Time

17/08/15

Early mornings are without doubt the best time to fish, whatever the species. I love night fishing so would normally set up the evening before and fish through the night so I can be in position for dawn, it’s much more relaxing than being hauled out of bed by the alarm clock.  I haven’t managed to fish a single night this summer, priorities are elsewhere but I need the escapism of fishing now more than ever.  For the time being I only have space for short sessions close to home, the most interesting/viable fishing available would be trying to catch a carp or two from a club water.

The weekend didn’t provide any fishing opportunities but I did manage to wander round a pit and chat with a mate for a while.  Mr D is probably the most experienced Carp angler I know and I left his company with a few new ideas and a plan to put into action.  The plan was simple, everyone uses boilies so I will stick to particles and next time I fish the lake I need to drag my sorry backside out of bed in the morning. 

And so a couple of days later I was driving round the lake at the unearthly time of 0520.  Getting up early is never as bad as I think it’s going to be, and I had a spring in my step as I headed for my chosen swim.  No looking around this morning, I knew where I was going to set up as fish were still seeking sanctuary in the weedy bay I’d fished last time.  I set up away from the water then quietly settled into position, both rods were baited with Maize and had a PVA bag of Hemp attached, one lowered into the right hand margin, the other placed beside a bed of lilies.  My great idea this week was to keep feeding each spot with a pouch full of particles every now and then.  Hopefully any Carp in the weed would follow the seeds down to my hookbaits.

I sat back in my chair with the first brew of the day, aware that I should try to be less clumsy than usual as I was fishing close range.  The early morning mist might help me hide but it wouldn’t stop vibration from heavy footfalls.  The bay seemed quiet; it would be sods law if the fish had moved off!  A tell-tale tremor in the lilies gave the game away; a fish was moving about and not far from my bait either!  It occurred to me that it had been a while since I’d actually had a take on a rod mounted on a buzzer, all my fish this season had been on the float.  A minute or two later I was alerted by a sharp tap on the rod fished to the pads.  This had barely registered in my brain before the bobbin slammed and the spool was spinning.  Still sat on my chair I bent into a fish and immediately piled pressure on to keep it out of the pads.  This worked and I had a fish of some kind under control, it didn’t feel big and I wondered if irony had struck and left me with a Tench.  I kept the pressure on and within a minute had dragged a nice double figure Common into the net.  The protracted fights on the float rod are all well and good but personally I prefer to get ‘em in quick!  A wren scampered up the nearby tree as I laid out the unhooking mat.  I decided on a quick self-take photo which was a bit tricky but I soon had it done and the fish back in the lake.

My quiet swim was well and truly disturbed and I had to reposition both baits by which time the rising sun had burnt off the mist leaving a lovely sunny morning.  Surely there were more Carp in the bay queueing up to eat my bait?  I relaxed in my chair enjoying the Kingfisher’s successful fishing trip, these things are always too quick for my camera, as was the Weasel that briefly poked its head around a tree in my line of vision.  All very nice but for two hours I hadn’t seen any more signs of a Carp in the bay despite a brisk North Westerly blowing into the bay.  Then around 0825 the lilies quivered again and I started to feel expectant once more.  However I was on a deadline and nothing else occurred before this ran out an hour later.  I was pleased though, for once a little planning had paid off and I really should get my carcass out of bed early more often! 

The self take was a bit tricky

 21/08/15

Another early morning start saw me back at the lake around 0520.  I didn’t need a look around today, I felt certain there would be fish in the bay so made my way straight there and set up quietly.  Within a few minutes I had two PVA bag rigs in position and was sitting back with a brew to scan the water.

It was a cloudy, humid morning.  What little wind there was rippled the far side and I began to wonder if I’d made the classic mistake of just dropping into a favoured swim as the bay appeared deathly quiet.  I’d hurried into the swim as I only had a couple of hours fishing time.  I started to look further down the lake, considering my options for a move but no wait; there was a subtle quiver amongst the lilies.  As time went by I spotted more subtle signs around the bay and as more time passed the signs became less subtle, there were definitely Carp in the bay.  The lilies in particular were rocking and surely it was only a matter of time now?  The line twitched… Just a liner?

