stevetheangler

Thursday, 26th November, was a (half) day spent at Pike Water 1…

I left home at 0700 and arrived onsite at the pool at around 0730 not surprised to discover I was the first there due to the heavy-at-times mist, sub-zero temperatures and heavy ground frost…

Car parked, barrow loaded and I headed off to my chosen peg for the day and tackled up to follow my plan for the day which was to initially fish for small livebaits until around 1030 and then put those baits out for the desired pike.

Part One: Livebait gathering:

My tackle for this was a 13’ Sealey float rod along with a small 3000 size reel with 4lb line straight though to the size 16 hook which was maggot baited. The float was a crystal style waggler of about a 4BB rating.

[The Sealey rod I had acquired via a local auction some time ago along with 9 or so other rods for the princely sum of £30 and it is a nice rod – fibreglass but very light. Actually, I bought a good lot in that auction – Liz ended up with a decent float rod, there were a couple of other nice rods and a couple will head to car booting – but the star of the lot was a Hardy’s Gordon’s 10’ Carpquest which currently sells at between £150-£200 retail and I have seen them go in auctions at £85+, however, mine is missing the first ring of the top section which I need to replace which will devalue it a bit I suppose]

So, first cast was optimistically made at 0830 as on arrival, despite the frost/mist/low temps, there were plenty of dimples and swirls of active small fish in evidence. However, the next hour and a half did not go well and I suffered tangle after tangle and three times I had to cut out knots and re-tackle from scratch – and not a bite in the interim period either despite altering depths from the 30” I started fishing at (and at which depth I was catching on an almost identical water with when I fished with Liz last time) down to fishing the bottom – and at various levels in-between. Due to the problems I changed my plans and decided to give it until 1130 to gather livebaits and I did in fact, during the period 1000-1130 I manage to avoid further tangles BUT still did not manage to make a single capture…

Part Two: Pike Fishing:

So, in the absence of livebait, my pike fishing had to revert to Plan B and be done using deadbaits (smelt and sardine) that I’d taken with me ‘just in case’.

The usual floatfishing pike rod (I decided to fish just a single rod), a 12’ 2.75lb TC carp rod, was tackled with a 40lb braid main line, 30lb wire trace with twin treble snap tackle, red/white polystyrene float and a 25g quick-change lead … and a sardine bait mounted….

And at 1400 when I decided to call it a day I’d not had a single touch despite varying location and depths and tried drifting and laying-on…

So… not an eventful day but was pleasant enough … thanks to the Damart Thermolactyl Double Force thermals!! I really rate them and have been my standard fishing thermals really since the 80’s (NO.. not the same set!! And they do get washed! LOL). I’ve found nothing to compare – and are used on Everest and Arctic/Antarctic expeditions I believe. If you sit still you will start to get chilly but after a 100 yard walk up the bank and back you’re as snug as a bug in a rug again for another hour or more! One of my two pike fishing essentials not included in the usual lists…

1. Damart Thermals – or at least some sort of thermals or quilted suit..
2. Styptic Pencil!! Pike teeth are sharp (triangular shaped with a razor sharp edge) – and are also covered in an anti-coagulant. The merest scratch will bleed and bleed and bleed – not profusely but for a long long time often resulting in a well bloodied hankie and bloodied clothing and kit and the wound is barely visible! So a styptic pencil is always in my jacket pocket – an excellent solution, albeit a ‘stingey’ one for a few seconds!

PLANS:

I’m hoping to make one last trip out on Monday 30th before Christmas – whether piking or maggot fishing not decided but most likely the latter as I’ve plenty of maggots at hand at the mo to be used up.

I’ve pencilled in December for doing the Christmas preparations/jobs essentially and in past years I’ve not managed to do much fishing during the month anyway. But that’s not to say I won’t manage to slot in a spot somewhere along the line, so not set in concrete. Possibly sneak in a couple of lure fishing hours on the canal perhaps. All to be seen.

TEMPS:

AIR:                  MIN:   -1.2’C      MAX: 21.2’C
WATER:            MIN:    7.5’C      MAX:   7.9’C

WATER TEMPS:

AIR TEMPS: