December 2014

A beautiful dawn

After ploughing a lone furrow for much of the year I had suddenly become popular. It wasn't just Benidorm Dave that was outside my house at ridiculous o'clock one morning early on in the month but Poacher Ken too. We had a day on the secret river ahead of us. The only problem was I wasn't feeling great. A bottle of the wine the night before left me reluctant to drive. I flipped Dave my keys and he seemed confident of not crashing my pride and joy. Besides this was at least the third time I'd met him. What could possibly go wrong?

Pause for effect..............absolutely nothing, we got there just fine. Anyway on to the fishing. We parked up and walked upstream to an area that was noted for Pike in the past. Ken was travelling light as usual (too light). He had a spinning rod and one for deadbaits while Dave and I had two each for bait fishing. So there I was, on my favourite river with my mates and the most glorious of sunrises. It was magical........

After we had all set up and cast in I checked my watch, it was just after 8am. I had a phone call to make to get a duplicate water bill (don't ask). As fishing law dictates as soon as I got through to a human being one of my floats bobbed before slowly disappearing. Luckily Dave was on hand to help and after a spirited battle while juggling my phone he netted a lovely Pike for me. Typical of the type in the river it had a small head and fat body...........

Dave then took a smaller fish from his swim before we all decided to move. We had a lot of water to cover and wouldn't spend long in each area before moving. I had another small Pike from my next spot while Ken continued to struggle. After another move I cast in my first rod and the float vanished straight away. The culprit was a Pike of around six pounds. About ten minutes later my other float started dipping below the surface film. After another cracking fight Dave did the honours with the net again. "You'll recognise this fish again Phil, it only has one pectoral," Dave stated pointing at where it's front fin should have been. I took little notice, I was there for a twenty pounder and although it was a nice fish I had no interest in catching it again........ 

By this time Ken had seen enough and wandered off downstream and out of sight. It wasn't a day for lure fishing....or was it? I had a speculative cast in the peg Ken had been fishing just for something to do really. Must have been my lucky day as second cast I had one...........

After the next move we were back at the car. We all had a bite to eat and I told the guys I was off downstream in the car to try and find some Roach. It worked out really well because I could give Ken my rods to use and they could continue to make their way downstream on foot, meeting up with me later on in the day.

"How was the Roach fishing Phil?". Rubbish, despite trying numerous likely looking swims. I never had a bite. It was late afternoon by the time Dave and Ken got to me. They had enjoyed a great afternoon. Dave caught four more Pike to over fifteen pounds while Ken had taken of couple of doubles. We had half an hour of light left and we all fished for Pike again. As luck would have it we all caught another fish each. Dave's doesn't count though because it was the same one as Ken's albeit fifty yards and ten minutes apart. So all in all it had been a great day for Pike. Fifteen different fish between us and a lot of those in the 9-12lb range.

Losing the plot

In the last diary I caught some Roach from the secret river and some belters too. What I didn't mention was that out of the twenty or so fish I caught at least four of them had slash wounds on them. I didn't mention it at the time because you know me by now, I can share the quarry of my pastime with animals that need food. Or so I thought.

After the Pike bonanza I headed back to the river a few days later. Despite trying about a quarter of a mile or river I didn't have a single bite on maggot or worm. In fact I didn't even see a fish top all day. So frustrating when the Roach/Rudd fishing can be so phenomenal. In the end I managed a solitary perch on the lure.......

The next few hours I had spare were spent on the river again. Same results, not a single bite or sign of fish. As the sun began to drop in the sky a Cormorant flew overhead. I didn't think anything of it until I rose from from my chair and glanced upstream. There they were a few hundred yards away, in the dead tree. The same fifteen or so Cormorants that I used to spook on those distant summer dawns. I packed my gear into the car in a right old huff.

Here is the result of my third attempt to find some silver fish on the river..........

As you can see I gave up after another few biteless hours and went after the Pike. I had another one too and guess what? It was old no-pec. Now I really began to wonder. It was at least half a mile from where I had caught it a couple of weeks prior to this. Was it too searching the river for fish? As the Cormorants came home to roost again I was convincing myself they were to blame.

Session four was a mirror image of the last one. Couldn't find a silver fish anywhere so I ended up Piking again at the top of the stretch. I took another couple of small fish but it was pretty dire and seeing a whacking great sea bird popping it's head out of the river about twenty yards from me did my mood no favours at all. Something needed to be done.

