Plenty of pike

Hello again, I hope you are well and have been out catching lots of fish. As for me, last week was great because I managed to get out on the bank on three separate occasions, in which I landed at least one fish each session. With the weather being cold, the target fish at the moment is still the ever illusive pike. Last week my local area didn't see a lot of rain, so the river has been in top condition. The pike are also feeding in preparation for spawning, so when has there been a better time to go in search of a lump of a pike?

On Monday last week I set out in the mid morning to an area where pre-bait had been introduced to try to hold the fish until I could get a rig out. On this rather mild day I didn't have ‘that feeling’ which anglers thrive on. I'm not sure what it was, however I was out, and fancied my chances of landing a fish. As the day passed by nothing happened, no sightings of any species at all. However, there was lots of other wildlife around to keep me occupied and keep my mind off the fact that I hadn't had a bite yet. Eventually, when I got a bite it was a screamer of a take and I could see the line shooting off to the other side of the river as I picked up the rod. After an epic battle, full of tail walks and daring dives towards the snags, the pike was subdued and it was in the net.

12lb 04oz

I was so chuffed that the pre-baiting had worked this time. After admiring and weighing the fish, and taking my pictures, I safely slipped her back into the severely cold water.

Unfortunately I didn't have any more action for the rest of the day, but I was happy, as always, that I had caught my target.

The next session saw me head to the same swim to see if the pre-baiting had lured in and held a bigger fish. Again it was a slow day, there was no indication of fish in the area, and not the best conditions but I was out and this time I did have ‘that feeling’.

As the hours passed with no action and several re-casts to try to attract a fish, I saw a huge tail brake the surface leaving a big wake; it was heading towards my bait. As you can imagine I was excited and expected a bite soon. Ten minutes passed, and my nerves where building. When my alarm finally sounded, it wasn't a fish, but a somewhat large raft of sticks which had accumulated around my other line as it entered the water. As I cleared the debris from my line I heard a single click of my bait runner; I stopped what I was doing and stood staring at the rod tip to see if it would show any early indication. Within a matter of seconds the fish had picked up the bait and darted towards a scary looking snag. I knew I had to bully the fish a bit to turn its head and keep it away, but that was easier said than done! I knew it was a good fish as it didn't come up to the surface and it hugged the bottom as it pealed the line off of my spool. My heart was racing as I played it; there was always the chance I would loose it, and I couldn't bare that thought. After a good fight, when it finally tired, and rose to the surface, I didn't waste any time getting the net under it.

20lb 04oz

I was ecstatic when it just pushed the scales over that twenty pound mark, and as usual it was safely returned, to fight another day!

My next session involved teaching a good friend of mine how to find, catch and handle pike. It’s very important to me that people who fish for pike know how to handle them, so that they can be safely returned. Although many people think of pike as creatures made for killing, with savage teeth (which they can be), they are also fragile, and need to be handled correctly. This is what I showed my friend, and he was very happy to learn as much as possible. He has only been angling for a year or so, but has caught the bug, and is loving fishing.

With all the basic knowledge I thought was relevant to explain, we set up our rods on a bitterly cold morning. I don’t think there could have been a better start to the day, because as soon as the first bite alarm was switched on, there was a fish on the line. With a pike on the bank we could have a proper look at it and put theory into practice, and my friend watched carefully to see how I dealt with the fierce predator. After a short amount of time out of the water, the fish was safely returned. The action didn't stop there; all in all we landed eight fish, plus we had three dropped runs, in a five hour session.  

Well what can I say! He was over the moon with the busy day we had, and so was I, to be honest. By the end of the day he was handling the fish with so much confidence that you wouldn't have believed that he hadn't landed a pike previously.

Until next times guys, good luck out there.

Tight lines.

The New Year

Hello again, I hope you all had a nice Christmas and have had a good start to the New Year. I don’t know about you but there won’t be any resolutions made by me, for fishing or anything else. I tend to take life as it comes and if you want or would like to do something you need to work towards it to make happen in my opinion.

Any way, on to the fishing.

On a day off, I popped down to the river for a quick session on a clearer day in between the rain fronts. Heading out in the afternoon, with crazy thoughts about the state of the river and what weird things where going to be left hanging from the trees, I made my way to a known pike swim with a good friend of mine, Moxey. We where pretty sure no one was going to be in the swim due to the harsh weather and the river being in the state it was. Guess what… there wasn’t. So we set up and sat back to wait for some indication of life in the swim. An hour or so past with no signs of any fish, so the baits where repositioned into areas where the pike lay and we sat back with expectation of a bite. The tip my rod started to move ever so slightly, with constant little knocks. I cautiously picked up my rod, not wanting to cause any resistance to the fish, and felt the vibration coming through the line. I knew there was a fish on the other end. I tightened the drag, wound down to it and struck. With a good bend in my rod I was confident the hooks had set. The fish fought hard for a few minutes, with the usual tricks of tail walking and kiting into the margins, trying to shake the hooks.

8lb 2oz

With the pictures and weighing complete, the Pike was safely returned to fight another day.

So I was happy. We just needed Moxey to catch one before we returned home, but unfortunately, he didn't.  Eventually it got dark, and with no more fish we willingly packed up, looking forward to the heat of the car.

