Mostly River diaries...

On a dull, overcast morning without a breath of wind I took Mr RO out in the other boat hoping for a day of good chat with a few fish thrown in.  After breaking through some thin ice we arrived at the intended spot and commenced fishing, simple methods – float legers and deadbaits, a couple of rods each.  We planned to move regularly, every forty minutes or so and eventually we should track down some fish.  We started in an area from where I’d had a few fish on a previous visit but without success so then took a long motor downstream, from here we planned to gradually work our way back to base. 

This furthest spot produced just one take to Mr RO but this came off after a couple of seconds.  At the next spot I had a fast take on smelt and a lively fish writhed in the clear water.  This one made it into the boat, a beautifully coloured mint fish just into double figures.  The next couple of short moves were fishless so we decided to motor a bit further for our next stop.  Here things picked up, within a couple of minutes my smelt cast along the reedline was off and I soon had a small fish in the boat.  Next it was Mr RO’s turn and after another tug of war another mint double was in the boat, things were looking up.

After that we made a couple of short moves within the same general area and found a few more fish, at least Mr RO did boating a couple of jacks.  I had another take, on smelt again but this one came off before I had much idea of what I was attached to.  Things went quiet for a while so we had a last move up towards base, a spot that doesn’t seem to attract many anglers which is fine by me.  Here Mr RO was away within a minute or two and this turned out to be another low double and the best fish of the day.  We fished on until we couldn’t see the floats by which time a day of basically sitting on my backside doing nothing had left me thoroughly knackered.

The following morning I found myself wide awake at 0700 so thought ‘fuck it, I might as well go fishing’.  It took a while to get myself ready and fight through the traffic, on the way I couldn’t decide which stretch to head for.  I ended up stopping at the first car park, the area I’d had a few fish in recent weeks which had not been my intention when I set out.  It was 0845 before I dropped a bait in, as usual I fished a couple of float legers and aimed to keep on the move.  The river had a good flow and was looking nice, within minutes I had a ticking baitrunner but unfortunately this was caused by a bloody Swan that had sneaked up unnoticed.  We had a fight and then a cuddle before I managed to untangle the stupid bloody creature which disappeared rapidly upstream to sulk.

Whether all that commotion had spooked the fish or not I had an hour without any action. I recast the bluey upstream and this float was soon bobbing around.  Pick the rod up, wind down and…  Fuck it, I managed to miss it somehow?  This take on a repositioned bait spurred me and I began a slow progression up river, what we used to call leap frogging.  The day was nice and mild, the light south westerly as breaking up the clouds, allowing the odd glimpse of blue sky.  It was a pleasant day to be out but for some reason my brain wasn’t working properly, I was fishing but really just going through the motions, not putting any thought into what I was doing.  I had a night at the football later so by 1315 it was time to head home and get the dinner on the go.  On my walk back I bumped into a couple of cheeky geezers who tried pumping me for info “Where’s the best spots geez? Has it been fishing well?”  I tried to be polite and succeeded in being non committal then upped my pace and escaped.

I returned to the river a couple of days later at dawn in near identical conditions and had a near identical result.  This time I went further upriver and after parking I walked upstream, beyond more familiar water and set up at a ‘new’ spot.  Here there are a couple of nice overhanging trees and a bit of depth so it looked pretty good to me.  And the Pike agreed, within a few minutes a bluey was heading rapidly upstream towards trailing branches.  I hit it quicky and felt the bang, bang we associate with small fish, then it came off.  Bugger, I hate losing any fish, whatever the size.

After that I followed a plan, kept on my toes and moved regularly, every forty five minutes or so.  The first two swims were spots I’d never fished before but the next two were ones I’d caught from previously.  I didn’t get a touch in any of them.  I passed another Piker who was also struggling or else he was playing it clever…  The next swim was another new one which looked really nice, there may be nothing at home today but it looked worth a punt on another, keep on movin’.  By now I was towards the far downstream end of the stretch with familiar water in front of me.  After a few minutes in the latest swim the bluey was travelling once more, just reward for all the wandering?  It might have been but I managed to strike thin air.  I had one more move, and fished till the floats were blobs but my luck didn’t change.

So that’s two blanks on the trot on the river but on both occasions I’d found Pike and really should have put one in the net.  Come to think of it I dropped a fish on my last trip in the boat too so that’s four consecutive takes I’ve managed to bugger up, what’s going on??  I’m using the same double hook traces that I’ve always stuck in deadbaits since the late eighties, I know this works.  I hit fish quickly and maybe I was a bit blasé with striking?  But it’s probably nothing more than half a bluey being a bit big on waters that hold Pike of all sizes.  Must try not to overthink!