A Carp rolled amongst the trees near the other rod and I began to get a few liners on that one too.  Then it went, a twitchy take not a ripper I picked the rod up feeling slight pressure and wound in a twig??  What the hell had happened there then?  It didn’t waste time wondering just got the rig back quickly, was there still a chance?  Surely the rod by the pads?  When Carp fishing I like to put a rig out and just leave it, thinking a recast would cause more disturbance and spook the fish.  Surely my PVA bag rigs couldn’t have tangled? 

Time ran out and I had to pack up, with all the activity I was baffled as to why I hadn’t caught.  I retrieved the rod to the pads to find a load of silty muck masking the hook and covering the bait.  Maybe the liner wasn’t a liner?  This was an example of leaving the rig in place may have cost me the chance of a fish and thinking about it this isn’t the first time this has happened to me on this particular water.  Another lesson learnt the hard way.

23/08/15 
Another window of opportunity materialised and I allowed myself to make plans for another visit to the bay.  The lessons from the two previous sessions gave me optimism, I’d caught a fish on the first occasion and had a good idea why I’d failed on the second.  The bay gets overlooked by most anglers so if the fish were still present I felt I had a good chance of catching.  I had time for a quick circuit of the water on a very hot day.  Unfortunately there were several anglers about including one close to the bay and no sign of a Carp anywhere.  My plan remained unchanged, if I could I’d be fishing the bay.

I had a restless night with little sleep but still managed to over sleep by twenty minutes.  I’m not even sure if the alarm went off?  I was soon up and after filling a flask I was off to the lake.  I walked round the bay as quietly as possible, there was an angler bivvied up in the bay but judging by the angle of his rods there was a lot of weedy water between him and the spot I wanted to fish.  I settled into my swim quietly and set up two PVA bag rigs.  Both had fake corn on the hair but on one I used a Tiger nut and cast to the pads; the other had a piece of Maize and was dropped under the tree.  The bag mix has undergone a bit of a tweak, a couple of other ingredients added but more about that another time.  Two pouches of mixed seeds were pulted over each one and I was fishing.  Now were there any fish in the bay?

It had been a warm, humid night and as the morning haze cleared it revealed a clear sky with a few small clouds moving quickly on the fresh south easterly wind.  My shady corner was sheltered and calm so any fishy movements would be easy to detect, unfortunately I wasn’t seeing any.  There was a family of swans and a clutch of annoying ducks but nothing at all carpy.  Bubbles a plenty broke the surface, particularly around my margin rod but they could be caused by anything.  The cloud thickened and dropped a little light rain on me; the forecast hadn’t prepared me for this but thankfully it didn’t last long.  After three quarters of an hour an alarm sang out but it wasn’t mine, the angler on the edge of the bay was into a fish which he soon netted and returned.  There were Carp in the bay, even if I couldn’t see them.

As if to underline this I had a single beep on the nut cast to the pads; followed a few seconds later by the lilies thumping and bumping as a good sized fish moved among them.  I hardly had time to think before the nearest rod ripped off and the old rod took on a good bend.  I didn’t realise my clutch was set but it was just as well it was, whatever I was attached to took a bit of line but I couldn’t give it much, I had to keep it out of the weed.  This I managed to do and it was soon under control and plodding around in the clear water in front of me.  It wasn’t long before I saw large scales on the flank of a Common enclosed in the mesh.  This was obviously a bit bigger than I expected so I left it in the net while I sorted the scales and camera.  With everything ready I lifted a large, almost mint conditioned Carp onto the mat, I don’t go all dewy eyed over Carp like some real carpers do but this one was a belter.  The first clear look revealed it was a lot bigger than I’d imagined but even so the weight on the scales was still a pleasant surprise! 

After a quick photo I slipped it back and tried to get a bait back out there but the fish had shifted a lot of weed and it was difficult to get the rig into the same position.  I had high hopes of another fish and sat well into the morning but there were no further signs of Carp in the bay.  I should probably have moved but it was pleasant just sitting, enjoying a warm morning and letting the waterside soothe my soul.  It’s been interesting trying to catch these Carp and having landed a nice fish with limited time, after learning a few lessons and tweaking things a bit has given me a buzz.

Belter 

Summer

Summer is well and truly here but I’ve been unable to spend the long pleasant days by the waterside.  At times fishing has to take a backseat, mostly for the right reasons but not always.  I’ve not really fished at all since the Ashes series started but I have soaked baits on three occasions.

