AnotherAngle

Pike

Being a summary of what I know and have learnt about pike and all other things pike related.

• Introduction
• Pike "Rules"
• Pike Method
• Double VB Hook Rig
• Unhooking Pike
• Braid Trace Note
• The Pike Pit. A short note on a formative water. It even had a few pike in it.
• Jack Pike on The Dyke (1978-80)
• First ever Double (1979)
• 1990 Pike Spinning Result
• Season 1992-93 Overview
• 1992: 17lb Pike through a hole in the ice
• 1993: First 20lb Pike
• Season 1993-94 Overview
• 1993: 17lb and 21lb Pike
• Season 1994-95 Overview
• 20th November 2005, Fiddleford Mill on the Stour.
• A Strange Procession

Introduction

I had flirted with Pike on and of for a while, after coming across so many at The Dyke, with a largest of 13lb. The bug never really bit though until after a Boxing day pike session in 1990, when I became "hooked" on Pike (as it were). I think we had 6 pike or so between us on the day. So having decided to take the pike fishing a bit more seriously (or at least wanting to catch more pike), I started at the bottom and read some books on the subject. Here is a short list:

• "Pike Fishing; The practice and the Passion" by Mick Brown
• Ken Whitehead's Pike Fishing (my favourite).
• "Pike Fishing" by Tony Whieldon.
• "The Predator Becomes the Prey" by John Baily and Martyn Page
• "Success with Pike" by Barrie Rickards
• You can add to this the pike chapters of "The New Compleat Angler" by Stephen Downes and Martin Knowlden and Falkus and Bullers' "Freshwater Fishing".

So having digested all of this, and adding in my own limited experience of pike fishing, formed a set of rules (well all right then,"very rough guidelines").

If there is one certain thing in any fishing, it is that nothing is definite or predictable.

Bear in mind also that my opportunities were limited as I was "fiscally challenged" round that time and consequently had a very limited number of waters to fish - which were Thatcham AA's gravel pits and Canal, plus Theale Lagoon and Hambridge Lake.

Also bear in mind these "guidelines" are for those still waters - and worked for me at the time...lastly, I would call these guidelines a starting point on waters - every water is different, but you need to start somewhere. After a few sessions you'll pick up the quirks and good places - and the not so good.

Pike "Rules"

1. Pike are not really very clever, even for a fish.
2. Catching pike is not that difficult.
3. Finding Pike can be very very difficult, especially big ones.
4. Pike can see forwards and upwards, but not down or behind them. If you can see a pike stay behind and low down.
5. Pike have first class vibration detection - they can track by vibration pretty well. Blind pike can make a pretty good living (so can one eyed pike). Move very softly. This is a big deal - finding the pike is the hardest bit, it seems a shame to scare them off.
6. Pike are occasionally proverbially curious.
7. Pike are ambush predators, and will tend to take the easy meal over the hard one. They tend not to chase and harry. It's hard work.
8. On some waters, pike are smart enough to become wary of a heavily used bait - now this is an odd thing, as you would think they cannot talk to each other...I suspect on waters where this effect is noticed, most pike caught are caught more than once (or even more than twice). Certainly more than most of us would admit.
9. Unusual baits will often get a good response, until they become heavily used, and move into the category above.
10. Pike will sometimes feed primarily at a particular depth.
11. Pike have 2 main behavior modes. Let's call them "lurking" and "prowling". "Lurkers" are often found in the same place repeatedly over period, tend to keep to a small area, and can often be caught in the some swim or spot or repeated occasions, (especially if you change your bait...) "Prowlers", tend to move about between swims, seem to have regular beats or patrols, and tend to hold up for short periods by good ambush points. I have no firm reason to think so, but I believe"prowlers" tend to be larger fish.
12. Shallow swims often produce later in the day.
13. Deeper swims often produce early in the day.
14. There is very often 2 pike in close proximity. No idea why. If you catch one, re-bait and get back in the water. Or move your other bait. Or get your brother to cast out to the spot.
15. Baits "popped up" off the bottom, score better than baits lying flat on the bottom. Probably because they are more visible. Baits dangling in mid water, do not seem to worry pike (although I try to make mine more or less horizontal).
16. Bits injected with oil seem to score better than those without. I suspect for if no other reason it is that they probably smell from along way off - even still waters have currents and a slow current will carry a scent along way in 45 minutes. Also a sprat stinking of salmon is "unusual" compared with just a sprat.
17. Bait movement can attract welcome attention.
18. If your pike hasn't taken the bait in 20 minutes it probably really doesn't want it, or it is somewhere else. It might change it's mind if you move it a bit. It might not. But it's worth a try.
19. Pike will eat nearly anything. I have caught them (or seen them caught) on trout, gudgeon, sardines, sprats, kippers, various spinners, minnows, worms (very under rated pike bait), sweetcorn, maggots, red dyed luncheon meat, perch on the way to the net, fly spoons baited and otherwise, gilt hooks with no bait, bread paste, both stationary and being retrieved. Feel free to send me others you know first hand.
20. There really are such things as Pike "hotspots". There is really only one way to find these...
21. Any of the above can be wrong at any time.