A couple of days after I received a message from Moxey saying he wanted to fish a local lake for Carp soon, as he had won a days fishing there. The river was still carrying a lot of extra water therefore I was glad he got in touch. We set out to the lake on an unusually warm winter’s day at around 7:30am to arrive at 8am for first light. Upon a safe arrival we eagerly strolled around the lake to see if anyone had caught through the night, and more importantly to try and spot some feeding fish. Nothing had come out through the night (well that’s what we were told) so we definitely needed to see some signs of fish feeding before setting up. We found a good swim where the inlet entered the lake that looked like it would hold some fish and then we saw a cluster of bubbles rise, which was unquestionably a Carp feeding.

Within ten minuets we had been back to the car, collected all of our gear and were in the swim setting up. Whilst we checked the rigs were in good order there was a fizzing again in the same place, which gave us high hopes of catching. I allowed a few minutes before casting out, so as not to spook the fish, and with rigs and bait positioned perfectly, the wait began.

Hour by hour past, with signs of Carp in our swim, and the surface was breaking with tiny fry bursting out, fleeing from the predators attack. I repositioned the rig, accompanied by a small PVA stick of crumbed boilies over the area where the fish had been spotted feeding.  We found ourselves again sat watching fry burst out of the murky water swimming for their lives. When, next thing I know my alarm sounds, and I'm in. The fish instantly attempted a dive in to weed, fortunately I stopped it. Then it tried again, this time succeeding. Luckily Moxey was there and was already going in after it, otherwise I would have been taking a dip!

14lb 14oz

A lovely Mirror had been tempted to feed by my bait, which was not too lucky for the fish, but as always, made my day.

A few days of work quickly flew by leading up to my next day off, which would see me back out on my search for a fish. With the river virtually back to normal I thought the Carp might be in one of their regular feeding areas and could be easily tempted by my bait. It was a miserable, grey, overcast day and there was a possibility of light rain. My plan was to bait accurately, then sit under the brolly, drinking tea, keeping dry. I was pleased that there wasn't one drop of rain all day but there was another thing missing, a bite. I had seen some indications of active fish in the area but could not determine the species, so the only thing I could do was hope for a Carp.

My alarm sounded with a screaming run from what I thought was going to be a Carp, but when I picked up my rod, I knew it wasn't.  With little effort the fish’s head turned, which I didn't expect, and then it hit the surface. It was a Bream, the first catch of the New Year for me and it certainly brightened up my day.

8lb

Hello all

Hello all. As this is my first blog and I cannot think of a compelling intro I’ll crack on with it. You can expect this and my future post to be about the angling adventures of my friends and myself. I am 22 years old, from Exeter (south west of England) and love fishing wild waters such as rivers. I do venture onto lakes when the fish are calling, but most of my angling time is spent on the banks of the great River Exe. I am an all round angler, targeting my chosen species when I know there is a good chance of catching.

At the moment (as most know) a lot of anglers are out chasing the thrilling Esox Lucius (Pike) or are thinking about packing their gear away for the winter as the temperature drops and the nights are drawing in. The only thing that has kept me from fishing is the horrific flooding we've had across the country. I don’t know about you but for me personally I wouldn't risk my life to wet a line.

Anyway, on to my fishing.

I had been down to the river for a few sessions in pursuit of a decent Chub to no prevail. The Exe is in no way a Chub water, it holds a hand full of good fish to most peoples’ standards however at the moment I am finding them rather hard to locate. The weather conditions haven’t been in my favour to say the least with a high pressure around for while, but that has never stopped me before so why would it now.

I set out after a three day blank in search of a bite again, though this time accompanied by a back-up plan in the form of my pike gear and some dead baits, I was pretty sure Id have a fish by the end of the day. In addition the high pressure had started moving away and the temperature rose by a couple degrees, so I was feeling confident. So as I walked through the bushes and trees covered with all the litter left by recent flooding something caught my eye, it was another angler, which is rare due to the trek to the swim. More importantly, he was in the swim that I had been pre-baiting. Nevertheless, I set up in a different swim, which I had been baiting previously. An hour or so passed and there was no sign of any fish whatsoever. I continued to move swim roughly every hour, moving down the river with the bait and still no joy. Having tried every swim that’s good for Chub on the stretch without even the slightest indication of a fish, I retired to a trusty Pike swim for the last hour of my day.

Rods outs and baits in place I sat down anticipating a bite after the slow day Id been having. Only ten minutes or so had past when my bite alarm sounded, as you can imagine I was eager to see what had found the mackerel on the other end. After about five seconds the fish picked up the bait and shot off, trying to take my rod with it; I wound down to it and gave a firm strike. The hooks set, then the fish tail walked and I was over the moon. A few minutes past with a good old scrap, then it saw the back of the net.

                                               9lb 10oz (slightly out of focus picture)

Not the biggest in the fish in the river, however I was still a happy man. After some snaps and quick weigh, it was slipped back to fight another day.

With a fresh bait in position I poured a cuppa and viewed the pictures which where all out of focus and I was not impressed. No longer than ten minutes had past and the alarm’s gone again; I wound down to it, struck, and I couldn't believe my luck, I was in again to what felt a bigger fish.

11lb 11oz

Well after that bit of thrilling action, with pictures and weighing done, I slipped it back safely. I packed up my gear as I didn't have any more bait then returned home with a smile on my face.

Happy days. The back-up plan came through and saved the day, ending a string of blanks.

Until till next time.

Tight lines