Shelley and I sat in the boat, on a broad on a sunny but breezy day in early July, with TMS on the radio we listened to England bowl the Aussies out at Cardiff and take a surprising and delightful 1-0 lead in the series.  We also chucked a couple of feeders around with maggot or corn on the hooks and managed to catch a few fish; Roach, Rudd and a few skimmers.  It was a lovely day out all round and one we planned to repeat…

 We missed the Lords test match because we were otherwise engaged at the Latitude festival having a thoroughly mad and wonderful time.  Since them things haven’t gone to plan although the cricket has been enjoyable beyond all expectations.

I didn’t wet a line again until the second day of the fourth test.  I wandered round a couple of local pits but didn’t find any clues so ended up putting one rod into a gap in the weed, this was maize fished over a couple of handfuls of hemp.  I sat back under cover hoping a fish might find it but all my concentration was on the radio as the England bowlers hammered more big nails into the Aussie coffin prior to cremation.  When the play finished for the day I went home, for once just fishing wasn’t enough.

By the time I fished again the Ashes were safely won and I felt the fishing pull again, on a slow circuit of the pit I managed to find some Carp.  They seemed to be moving about in the weed and I was able to fish a couple of rods in clearer areas which I baited with particles, fishing maize and fake corn on the hairs.  A PVA bag of hemp was hooked on too.  There were definitely fish in the area, I had managed to get two baits in place without spooking them, it was just a case of sitting back and waiting for one to have a feed, hopefully…  So I sat back and watched the water, scanning the water for a clue…  Was I bollocks, I had my head in a book and let the alarms do their job, which they did a couple of times but they were only liners.  As the evening deepened there were fish in the area and they did move over my baited spots but they didn’t pick up my baits, as far as I know.  I enjoyed a couple of hours of fishing therapy and I’ll have need for more very soon.

A float, some hemp & a bit of corn.

June rolled into July with rising temperatures but fishing time was limited by the little obstacles life throws in the way.  I managed another evening session fishing corn and hemp again but had a resounding blank.  Two weeks flew by without a chance to wet a line but I was happy to answer a call out to photograph a 30+ Carp for a friend.  By this time I was sure the Tench would have spawned, ending my hopes of a real heavyweight for another season.

A window of opportunity opened for an evening after work and I loaded up the Tench gear simply because it was the easiest option.  By 1900 I was settled into a familiar swim, float fishing corn over hemp to the pads a rod length out.  I used a second rod and stuck to the PVA bag flung out on the plateau.  God knows why I have persisted fishing this area as I haven’t had so much as a take fishing it?  Possibly because I’ve enjoyed fishing the float so much or possibly because I’m hopeless?

It was a bright and breezy evening, bloody good fishing conditions in my book and the float sailed away early on bringing a wriggling Rudd to hand.  Everything looked good but I just wasn’t feeling it, couldn’t concentrate and debated going home but stayed out of stubbornness.  A couple more bites brought a couple more nice sized Rudd, beautiful little fish but they did nothing to change my mood.  I noticed small patches of oil rise to the surface by the pads, was something crunching on my hemp?  The float sailed away again and my strike saw the tip bend round into something more substantial but after a few seconds the hook pulled and my float rig flew into the tree above me.  Oh bugger this!

I was tempted to jack it all in but the phone rang, a couple of friends were trying to find me for a chat and by the time they arrived I’d got the float back out there.  For a few minutes I could do absolutely nothing right; I kept missing bites then my casts were all over the place.  We all laughed at my ineptitude and I gave up trying to catch anything.  Then just as my friends were about to leave I struck a bite and set the hook into something substantial. 

To begin with it plodded round in circles in the margins but then it woke up and the runs became longer and more determined.  By now it was obvious I wasn’t attached to a Tench.  The pellet waggler rod was hooped right over and it was good fun but this rod will never get this sized fish in quickly.  I nearly had the fish in the net but it crept out again and plodded some more.  Eventually I managed to get the job done and hoisted a lovely little Mirror pest onto the mat.  My friends clicked a couple of quick photos (you can just about make out a nice little Carp) before I slipped it back.

That’s two Carp in three visits and it occurred to me that I may have stumbled on a successful method that few other people will use.  Maybe I should try float fishing for Carp on a few other waters?  I can think of a couple that would be well suited but I’ll definitely have to step the rod up.  Before that I’ll be doing something completely different.

Perch and pests.