And lastly. There are many ways to catch any fish - these guidelines and methods worked for me, and I am sure will work again (watch this space), but I am also as sure there any many equally good systems and methods.

Pike Method

Generally speaking I dead bait with two rods, 2 reels with 12lb BS line with not less than 200 yards on each reel. Not that I've ever needed that much, but you never know. I personally never use less that 12lb for dead baiting, as with a 20lb b/s wire trace, why go lighter? Some will say this is heavy tackle, but all other things being equal the point of fishing is ultimately to "get them out of there onto here". Sporting chances to escape from too light tackle are not sporting at all.

I would take a "rod pod" and a reclining/folding seat, a big landing net, a small rucksack, flask (black coffee for the stowing of), nosh, dead bait (various), a "rig bin" (traces for safe storage of), a handful of re-usable cable ties and a book of cryptic crosswords and a four colour pen. Camera and scales. Gag with lots of gaffer tape on the ends, and a large pair of forceps. 2 very thick leather gardening gloves. I'm amazed it all went in the bag, looking at that list. One flat tackle box, with all the other bits and pieces in it, floats, balsa wood, syringe, bottles of fish oil and so on.

The "rig bin" which is a screw top container with a core of foam, is one of the most useful devices ever for pike fishing. You can get all the traces you will ever need on one of these, all made up in the warmth of your front room. Even better, you do not stab yourself with hooks, when you rummage in your bag.

Black filter coffee all day, with nothing to eat, can have the affect of making you really, really alert...so food is a good idea.

The plan:

One rig is set up with a float to fish a dead-bait, usually about 3 feet down. In shallower water I would not fish so deep. I tend to go for about 1/3-1/4 of the depth of the water to start with. Sight of the bait is a big thing, so if the water is clear I don't worry to much. If it's coloured, I'll estimate how far the bait can be seen, and try different depths.

One rig is set up with a bottom fished dead bait popped up off the bottom, 12-18" or so.

Both rigs to use oil injected baits. Baits to be "unusual" where possible. I bought in small trout and smelt, and also used small gudgeon (not usually found in still waters). I tended to always carry a few sprats (they are cheap and seem to keep catching - my theory is that they mimic quite well roach and rudd), and sardines worked well for me as well. I used sardine and salmon oil mostly, as they seemed to be the most productive. As an aside I would say that smelt do not smell of cucumbers to me, and I never had a run on one.

Herring are supposed to be good, as they are both large, easily got and smelly. However, I cannot stand the smell myself, so have only used them a few of times (never caught a fish on them either). Each to their own.

I make up wire traces, using a 20lb bs plastic covered wire. I gave up treble hooks very early on, as I never really liked them, and their tendency to get caught in everything, and swapped to VB doubles in various sizes. I would take the barb off the larger hook (needle nosed pliers will flatten it out, and a twist usually breaks it off), leaving the barb in the small hook, which sticks in the bait. For small baits I would use a singe VB hook on the wire, with the trace threaded trough the body, and out the mouth. A small swivel was attached to the trace. All joints were crimped myself, using copper crimps, which I preferred to any other as to my mind the soft metal tends to form around the trace on crimping, making a stronger join, but one less likely to weaken the trace. The small gleam of copper was likely to help also. I also doubled the wire through one more time than usual. See the picture. This might mean a larger crimp than you would normally need for the wire size. Not really an issue.

For larger baits, I would mount 2 hooks. See the picture.

Double VB Hook Rig

This is a poor sketch of a double VB hook pike trace. Notice the second loop of wire though the bottom trace. The idea is to use the loop of the wire on the rod side of the trace as a wedge, if you like. This is coupled with the extra bulk of the wire to give a reduced chance of the hook pulling the trace through. The same crimp arrangement is used for a swivel at the other end. The free end of the wire is cut off flush with the crimp, I've shown it for clarity only.

The top hook has the same idea, and allows one piece of wire to make the whole trace. Normally I would make the finished length not less that 2 feet and as long as 3. Enough to go round a very big pike twice...

The other advantage of VB hooks used in this way is the instant strike. Pike pick up dead baits, cross ways in their mouth. with one or 2 hook rigs you can strike straight away - I usually wait a few seconds (literally), to make sure the bait is well held - using this time to slowly take up any slack in the line. I've missed the odd run (who hasn't?) but not had any swallowed baits more to the point.

It's worth a quick diversion here to natter about how a pike takes a bait. When fishing on the Dyke, certainly summer time when the water was clear, a lot of pike could be seen and stalked individually. (This teaches you about keeping low, quiet and behind the fish). You also learn that it is more effective and less likely to scare a fish, to cast past it, (not over) and tow the bait past the eyeline, not too close, anywhere within 3-4 feet is good, and then let it drop. In this water worms were the main bait.

The most instructive bit, was to watch a pike take a dead bait or worms in this type of fishing. The pike will slowly line itself up on the bit, using only the pectoral and other fins, then gradually getting more and more agitated (a bit like a cat about to pounce) , will then dart at the bait and grab it. It's a pounce, no mistake about that. You get a flick of the head sometimes, then the fish remains fairly still and chomps a bit. Which is where you hit it...if you leave it a while it will (with a few chomps) move off a distance. This is the first "run" at the end of which a pike will turn the bait to swallow it (if a fish bait).

Not all takes are like this and pike will snatch at a passing bait, and also chase slow moving baits, and I have seen them "shadow" slow moving lures and bait for some distance (more often than not without taking, as I said proverbially curious). Once when casting a worm bait only 5 yards to a few bream, a large pike (15lb+) swam casually 10 yards in from the centre of the water, picked up the worm bait and swam off again, in one continuous movement - (I missed the strike, or it dropped the bait). See rule 20.... It's certainly the case that moving baits tend to be hit harder, but you might expect that as the pike has to be moving in the first place to catch it. Certainly all hardest takes I have had, have been to slow moving dead baits, or just recently stopped moving.

Anyhoo, for the float fished bait I would put the main line through a link-swivel and using a plastic bead and braided stop knot to set the depth (easy to change floats or to a bottom fishing rig, no weak points on the main line). The float was attached to the link-swivel (usually a small loaded stick), but this way I could change it, or take it off, on a whim.

For the bottom fished rig, I would attach the trace directly to the main line, and use stick of balsa wood inside the fish to make it float. I prefer this to foam, as I know it's biodegradable, and cheap, and can be whittled and cut to the right size for the bait. The downside is that is does absorb water and the buoyancy will change. Model shops sell cheap packs of odd cuts, which will last you a couple of years. I would pinch a swan/AAA shot or 2 onto the trace just above the swivel (or further up sometimes). Check the bait actually floats near the bank. Every time you reel it in, check it's still floating...wood gets wet, the baits start off with air in them... Chuck them both in (did I say chuck? I mean "cast" obviously) in opposite directions is sensible. Let the float drift, it almost certainly will. You'll cover more water.

After 20 minutes reel in the the bottom bait (slowly) about a third of the distance ("enticing" we called this)...the bottom fished bait will be bobbing along about a foot from the bottom. Every 45-60 minutes or so you would fish out a swim. The few moments after reeling a popped up bait in will sometimes see a real slam of a bite, be ready for it, bite indicators can get flipped out of you fingers for sure. I always retrieve pike baits slowly with pauses. You'd be surprised how often that works. When you have fished out the swim, you tie the rods to the rod pod (that's what the cable ties are for) and move up a swim.

The crossword book is for the periods you are sat waiting for a run. The four colour pen is just for fun. Well it works for me.

For small to medium sized waters this allows you to cover a lot of water in a days' fishing ( on Pike Pit (say) one 30-40 yard cast and one reel in would cover the entire swim). While I would not say this is an infallible method, after a certain amount of time at a water, you do start to discern a pattern - certain swims and area produce more runs and pike than others. Some never produce a fish. This may be for a number of reasons, but I would think that features and food are at the bottom of the patterns.

