November 2013
First up this month was another trip to Bain Valley Fisheries new 'Bream Lake'. After some moderate success on my last visit with the pike I was keen to have another crack at them. As usual I pulled into the yard and posted my money (£6) in to the box. With some trepidation I made my way down gingerly towards my intended venue. The track ranged from bad to atrocious. I wouldn't recommend paying this lake a visit till they sort it out really. I only managed to get round by keeping my speed up and hoping for the best. When I finally did get lakeside after two hours of deadbaiting and trying every lure in my box I gave up. Not a single follow.
Having negotiated a days fishing with Mrs P though (the DIY could wait) I decided to drop in on the Spilsby club lake at Partney on my way home from Bain Valley. Three people were fishing the near bank. For anyone that hasn't read this before the far bank is a lot better, don't be lazy- get round there. Some of the older members prefer to fish near their car though and my friend John was fishing away on peg seven. We had been chatting for a while when John suddenly announced "Saw a massive Pike a couple of days ago, god it was huge, scattering fish everywhere it was.". "Really, whereabouts?" I asked. "Peg seventeen," John replied. Almost before he had finished talking I was rummaging in my boot for some pike gear and I hot-footed it round to the peg in question.
A float fished smelt went about ten yards out while I set up my lure rod. Incidentally it is the same cheapo 11ft Shakespeare Mach 1 I use for surface fishing. It is a bit long for lure fishing really but hey it's what is on the other end that is most important. Not that I'm any kind of Pike expert mind. Two more fruitless hours were spent flogging the water to a foam with a selection of awesome looking fake fish to further prove this. The seed had been planted though and I was reasonably sure the fish John had seen was the one I had mistakenly caught a couple of years previously at twenty three pounds. I have two regrets about that capture in that I didn't get a photo holding it and I didn't catch it by design. Or it could be a different fish altogether, either way I was having it.
And so began my campaign. With the pressure of work and the ever needy Mrs P it wasn't going to be easy but I managed to squeeze in a few trips. It helped being so close to home and I was soon on the bank again. Peg seventeen was the latest information I had so that is where I set up. Out went a deadbait and I set up my pole just to pass some time. For an angler I have little patience and need to keep busy. I fished away quite happily scanning the water for any movement. There wasn't any. First trip- one solitary bream.........
A change of tack was in order and on my next trip I went to peg fifteen which gave me the option of some deeper water to try. Out went a deadbait again while I speculatively lobbed in a few pellets on the pole line. The action was fairly instant and the float buried, unfortunately it was my pole float. My elastic came shooting out as I struck and I preyed the tiny size twenty hook would hold. It did and five minutes later a handsome looking Carp came to the net....
The carp went back and all was quiet for the next half hour. I was still scanning the water while I had one eye on my float and sure enough I saw something that perked me up no end. Right in front of seventeen a lot of small fish broke the surface, clearly being chased by a big predator. I wound in my deadbait and quickly rigged up my favourite lure. Twenty minutes of trying in the spot where the fish had scattered and no joy. Just as I went back to the pole some more fish under attack showed themselves further out opposite peg six. The Pike was seemingly following a shoal of small Roach and Rudd. Again I tried my lure in the exact place to no avail. And that was that. No more showings and not a touch on my deadbait all afternoon. I did manage a nice Bream on the pole though.....
"You caught that Pike yet?" Asked the lady in Spilsby Angling Centre. "Nope." I replied. She looked at me sympathetically. "I'm not giving up though." I added. That's how I felt and it had become a battle. It isn't a big lake and while there aren't many Pike in there I was quite confident of catching it or even one of its smaller friends. John is at the lake at least twice a week and I myself had seen signs of a big predator. How hard could it be? Two more trips without a sign of any Pike and I needed a break. Specimen hunting is hard........or is it..........
Having such a big Pike in my sights had actually lifted my targets. I could have gone to Woodlands and caught some great fish but I needed at least the chance of something very special. Just a change of scenery would be welcome and I knew of just the place. My alarm blared away at six am. After a customary snooze I was up and about at seven. By eight o'clock I pulled up to my venue of choice. As I got out of the car my heart sank. The river was a horrible colour and very low. I very nearly got back in the car to go back to my nice warm bed when a fish did a kind of dolphin jump in one of my favourite pegs. Quick as a flash I was digging my gear out of the car and strode over to set up.
Standard fare of a light link leger, size 12 hook baited with a nice juicy worm from my worm box at home. I cast it out fully intending to set up a similar outfit to fish along side it. The fish had other ideas though as the tip wrapped around. After eight Perch the action slowed enough for me to set up my other rod. I cast this right down the peg and sure enough after ten minutes it was nearly taken of the rest. I played it in carefully and when I went to lift the net out I let out a gasp. I'd had some big ones but this one really took my breath away. I know some non-anglers read this and I'll put it into perspective: probably ninety-nine percent of all anglers have never seen a Perch as big as the one I was looking at. The biggest Perch I have ever caught..........3lb 9oz...............
And its mates........
Afterword
You may have noticed I didn't name the Perch venue. I dislike secrets and I'm sure regulars will have guessed where it is but there is something happening down there I don't like. A few weeks ago I dropped a ten pound note. Four days later I went back and it was still there. The banks were all overgrown and it was a pleasant place to be. On my last visit all the bankside vegetation had been strimmed and the amount of litter is shameful. It is all from anglers, lure packets mainly. It does get fished a lot in the winter by Pike anglers and with the loss of bankside cover it has lost that wild appeal it had before. I'm sure I don't need to say this but if you do go down there please respect the place because, quite frankly, I love it.
During my visits to Partney Mrs P would ask how I had got on. "Rubbish", was the reply after each time. "I don't know why you bother," she'd add. The transition from fishing matches to trying to catch something out of the ordinary is tough. In a match you try and catch everything. Now I'm almost trying to catch virtually nothing. We are very lucky though to be involved in a sport with so many facets. I get match fishing- it's addictive, winning is great and being bankside with like-minded individuals is brilliant. Equally the rewards are there in Pike fishing or specimen hunting or even trout fishing in the dead of winter like I did last year. It is hard to get your head around but I, for one, am still focused on that big Partney Pike. Whether I can catch it or not is another matter entirely. Give something different a try this winter in your fishing, you won't regret it.
Till next time........................
