Pikey paranoia

There has been a bit of heated discussion in the strange Pikey internet world lately, this in itself is nothing at all new, nor for that matter is the subject; Publicity and Pressure.  Recently a photo of a big fish was published with no venue named, no weight given and no clues in the background, but it seems that to some even this is too much info.  We all want to guard our fishing but I think that is taking it a bit too far?

Anyone who’s ever read my nonsense will know I very rarely mention a water by its name and what might not be quite so obvious is the photos I post aren’t usually the best ones at my disposal, they are often chosen and in some cases altered, so as not to give too much away.  There are people out there who have a good idea about where I have fished in recent years but I put up won’t be telling them anything they don’t already know.  The reasons for this are obvious and have been said many times already anyway.  As far as Pike fishing goes I find it difficult to blog anything much at all without giving too much away.  I still keep a diary, because I enjoy it but I can’t blog it and this is a problem shared by many Pikey writers.

But on the other hand I love reading anecdotal pieces and there is a real lack of genuine contemporary Pikey literature, compared to Carp angling for example.  Every month top Carp anglers are publishing well written stories of their latest escapades and adding to a legacy of writing.  Yes I know Carp are different to Pike and impossible to kill but on the other hand they are not so different.  Pike can be big and impressive creatures and from my own experience it takes a whole lot more effort to catch one than it does a Carp.  In general Pike waters are a lot more interesting places too, usually larger, wilder and more scenic.  There are some excellent writer/Pikers and in general I’d say the average Pike angler has a few more brain cells than most carpers.  Pikey writing could be even better than the wealth of literature available to Carp anglers, if only they weren’t so bloody fragile.

John Watson’s original 1991 “A Pikers Progress” is one of the most popular Piking books and is certainly one of my favourites (and he borrowed the title from Dave Lumb?).  One of the reasons for this is Watto tells all, giving all the locations away almost to the yard.  This without doubt adds to the stories as the reader almost feels he is in the boat with the anglers as it all goes off.  The Piking world has changed a great deal since then and it is impossible to imagine anyone writing about Pike fishing in this detail again.  Thankfully we do get occasional releases of inspirational Pikey stories in book form, most of my favourites over the life of this blog have been produced by Stephen Harper.  However really good Pikey writing is rare amongst the monthly magazines these days which is a shame?

So it’s a classic Catch 22 situation; writing about our Piking risks the fishing itself, not writing about it and so much ‘history’ could be lost.  We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.  However there may be a way round this.  I’ve always kept a diary and although I don’t blog much about Pike fishing, I still write it up for my own amusement.  Maybe I could turn the clock back five or ten years and put up my diaries from those times?  Or then again, from a purely selfish point of view, what do I have to gain?

On another, similar forum thread there was a comment that derided the use of google earth making the whole business of finding Pike waters too easy.  The writer harked back to the good old days where we had to work hard poring over Ordnance survey maps… I’m not entirely sure if this one was a genuine moan or a brilliant piece of irony?

Too much info??

 Fishing time has been scarce lately but I have managed a few short trips with a lure rod to a place where you could literally nail a £20 note to a tree.  I’m not sure what this water holds but I have established there are plenty of silver fish about.  And some Pike.