I found it is worth varying the time of day on swims as well. There are patterns that favour certain swims at dawn and dusk and others in the middle of the day. Again I suspect movement of the bait/prey fish is the key. For example the good double lower down the page, were taken near a bed of reeds (the floated bait was right up against them). While runs during the day here were not unusual, in the evening as dusk fell small fish movement by and in these reeds would increase, and the pike would move in to feed on the small stuff (rudd and roach in this case).

I would regard these two fish as "prowlers" as well, going by the reports of catches all up the northern bank a a few on the south east corner. you could even speculate on a regular route.

You'll certainly figure out where the "lurkers" tend to be with this method - I would say that "prowlers" will often turn up in the same places, as a good place to ambush with a food source, is a good place to ambush with a food source, whatever your inclination as a pike. How do you tell them apart? Good question. It would help if one sort or the other would wear little pike T-shirts with "Born to Prowl" on them, but they don't. Pity.

My feeling is that only by fishing a water a lot will you get that information, but you can glean a lot from other (pike) anglers, a good few of which on the waters I fished had one or 2 swims and stuck to them...well it's a good swim isn't it? While on the subject of information, pike gossip can be one of the most distorted with tales of monsters all over the place, but few real reports of actual fish...(I'm probably as bad).

Unhooking the Monster

Well, now you've caught the pike, how to get the ironmongery out of its gob?

Before we go any further I would advise anyone new to piking to get an experienced pike angler to fully explain and demonstrate the technique below.

Remember - Pike are a very delicate fish and will not withstand rough handling. Treat all pike gently and with respect.

Also - I fish with VB Doubles, with the barb flattened, never more than 2 and often with only one. These are much easier to remove and do not tend to tangle in the net. I avoid trebles. This means I might not have quite the array of stuff some use.

With the rigs I use I strike immediately on getting a take, so have seldom (no example comes to mind) deep hooked a fish and often, especially with single hooks, the hook sets in the jaw 'scissors'. Then all you need is a good grip with the forceps and twist it out.

Anyhoo. It's like this:

You need an unhooking mat. I mean NEED. Essential are 12-inch forceps and wire cutters (you never know). I carry also a 'deep throat disgorger' and 6-inch forceps. Unhooking mat. I know I've said it twice.

I also have a pair of thick leather gardening gloves…

I carry a small gag - this has a link to avoid it 'over opening', and both ends are covered with wine corks and gaffer tape. Pike teeth will stick in the corks but not break. However, I've hardly ever needed it.

When you have netted the fish, either open the bale arm or cut the line a foot or 2 above the trace. It's easier all round.

You put the pike on the mat, and lay it on its back. The most convenient thing is to kneel over the fish, one leg either side. This supports and prevents it thrashing around. Carefully slide a finger under the gill cover and carefully move the finger towards the front of the jaws. You must avoid any contact with gill rakers. Pull the lower jaw upward gently. As you lift, the pike's mouth will open allowing you to see the hook(s). Using forceps in the other hand remove the hook(s).

You'll need to bend forward and peer upside-down into the maw of the beast. It's a bit odd, but it's the best way.

I keep gloves on both hands myself. If necessary use the wire cutters to cut any hooks or the trace.

Get the fish back into the water as soon as possible.

A bit of a Haul (1990)

During 1990, when the mood struck and before I really got into Pike fishing, I took a spinning rig to Theale lagoon one cold day (RDAA water) on a day ticket.

This is a huge expanse of water, and on this trip I headed South from the car park, and after an expanse of shore about 100 yards long, there is a small inlet with trees around it. Having had no luck with my Droppen and others up to this point, I stood an the end of the inlet and cast hopefully down the narrow channel. No result. I moved around to the far side at the end and first cast got a 3lb pike, which hit the lure almost as it landed.

Result. This is one more than I usually got. Further casts yielded nothing and moving onto the next swim, a patch of gravely shore, cast out and got a 2lb pike. My head span (no pun intended). I returned it and cast out. And got another.

And returned it and cast out and got another. And so on. In 10 minutes I banked seven more pike all 2-3lb. Then the takes went - maybe I'd caught them all. Either way that was my lot for the day. I never caught another pike from either of those 2 swims. Come to think of it I never caught another pike in Theale lagoon either, although I saw a few. Oh well.

I'm pretty sure that I haven't caught that many pike (8) on lures in the rest of my fishing life, never mind on one day...