Since I last found the time to write anything on here I’ve actually been fishing five times but none of these trips has lasted more than three hours.  For little and often fishing it helps if its local so I’ve been continuing to try and outwit the Tench in the little pit.  I’ve concentrated on a couple of swims in a shallow area as I feel confident the Tench will be spawning nearby very soon.  I’ve mostly used two rods; one has been for float fished corn in the margins while the other started out as a feeder rig but has evolved into an inline PVA bag rig with a 10mm boilie and fake corn.

On one of the trips I was happy to be joined by Isaac.  It had been a busy weekend with clubs and shops and cricket and water gun fights and big dinners and even a little fishing.  Isaac and I arrived at the Tench pit around 1930 with the sun beginning to sink at the end of a bright breezy day.  This little water should be ideal for our purposes, Isaac could fish for silvers and I had a chance of a Tench.

We settled down with the wind on our backs and began fishing; Isaac with maggots on a whip while I used corn on the waggler rod, close to a bed of lilies.  Isaac started catching fish straight away; A succession of Perch of all sizes up to 6ozs engulfed his bait.  Feeding handful of maggots every now and again kept the bites coming regularly and Isaac busy.  I switched to maggots every now and again, caught a Perch and promptly reverted to corn.   

After a while Isaac took a break and wandered off to explore which gave me the opportunity to concentrate on my float.  I’d been feeding the odd small ball of expo groundbait and there seemed to be a bit of movement in the shallow water near my float.  I tensed, surely not?  It slid away and set the hook, then wound in another small Perch.

Isaac returned and began catching from the off again.  As the evening drew on he was managing to drop his float into the same spot time after time, he concentrated on his float and if anything was striking a little too soon as he missed several bites and we hardly needed the disgorger for these greedy Perch.  His greatest discovery was finding out how funny it was to swing a wriggling Perch into my face as I tried to concentrate on my float.  There were a couple of further movements to my float but neither amounted to any fish and it became hard to concentrate whilst avoiding a Perch in the chops.

By 2130 it was getting dark and Isaac’s attention had wandered off somewhere.  As always I could have happily fished on and stared at my float until it drove me mad, I never want to pack up. Isaac decided he was a clear winner as he’d stopped counting his fish when the tally reached twenty, all had been Perch except for one lovely golden Rudd.  In two hours he must have caught about three pounds of small fish.  My score was four of the smallest Perch in the lake.

Two more short trips followed this; on one I caught a few nice Rudd and a Perch on the float rod, the other was a hungover blank sat behind alarms but I did get to feed a Robin.  

June 16^th arrived and the traditional start to the season saw me ignore the river and head back to the pit for another go at the Tench.  I fancied the same swim again despite an easterly wind blowing into my face.  It was a warm bright day and once again nice to be out.  I started off sitting behind alarms again but after half an hour I was itching to get the float rod out.  For some reason I’d neglected to use hemp so far this year so baited the edge of the pads with a couple of big handfuls of little seeds and baited the hook with corn again.

At around 2100 I had a slow, sail away bite on the float and hooked into a decent fish which managed to bolt into a reedbed before I even knew what was going on.  I resigned myself to losing it but it was still moving and splashing around so maybe I had a chance?  After sustained pressure and lots of commotion the fish ran passed me and out into open water.  I glimpsed a dark flank and pale belly and began to believe my Tench jinx was about to be broken.  The fish ran and ran and ran and eventually I realised I had hooked a Carp.  When this was confirmed I piled on as much pressure as the pellet waggler would allow and after a few minutes netted a double figure Mirror.  I enjoyed the fight and the capture but would have felt more rewarded with a Tench half its size.

The swim and tackle was in a mess so it was easier to pack away the float rod and replace it with the pop up.  Once again I fished on into dark but nothing else pulled my string.

You'll never guess...

 Sunday rolled around and I had time to fish but the forecast was rotten; wet and windy through the morning which made me decide to wait till it had blown over before setting off.  I tend to think these are pretty good fishing conditions but I couldn’t drag myself out of a warm bed to set up in the wet.  No drama, there’s a test match going on which will absorb me through the first part of the day.  Things don’t go to plan; the weather takes longer than expected to shift, it’s a struggle for England in the cricket and other distractions have my mind scrambled.  I need my fix of fishing now more than ever.

