November, more Pike fishing, what else? Do I get bored? Very rarely. I do get tired though, by mid November the long days and nights at the special place take their toll, no matter how it's been fishing. I need a change of pace and different scenery.
A new Pikelines arrived at the beginning of the month and was very good in most places. Dave Harrison's article was my favourite and I also enjoyed Bill Winship's piece, I'm not always a fan of the latter. Steve Rogowski is another regular writer and I remember reading some of his old articles that were very good. In more recent times he seems to be demonstrating the art of catching Jacks with some questionable attitudes to accepted modern opinions and practice. There was also another Catch Cult, after a sticky period number thirteen is here at last and mostly very good. I really enjoyed the article on Finnish Piking and Brian Ingram's story was excellent. Disappointed to see there's no room for dear old Neville's Piking adventures, essential reading?
Life speeds up in the late autumn, everyone suddenly remembers the festival of greed is approaching and we're all running around like headless politicians. It's harder to find the time when the C word gets nearer, the fishing fix is sometimes a thing of convenience, I need places that are less demanding.
Last week I took out a boat on a different system and dropped into some fish at one of those 'sometimes' spots, sometimes you find them home, sometimes you don't. For a while it looked like the Pike weren't home which is a pisser because it was a long row and a windy day. But eventually a shad produced the first of several Jacks over the next hour. The next one took half a bluey fished on the bottom, the third one fell to a smelt drifted under a float and finally I caught another on smelt as it was slowly retrieved. I also missed a fish on a drifted bait then that was the end of that spell, the rest of the morning was uneventful. As I rowed back to the yard I trolled a deadbait behind me and not far short of base this was taken and I boated one more Pike. That brought my tally to five and each was caught on a different method. That is one of the reasons I never get bored of Pike fishing.
The fish below was caught from another water on another day and this one took a livebait!
A new Pikelines arrived at the beginning of the month and was very good in most places. Dave Harrison's article was my favourite and I also enjoyed Bill Winship's piece, I'm not always a fan of the latter. Steve Rogowski is another regular writer and I remember reading some of his old articles that were very good. In more recent times he seems to be demonstrating the art of catching Jacks with some questionable attitudes to accepted modern opinions and practice. There was also another Catch Cult, after a sticky period number thirteen is here at last and mostly very good. I really enjoyed the article on Finnish Piking and Brian Ingram's story was excellent. Disappointed to see there's no room for dear old Neville's Piking adventures, essential reading?
Life speeds up in the late autumn, everyone suddenly remembers the festival of greed is approaching and we're all running around like headless politicians. It's harder to find the time when the C word gets nearer, the fishing fix is sometimes a thing of convenience, I need places that are less demanding.
Last week I took out a boat on a different system and dropped into some fish at one of those 'sometimes' spots, sometimes you find them home, sometimes you don't. For a while it looked like the Pike weren't home which is a pisser because it was a long row and a windy day. But eventually a shad produced the first of several Jacks over the next hour. The next one took half a bluey fished on the bottom, the third one fell to a smelt drifted under a float and finally I caught another on smelt as it was slowly retrieved. I also missed a fish on a drifted bait then that was the end of that spell, the rest of the morning was uneventful. As I rowed back to the yard I trolled a deadbait behind me and not far short of base this was taken and I boated one more Pike. That brought my tally to five and each was caught on a different method. That is one of the reasons I never get bored of Pike fishing.
The fish below was caught from another water on another day and this one took a livebait!