Pike 1992-93 Overview

In the 1992-93 season I had messed about really, with pike fishing. I was still evolving my method and learning about the subject (never ending...) and in this season I had 20 odd fish, which worked out better than 1 fish per session, with a 17½lb fish and a first "twenty" @ 20½lb, plus two 10½lb fish, which given the suspicious lack of the same eye and the same corner of Pike Pit leads me to think it was the same fish. I had got around to popping baits up and using attractor oils and had already swapped to VB doubles. The larger fish are recorded separately.

Below are a few of the pike caught in that season. My apologies to everyone for not having the unhooking mat we all have (and should have) now. I can assure you that they were unhooked with care (and the right sort of padded gag) and returned promptly after being photographed.

This and the next four fish were caught on Pike Pit in 1992, by myself and my brother. The only thing I can recall for certain is that fish above is the 10½ lb one eyed pike I caught again later in the season.

This fish, on the left, a smallish one was caught on the Kennet and Avon Canal, after pestering roach I was catching. Single sprat, single VB hook rig.

This season was good enough for me take pike fishing more seriously and fired with enthusiasm I headed for the 1993-94 season. I had other hobbies in summertime (cricket) and only really in December did I get round to picking up the pike tackle again...

December 1992

It was one of those days that you have to be slightly mad to go out. It was bitter, around -4°C to -5°C but no wind mercifully. When I turned up, the lakes were frozen and although I knew of one or 2 patches where the ice would be thin, it looked iffy for sport. I made my way to 'Pike Pit' with the one short rod for about 11am. The grass was hoar white and crunched under my feet, and picking a swim in the deeper water I went to find a branch to crack the ice (1" thick it turned out). I found a handy 'stick', 10 feet long and 2 -3 inches thick, and smashed the ice, about half-way up the lake where the water would be 10 feet under the tip. I stuck with one rod, and in deference to the hole size used my 7ft solid glass thing and 12lb line. One rod on the pod and a dayglo orange cork with a paper clip wedged in the end. By the time I'd tackled up a thin film of ice had set over the hole and was crinkling slightly, like frozen cellophane, with the slight movement of the water.

I stuck with a sardine which I popped up with balsa, and weight down with 2 swan shot on the swivel end of the trace and dropped the fish by the far edge of the hole and watched the bait glide down into the dark water. 10 minutes later I was frozen and the line had frozen to the rings. I opted to keep warm and so walked up and down behind the rod in 10 yard lengths. Hands in pockets, to keep the blood moving all the while watching the bobbin, stopping every five minutes to snick the line free of the ice. The air had an edge at the back of the throat like the bright strip on a recently honed carbon steel knife. But after 40 minutes (I'd set myself an hour in each swim), the bobbin jerked, as the ice hold on the line was snapped, and slid off toward the butt. I picked up the rod, snapped over the bale arm, tightened up and struck, and got a lively 5lb pike which was outgunned by a good degree. Netting was a trial with the net frozen stiff, barely softening in the black sub zero water, but with the Esox unhooked and returned I felt the day was already worth the pain. Cracking.

Baited back up and off again, after a cup of rationed hot stuff. Crunch crunch crunch crunch. 20 minutes pass and I'm gobsmacked to get a repeat run and after a short tussle get a 3lb fish, more outgunned than before, but a fish. 2 up. Well I never. I re-bait, but this time 40 minutes pass, with no movement, except my measured pacing, and this time, I pick the stick up and walk 30 yards down and make another hole. I moved the frosted pod and tackle down and drop the sardine into the new hole. More coffee and pacing, and 30 minutes pass and I get another knock and a fast streak of the bobbin and I tighten into a larger fish which gives a good account, especially when you consider the short rod and the limits to the angles I can use due to the ice. More frozen stiff netting reveals a good fish of 8lb, which make this one of the better days I've ever had on these waters. Sadly, 40 more minutes pass, with the ice now re-freezing more quickly than before, and I opt for a dart at the point in 'Long Lake' where the water from Jubilee drains in, which should be clear enough to fish. The added benefit I told myself as I made my way along the hard ridged frozen mud and stiff reeds, breath hanging in the air as I pass, is that the walk will warm me up. It did. A bit.

The ice here tapers to a knife edge on the rim of the pool left free around the outlet, and I slip my sardine under the edge of the ice for the 4th time. I'm cold even so, and only the prospect of a 4th fish is keeping me interested, with the grey grim early afternoon twilight announcing a dip to even further below. 10 minutes later I get a run and a 3lb pike. Wow. Okay, one last cast then and extra coffee now the end is in sight.