I eventually arrived at the lake in the late afternoon to find I had the place to myself.  After a quick recce I set up in a swim I’d never fished before.  I’d chickened out and had the wind on my back, would I live to regret it?  The swim looked nice with lilies on both sides and a quick plumb around revealed about five feet of water.  By 1600 I was fishing with two rods; a feeder drooped alongside lilies about ten yards away on the right and a float rig fished close to the pads on the left.  Groundbait was the Expo mix again and on the hooks I fished sweetcorn as I didn’t want too much bother from small fish.

There was still a bit of drizzle in the wind so I had to break out the oval brolly for only the second time since I’ve had it.  The rain soon fizzled out but I was glad of the shelter from the still fresh wind. I’d packed the radio and my mind was absorbed in the cricket so time passed quickly but there was no sign of any fishy activity.  I was beginning to wish I’d brought some maggots to save the blank at least. I kept dropping the feeder on the spot every half hour or so and fed a small ball of groundbait with every cast on the float rod.  Float fishing should be a delicate business with light, carefully balanced tackle but my set up bears little resemblance to this.  I use an eleven foot pellet waggler rod sold by Middy.  A small Shimano reel with 8lbs line straight through to a large size 16 Matrix feeder rigger hook.  Float is usually some sort of waggler, locked with float rubbers. Random bunches of shot below it with a no. 6 about 9” from the hook.  Nothing subtle about any of that but there is no point hooking a fish and losing it in the weed.

Around 1800 a large Tench rolled out in open water so I repositioned the feeder for a while but I began to see signs of a fish in the areas I’d baited.  I was in two minds; do I stick to my original plan or fish where the Tench had rolled?  An old friend wandered round for a chat and he advised me to stick to plan A.  As the light began to fade so the pads began to shake as fish of some sort moved through them.  Twice the float sailed away and both times I struck thin air, it was turning into one of those days.

At 2130 the float sailed away and this time the rod hooped over.  For some reason I had the anti reverse on and as the fish powered off I quickly fumbled to release it and give some line.  For a moment I’d been sure I was about to lose it due to this feck up, imagine that after all those hours of nothing!  It’s just as well these rods bend through to the butt.  Luckily the fish powered off into open water away from the lilies and I was happy to let it tire itself out there.  There are a few Carp in this lake and I hoped I wasn’t attached to one, something large and green rolled in front of me!  It tried its hardest to bury into the lilies and the Norfolk reed to my left but I managed to bundle a nice sized Tench into the net!

The hook was stuck well into the bottom lip and took some budging, it would not have come loose during the fight but you never know that at the time.  It was a male fish and the scales revealed a pleasing weight, from memory I’ve only ever caught one male bigger than that.  There were scars on one flank which I suspect were caused by a close encounter with my least favourite mammal… Bloody hell I’ve actually caught a Tench!!  I fished on for a while but the fading light meant my eyes played tricks on me, I kept feeling sure the float was moving but it never was  I packed away with just the one fish under my belt but it was my first Tench of the season and the first from a new water.  I’d like to think that this is the first of many and I will soon lose my status as the world’s least successful Tench angler or are the odds on an England test match win better?

Everything but

 The weekend arrived and the main event was a BBQ with old friends.  This included mountains of food and gallons of beer so there was no way I’d be getting up at the crack of dawn.  Instead I was out and about around midday and after chatting to a friend fishing for Carp I eventually found myself at the Tench pit in mid afternoon.  I had a swim in mind and it was free but there was another angler nearby which meant I’d have to alter plans a bit.  I spent a while with a plumb rod and located the edge of a plateau but decided chucking feeders here would probably infringe on the other angler.  Apart from that I really liked the look of the tree and reed lined margins so it was here I decided to begin fishing.  The afternoon was mild and cloudy with a brisk westerly wind blowing into my face, pretty good conditions?  We’ll see…

I tackled up with a 10mm boilie/ fake corn on one rod and an open end feeder with maggots on the other.  The groundbait was my favourite Expo with added crushed hemp.  I dropped the boilie along the treeline to my left and the feeder in front of the reeds to my right.  After a few minutes I asked myself “What the hell am I doing?”  Why on earth was I not using the float rod I’d brought with me?  So a few minutes later I’d repositioned the feeder to the tree line and was float fishing in front of the reeds.

 I’ve got out of the habit of actually catching fish so was a little surprised when the float began to dip!  The result was not the Tench I hoped for but a spirited little Perch which was quite welcome after my recent run of blanks.  Bites came along regularly and I managed to catch a succession of little Perch but not so regular that they were annoying.  I kept recasting the feeder and gradually put a bit of groundbait down there but apart from the occasional nipped maggot, nothing occurred.

