an uncomfortable few hours so the level of discomfort was going to be reduced as much as possible by finding a comfortable place to fish.
      The one thing about a Fenland drain is that they do tend to run pretty straight and if the wind is blowing in the direction the chosen drain runs the opposite end to the wind source is going to be pretty rough. The drain selected has a couple of gentle kinks in it to mitigate the wind effect and swell but the water was still rough and running up some good waves.

      The resume of the days action? Twelve perch, one pike lost and one landed, it could have been a lot worse that is absolutely certain. The number of perch taking the wobbled frozen roach was encouraging but none were large, one might have just made one pound or maybe a little more, so on my next visit I will go armed with a tin of lobworms and see if a really large one can be tempted. The other option is an absolutely fresh bait, a small roach or rudd, fished live or dead.
      The planning process has already begun, you simply can't beat optimism. An earlier start is needed too because by three o'clock it was almost dark because of the cloud base.