10 minutes of silent pacing in the alley of trees, and my brother turns up to chuckle, although less when I mention 4 fish. We watch the bobbin together and when it moves after another 10 minutes or so, I have to make a few yards to the rod. This was not a 3, 5 or 8 pounder. It streaks hard to the right and I have the rod under the water curved right over. After 10 yards it reverses, and we see a ghost under the ice, 5 yards out, pass us going right to left. This established the pattern, with me having the power to halt the runs after a period but no angle to change them, and the fish made several runs under the ice, a grey missile blur of substantial size, gradually getting nearer the hole edge, and after a perhaps half a dozen runs, it subsides into the sibling wielded net, a 17½lb fish which worked hard for it's freedom, but with no result.

Bro, nipped of for the camera of our mother (as it happened), and here are the 2 best pictures in a fading light.

I've always wanted to do it again, but that was the last hard freeze while I was in Thatcham, but I wait in hope.

Of course I had to endure the next 12 months making sarcastic remarks about ordinary bank fishing being too easy. A challenge is important...

Anotherangler's size 10 welly as well.

``·.¸¸.·´ ><((((((º> ´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((((º>

First 20lb Pike: February 1993

This pike below weighed in at 20½lb and was taken on a float fished sardine, about 3 feet under the top, about ¾ of the way up Long Lake on the North Bank. I was using a re-ringed Winfisher Specimen, to which I'd added a screw fitting reel seat. Not a bad rod at all. I had an old Cardinal Bronco and 12lb Perlon with a 2 Double hook trace.

It didn't put up much of a fight after the first run and I remember being stunned by the size of the fish, which wasn't at all consistent with the fight it put up, which was feeble. From a short diary I kept, this was February the day was windy and mild, and I cannot remember whether I caught any others that day (and I have no note).

Luckily for me a TAA committee member come by (on the way back from a match) to help take pictures and weigh the fish. None of the other committee members could be bothered to come over to record or witness it. Thanks lads.

I not sure I'd hold a pike like that these days, but at the time I was rather pleased with the opportunity to have some snaps for posterity.

That's 'Long Lake' in the background and my old Army rucksack, chair and carrier bag for deadbait.

``·.¸¸.·´ ><((((((º>´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((((º>

Pike 1993-94 Overview

The 1993-94 season produced a dire return on the hours put in. The pike fishing in general had tailed off in the lakes, and also my personal gods appeared to be against me as well, as you will see.

4th December 1993: I went spinning for pike on the TAA pits. I managed a 1lb pike caught on a "buzzer" for the whole day. Well, I have mentioned my spinning expertise.

5th December 1993:The weather on this December day was cold (3-4°C) but clear with a medium westerly wind. I'd had a grim start to my piking this year and was almost worn down to giving in (or finding water further afield). But I persuaded myself to pop out for the afternoon, tried an hour and a half or so in the NW corner of Jubiliee with no result. At 3:30pm I moved to the NE corner of Long lake...

I put on a floated kipper bait (really - I took a kipper fillet and folded it in half and sewed up the open ends and attached it to a 2 VB hook rig) fished about 3 feet down drifted up against the reeds at the end of the lake and a popped up sprat cast out and to my right. There was probably about 30 yards between the baits.

I settled in for the last hour and the right to left of the wavelets foxed my eyes, and every time I switched my gaze from the orange stick in the reeds to the bobbin on the sprat bait, the ground rippled and appeared to travel under my feet.

At 4:15pm after almost 30 minutes of waiting and giddy watching the float stabbed once, sharply enough in the gathering gloom to make me think I'd imagined it, and then popped out of sight. I hate it when that happens. Imagining an 8lb pounder, a regular out of this corner, I tightened and struck firmly but not wildly. I got a large swirl near the reeds, putting paid to the 8lb pounder in my minds eye, and my carp rod arced over. The fish took a short run away from me along the east bank past the reeds and after 20 yards wallowed, and I then landed it fairly easily. There were no more long runs, but the fish was sulky and un co-operative right up to the net…and as the net went under in the corner of my eye, the bobbin on the other rod bobbed and jerked, and line started paying out. Now that I really hate.

