It's the last day of September and normally I wait for the start of October for my first pike fishing expedition, splitting hairs I know, but I finally have a free couple of hours so off to the river I go. As I drive the ten minutes to the farm I decide to fish a drifted dead roach using the wind to give the bait a little action then employ a slow rising and falling retrieve to fish the bait back before re-casting.
Check the bait as it drifts out and along the river and make plenty of pauses on the retrieve, this is where the Fenland wind is your angling friend.
It looked as if the method that I'd chosen in my mind as drove to the river, a drifted dead roach about five or six inches long, was thwarted because when I arrived there was a lot of floating cut weed drifting up and down. Never mind, stick with the chosen method.
I fished about four feet deep with a size four circle hook and let the bait drift for about fifty yards then slowly brought it back, starting and stopping making it rise and fall in the water. For an hour nothing, no interest, not even a predator moving let alone checking my bait.
Then at one pause in the return a huge swirling splash and the float had gone. The fish fought for about five minutes and when I netted it, along with all of the weed hanging on the line the hook simply fell out. I measured the pike at just short of 35" long, took one photograph and decided to check the weight, then with one mighty backflip the fish returned itself to the water, very athletic. The scales and sling went back into the bag.
The afternoon continued in the same vein, two more takes and two more reasonably sized jack pike in the net, smaller but just as beautifully marked. The first had a huge scar on its shoulder and the other was perfect in colour and proportion. If the season continues like this I'll be happy and then there are the perch to chase.
Now I've got a new drain to try in the next couple of weeks so that will be an exercise out of the comfort zone but the stretch is seldom fished and the farmer is clearing me a track to the waterside with his tractor to aid access so watch this space.
Not forgetting that it will be good to see the last of the rafts of drifting weed so roll on.
Good start of to the campaign John !!!
ReplyDeleteJohn, now there is a formidable opponent. I'm sure your rod had quite the bend in it...well done mate.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mick. always put a rod out for Zander but I've only managed three with biggest going about 3lbs but I'm not complaining with those pike about. It's blowing a howling gale now and heavy rain is promised later and right through Saturday. All the best, John
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ReplyDeleteAlan, they all did but especially the big one, you know it's a good fish when they stay deep and run the line off the reel. My best ever was 27.5lb but there are even bigger fish in stretch. One day! Stay safe, John
Up and running, lovely fish John
ReplyDeleteBB, I was going to go outyesterday but the weather was terrible, sitting here I can see it building up again. The wind at ground level is roughly easterly but at 2,000 feet it's southerly so the churning is starting.
ReplyDeleteStay safe, John
ReplyDeleteBB, got that wrong, on the pilot's weather site the cloudbase is at 500 feet. John
That is low. I've been going more to the Brecks of late for work, lovely an different countryside and villages. But I feel a calling for the flatlands again, perhaps my diary for next week or two will "force" me to start putting a perch/pike rod in the charabanc just in case..
ReplyDeleteAlright TT ? Good start to the season, well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks ES, Now they've started weed cutting so we get great rafts of compost floating up and down. Hopefully I'll get out again on Wednesday. Stay safe, John
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