The thing about a couple of blanking is it doesn’t dishearten me much, instead it pisses me off and makes me want to go out and set things straight so a couple of days later that’s what I tried to do.  I didn’t head out pre dawn or anything just rolled out of bed at my usual time and was on the road around 0745, straight into traffic hell.  I’d seen the A road queuing so diverted onto one of the back roads but of course everyone had the same idea…  I considered just turning round and going home but pushed on and eventually found my way through the worst.  The next problem materialised when I got near to my chosen stretch, lots of farm machinery that looked very active and not at all quiet.  For a second time I was considering heading home but had a flash of inspiration and instead pointed the car to another area further upstream that I hadn’t yet fished.  I had no expectations but at the very least I’d be learning a little more about the river.

So finally at 0955 I had a bluey upstream and a smelt down river.  This stretch was narrow and I had a row of proper Chub bushes opposite me.  These swims always scream pike at me, the Chub will hopefully come some time in the future.  But in the present the downstream float was moving and I was soon attached to a Pike which thankfully stayed on the hooks for a change.  I unhooked this small fish and slipped it back, the smelt was still in one piece so I swung this back out, sat down and rummaged in my bag for the flask.  A few minutes later it happened again, the downstream float was jabbing and sliding towards the bushes so the strike had to be quick.  This Pike also stayed on the hooks and I soon had it in the net, a bit bigger than the first.

So two Pike in the first twenty minutes but that was as good as it got.  After an hour it was time to get moving so I slowly worked my way downstream and checked out a few more swims with interesting features but none looked as good as the one I’d started in.  By the time I called time in the early afternoon I’d covered a fair bit of water, learnt a little more but hadn’t found any Pike.

Another day and things went a little more to plan, there were no traffic holdups and the novelty of a beautiful dawn sky through the passenger side window.  Down the narrow lanes, Deer skipped across the field to the right, I was soon parking the car and locking the gate behind me.  I loaded up and hiked way upstream and settled into a spot between overhanging trees, fishing just before 0800.  Today was different weather wise, the gloom and stillness had lifted, a southerly breeze was stirring things and there were gaps of blue between the clouds.  The river was still carrying a bit of winter tinge but the pace appears to be slowing a little.

I spent a couple of hours searching this upstream end, moving every forty five minutes or so fishing mostly spots that were new to me.  The only action was a big swirl just upstream of my bait followed seconds later by the float stabbing and my heart racing.  It was heading towards a snag so I wound down quickly to absolutely nothing then a bloody Cormorant surfaced in front of me, a lucky escape I think.  With nothing showing this far up river I took a good walk back downstream and after half an hour on a sweeping bend with rods poking through gaps in the tall reeds, I settled into a swim that had produced a couple of fish last month.  I dropped a smelt in close upstream and a bluey under armed across to settle in a slack.  By now the blue sky was a memory, clouds were gathering and the forecast was for rain by lunch time.  It only took ten minutes before the bluey started heading upstream and I soon had a jack in the net.  The bluey was returned to the spot and minutes later was bobbing away again, I wound into it, felt the headshakes and the fish was off.  It didn’t have any weight to it, don’t overthink it.

The rain came early but was light and not much of a discomfort.  I gave it another hour here before the feet were itching, a short walk to a reed lined bend.  I switched the smelt for a sardine but stuck with the well chewed bluey and within minutes I had another take on it.  This fish was a bit bigger and tried to fight but ended up swimming in ever decreasing circles and into the net.  This bait was good to go again and it had hardly settled before it started bobbing again, I wound down once more but there was nothing doing and soon after a recast the same thing happened on the sardine.  I’ve had a few dropped takes here this season, sometimes a sign of pressure but I haven’t seen many other Pikers.

After a quiet half hour I had another move to the downstream end of a tunnel of Norfolk reeds, the sardine went upstream and the bluey down.  It took a bit longer this time, about fifteen minutes and it was the sardine on the move.  This was a better fish which pulled a bit of line off the clutch before it went in the net.  I weighed it to find it wasn’t quite my best from the river so far and I thought I’d try for a photo of me actually holding a fish, it didn’t go well.  By now it was early afternoon and the rain was becoming more annoying, I decided I’d had enough.  While I was tidying the first rod the float on the other started misbehaving it was definitely a fish but once again the bait was dropped before I felt any weight.  Should I stay a bit longer?  No, the weather was only going to get worse, I’d had enough.

It’s been probably twenty years since I’ve done any of this small river Pike fishing and I’d forgotten how much fun it can be.  I only take what I can comfortably carry and roaming around is easy, even with two rods.  I’ve been using my old 42” triangular net because it is easier to carry but I’ve come to realise the boat net I’ve become used to is much better for the actual job it’s intended for.  There are loads of pikey looking features on the river, shelter for a fish wandering up and down river, I think some days they’ll hold a fish or two but not always.  The trick is to find the more consistent areas and after a bit of legwork I think maybe this is starting to come together.  But time marches on and for the rest of this season there will be a bit less of that and a bit more other stuff.