So this is how it went. I landed the fish, noted its '20 potential'. I put the rod down, put my foot on the net handle. Closed the bale arm on the other rod and stuck the fish, not small I noted at the 2½lb tip action curled over. I held it long enough to be sure of the hooking, and opened the bale again. Took the first fish into the long grass, unhooked it (mercifully, bottom hook in the scissors 'VB doubles'). Back to the other rod, net in hand, expecting to have nothing. I tightened in, and discovered the fish on and moving steadily, but not urgently, away from me, so I battened down and the fish increased pressure and so did I. After 30 yards it was ground to a halt, and reversed tack towards me, and just as I imagined a fierce battle over the reed beds' sanctuary, it glided towards me and into the net. Handy.

With a measure of calm descending with the dusk, I weighed both fish, with the 'kippered' Esox going 21lb and its second-in-command going 17¾lb. I took pictures, but an old film camera and a flash have made a less that perfect job, but still beating my minds eye on this occasion.

I had no other run all day, and certainly have not had such a good brace of fish since. The right hand picture shows the larger of the two, with the tackle box and flask end to end to show the rough size. The tackle box is a foot long with the flask being about the same. I suspect that they might have been the same 2 fish as caught on separate occasions given the similarity of the sizes.

``·.¸¸.·´ ><((((((º> ´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((((º>

12th December 1993: Cold day, wind was S/SW, raining. I started at 11am with 1.5 hours on the Pike Pit in the corner by the East end, using a floated kipper and a popped up sardine. Without a run by 1pm, I moved to the NW corner of Jubilee, and swapped the sardine for a sprat, to fish the water out on the retreive.The rain had eased off though. After no run except a careless crayfish, I moved to Long Lake by the feeder drain from Jubilee. Same baits, no run for an hour. I moved to the NE corner of Long Lake until the light went at 5pm. Nothing. And back to reality.

19th December 1993: I elected to fish out the swims at the back of Jubilee, to see if there were productive swims around there. I pooped up sardine and sprat, as the water is shallow. I Has one fast take around mid-day, which not only yielded no fish, but left the sprat curiously unmarked. Not convinced a pike did that. I spent the last hour in the corner of Pike Pit, where at 4:15pm I had a tentative nibble on the sardine, which was a crayfish.

26th December 1993: The traditional Boxing day thing. Temperature around 0C, wind W/NW. Water gin clear. Some fringes of ice on the water. Myself and brother fished around the entire Pike Pit during the day. Tried sprats, sardines, mackerel, kipper, floated, popped up, ledgered, all with the same result.

27th December 1993: Hard frost, no wind, some sun shine. Water still clear. Started out on the back of Jubilee, moved on to Long Lake mid was up the North Bank, and finished on the East end of Pike pit. As previously every combination of the 4 baits we had were tried, with no runs. I noted the pattern of the ice on Jubilee, in case it indicated depth variations to try at a later date.

28th December 1993. Weather as for the 27th. We fished Pike Pit for a couple of hours, and with the breeze I floated a deadbait with a swim feeder of sardine oil (foam filled), pretty much the whole length of the pits, at different depths. No results except for a big oil slick. We moved to Long Lake, where the water was gin coloured, ad spent our second half of the day, trying various swims on the North Bank. One crayfish was caught in the NE corner, and a tentative run resulted in a mid afternoon, which may have been a fish, and may not.

30th December 1993: Brother and self went to Theale Lagoon for the day. It rained pretty much all day, and faced with a vast water and pretty well no knowledge, we went for the tree covered area on the North side, beyond the yacht club. In very heavily weeded water my bother had a single pike about 3lb. We saw several others, but could not entice a take. We retreat tot he west bank where there is a cutting (mentioned previously) but had nothing further to add to our day. Still raining as well.

15th January 1994: I spent the day trudging around Theale Lagoon and one of the adjoining pits in the rain. Suffice to say that despite many changes in baits and techniques I succeeded in not getting one run.

16th January 1994: I spent the day dead baiting right around Long Lake. I had one 3lb pike on a popped up sprat by the feeder drain. At least it wasn't raining.

22nd January 1994: Spent the whole day dead baiting on the back of Jubilee and the South bank of Long Lake, with no results. I am varying baits and methods, and fishing each swim out for an hour. Monday and Tuesday produced a 12lb and 20lb fish for "Zen".

29th January 1994: Spent the day with my brother on Pike Pit. He caught 4 fish up to 6lb on sprat. I didn't get a run (see what I mean about my gods deserting me?)