On my way back to the main road I passed the Cormorant tree and stopped the car. After a short rummage I alighted with an old t-shirt. Breaking off a bit of the dead tree I drove it into the ground next to both the river and the tree. I then stretched my t-shirt over it and to be honest I was was pretty impressed with my efforts. An impromptu scarecrow. It was getting dark by the time I reached the main road and as I went to open the gate I casually looked back upstream. The Cormorants hadn't been put off in the slightest by my efforts and were roosting in the tree as normal. I snapped.

Spinning the car around I headed back upstream. I'd gone. Silly really when I think about it now. I am prone to the odd bout of bad temper and this was a beauty despite the ugliness of it all. Anyway what the hell was I going to do? I wasn't sure, in fact I had no idea. I just wanted to piss them off. About fifty yards from the tree I slowed and they scattered. Great I thought, I'll just get a bit closer..........or I would have done if I hadn't have got the car stuck deep in the muddy track.

It took me an hour and half and the sacrificing of a jumper to free the car. Entirely my own fault. Ridiculous behavior and I haven't been back yet. I've fallen out with the place.

Right under my nose

My local drain was my next chosen venue. Its that close I can walk to it and guess what? On my very first cast in I had a Roach of about a pound. That wasn't the only fish there either as I took some cracking Rudd and Dace. I went quite a few times, an hour or so at a time. Great fun and some very nice looking fish. It might deserve a bit more of my attention in future.........

Finally

Whenever I go into the tackle shop in Skegness a face is always looking back at me from the photo board. Over time I've got to know the bloke holding a multitude of specimens displayed on the shop wall. Gary is his name and not only is his a fanatical angler he is a very nice chap too. Gary fishes for Carp and Catfish for most of the year but he does have the occasional trip for other species in the colder months. As luck would have it he fancied a days Piking, not a species I was having any trouble catching.

We got there at first light and left at dusk. I moved about a lot and took a couple of early fish on lures. They weren't very big and we were both experiencing a lot of dropped takes on the deadbaits. Maybe they just weren't that hungry we concluded. For those of you that think you need a fresh deadbait Gary used the same bait all day- an Eel section.. He was still getting takes on it at the end of the session. Remarkable. In the end we managed to bank a couple of fish each on the deads and we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a fine end to the year.........

Tackle Talk

A few weeks ago I came across a Chub unhooking mat in a bundle of gear I bought from a neighbour. Now it is only a bit of nylon coated foam but I was impressed with it's quality and design. With Christmas approaching and Mrs P badgering me for a gift idea I racked my brain as to what I really needed. Now I've had cheap fishing boots before and they last a matter of weeks, so I persuaded her to get me some decent quality ones. The ever helpful folks at Spilsby Anging Centre had just what I was looking for and Mrs P was dispatched with her purse. As it happens they are also marketed by Chub and a fine looking boot they are too. First impressions are very good having kept my feet warm and dry in some pretty rough conditions. Priced at £49.95 they aren't cheap but they are by some distance the best boots I've ever owned........

As some of you know I've had the odd bit of trouble with keeping worms in the past. I think I just might have cracked it and it is relatively simple. I bought a plastic storage box for £5, lined the bottom with newspaper and added some general purpose compost mixed with a little sand. Add to this a few egg shells to neutralise any acid build up and some food, I use bananas but you can use potato mash, pasta or pretty much any decaying fruit or veg. The worms are doing just fine and have even started to breed. Mine has a vent in the top so be sure to make some small holes for ventilation if you get one without...........

Another top tip here and this one came from Benidorm Dave. When you plan to go deadbaiting for Pike and are struggling to find some bait or are on a tight budget it is worth trying your local supermarket. You wont get the range you'll find in a tackle shop but if you get there at the right time you might just get yourself a bargain..........

Lastly I was going to tell you how I was getting on with that Abu Cardinal 57 I bought last month. In short, it is great. It's a heavy beast but has real soul. It makes all kind of agricultural noises when in use. It's a no-nonsense piece of kit, simply put together and built like a tank. I like it so much the sale of my more modern Baitrunners is going to provide the funds to get another or maybe even two. To be honest I never need the Baitrunner facility and although they have been good reels I never really gelled with them.......

Contact

You can contact me via email and I always look forward to hearing from you-

   the.power@tesco.net

As ever I'll leave you with some photo's taken during the month..........

Till next time..................