30th January 1994: I spent the day on Jubilee and Long Lake and again got not a run. I gave up with the weather and some details at this point, it's amazing I persisted really. "Zen" had a 9lb fish form the NE corner of Long Lake (a good swim).

5th February 1994: I had a single 6lb fish from the NE corner of Long Lake on a float fished gudgeon. Yippee.

To summarise, I caught 5 pike this season. OK so I had a great double, but phew. I elected to try other waters next year. I also went back to reading, and as a result made a few changes, but not many. It worked.

1994-95 Pike season

The 1994-95 season, saw me re-vitalised which given the dire previous season, can only be put down to the eternal optimism of the angler. I only kept a diary for the first few weeks of the season and then for some reason stopped. I think that having conquered the demons of the previous season, I was happy to take things less seriously. Or something.

This season I put 2 baits in the water, one was "popped up" off the bottom (using balsa wood sticks stuck inside the fish) and the other was float fished about 3 feet down. I still used sprats on occasion, but my favourite (and most productive) baits were gudgeon and trout, neither native to the water I fished. I bought the trout and caught the gudgeon myself. Both baits were injected with oils and I used salmon, sardine and tuna oils.

As I never took a fish on bottom fished baits on Hambridge Lake, I switched to float fishing 2 baits at different depths.

27th September 1994: Have got a membership of RDAA I went to Hambridge Lake - and took a 9½lb pike on a flat fished gudgeon, with salmon oil injected into it. I got distracted by a commotion in the NW corner, which used up the rest of my session.

2nd October 1994: 1 x 2lb fish on the corner of Pike Pit on a float fished smelt. I also missed a take on a sprat while it was being retrieved. This was popped up of the bottom on a ledger rig (a couple of swan shot on the top of the trace).

3rd October 1994: 1 x 6lb fish on Long Lake on a float fished sprat from the SE corner. The bait was drifted up against the reed bed there. I also missed a take on the swim where the feeder stream runs into the lake.

9th October 1994: 1 x 5lb fish on Hambridge Lake, on a float fished trout, which has sardine attractor oil injected. Missed a take on the same set-up an hour later.

16th October 1994: Returning to Hambridge Lake I banked a 7½lb and a 10½lb fish (the latter with one eye), both taken on a float fished sprat with sardine oil. I think I abandoned smelt at this point.

22nd October 1994: Back on the Thatcham Pits, I took a single 6¼lb fished at the SW corner of Long Lake on a bottom fished popped up trout, anointed with sardine oil.

2rd October 1994: On the back arm of Hambridge Lake I had a 2lb and a 10½lb fish both on float fished trout and sardine oil and a further 4lb fish on a float fished sprat with sardine oil. The double was the same fish as caught on 16th I imagine, going by the same missing eye.

I stopped recording at this point, having spent 5 weeks with a change of venue and some method changes I had banked twice as many fish (10) as the previous year already. I certainly went to Hambridge several more times and caught at least a fish a session, but none bigger than 10½lb, despite covering most of the lake at one time or another looking for an alleged larger fish. About ¾ of the fish caught in this lake came from a small arm of the water on the South bank.

December(?)1994 Grantham gravel pit: I spent the week end with the brother and we went for a day's fishing at a gravel pit over near Grantham, I forget the name. The water was large, the weather was clear and bright and fairly cold, to point of ice forming on the lines. We went around the back of the lake on the basis that we would have some shelter from the wind, which was slight. As we knew nothing else about the water, that was as good a reason as any.

The water was gin clear, so I opted to pole fish as far out as I could and put out a popped up sprat for pike around about 30 yards out and even then I reckoned I could see the bait on the bottom. I rigged a slider float for the dead bait - the water was deeper than a rod length.

Stap me if only half an hour later away went the float and after a lively tussle I banked a nice pike of around 12lb, in nice condition. Boded well. Not. That was it for us both all day - I don't think either of us even had a bite after that, on regular tackle or dead baits. With hindsight we should have roved and dead baited, we'd have been warmer...

Slightly flukey, but think how far away a popped up bait could be seen in water that clear.

Strange Procession

I took these pictures in June 2006 at a local Dorset water. This female in the picture, with it's back out of the water was circling the pool, with 3 hopeful male fish in close attendance for a couple of hours - which might have a bearing on the lack of fish. This is presumably pre-spawning behavior.

Worth a closer look at this last one. Download and zoom right in. Not something you see every day.