Around 1900 the other angler departed so I replaced the float rod with a boilie and PVA bag of pellets, positioned on the edge of the plateau.  I’d enjoyed the float fishing but was happy to sit back and relax in my chair with two rods on alarms.  At around 2050 the micron sounded a take at last!  The feeder rod was away but the result was another Perch, albeit the biggest of the day.  As the light faded I had two more twitchy takes on this rod but failed to connect with either.  I packed up by torch light, no Tench but I’d enjoyed myself.

I returned a week later and this time I did manage to drag my carcass out of bed on a warm, still and cloudy morning.  I fished a different swim this time and covered the edge of the plateau from a different angle.  As I tackled up a cuckoo welcomed me to the lake.  Once again I used an open end feeder with a couple of maggots and a bit of fake corn on a 3” hooklength.  On my other rod I float fished maggots next to the lily pads, if the Tench had read the text books I’d be sure to catch!  I dropped the occasional small ball of groundbait here but mostly fed pellets, a small handful with every cast.

The float began dipping from the off and I caught loads of Perch and Rudd on the red maggots.  It was fun to begin with but I doubted my bait would stay in place long enough for a Tench to discover it.  Rooting around in the bag I found some Marukyu fake corn which is very soft and realistic so I gave this a go.  Although I’ve caught fish on this in the past today it slowed the bites down to a full stop so every now and again I’d have another chuck with maggots and catch a few more fish.  Meanwhile I was recasting the feeder regularly, landing it in the same spot and hopefully building up a bit of bait for the Tench to home in on.

Around 0645 the float rod hooped over and for a second I dared to hope… but no, it was a Bream.  Switching back to maggots brought more Perch and a silvery surprise in the form of a Dace which must have found its way into this pit from the river at some point.  The feeder rod beeped and bounced occasionally but nothing took enough pity on me to hang itself.  By 1030 I knew the children would be up and about so it was time to pack up and head home.  I’ve got back into the habit of catching fish, just not Tench.  No change there then. 

Desperate times...

I haven’t had any time lately, not just for the usual reasons but also because I find myself helping out the 13^th PAC committee which took over the reins a couple of weeks ago.  More about this here; http://www.pikeanglersclub.co.uk/thank-you-12pac-hello-13pac/

During the winter I got back into the habit of nipping out with a lure rod when I had a couple of spare hours and that is the only fishing I’ve managed to do lately.  I know a nice feature packed pit with lots of weed growth and clear water and I felt confident this would fit the bill for a bit of spring sport.  Either I’ve got this prediction badly wrong or more likely I’ve forgotten how to fish with lures.  Not that I’ve ever been particularly good at lure fishing but more often than not I’ve usually managed to put a lure passed a Pike that has been desperate enough to eat it.

My first trip saw me mostly using one of Dave Greenwood’s “Slither” glidebaits and I did tempt a fish into taking a couple of lazy swipes at it without hooking up.  The next time out I hooked a Jack on a spinnerbait buzzed through the lily pads and got it almost within reach before it twisted itself off.  I thought I’d cracked the method and for the next couple of trips I thrashed the lilies to the proverbial foam without moving a single Pike.  To be fair I did spend a lot of my allotted time chatting to friends on those two trips.  By now April had turned to May and I still hadn’t managed to catch a fish of any kind since 14^th March.

Desperate times and all that…  Sunday morning saw me taking Isaac and one of his friends maggot drowning on a little pool that should guarantee a fish or two.  After the lads had managed a fish or two using whips I baited up a waggler rod & flung it out.  After a while the float appeared to be moving and I set the hook and wound a very small pale looking thing towards me.  As I swung the tiny fish towards my outstretched hand it looked decidedly Perch shaped but was almost transparent so maybe it was a Ruffe?  I’ll never know as it wriggled and dropped off into the water in front of me.  It would not count in a match but I felt in the circumstances I’d done enough to claim the capture and I like to think it was a Ruffe simply because I can’t remember the last time I caught one.

So with my duck broken I made another attempt fishing lures on the pit confident that I was on the start of a roll and my first Pike of the season would be a formality.  I should have known better.  True I did spend a bit of time chatting and yes I did tempt a Jack into chasing the spinnerbait and making a fool of me.  Any sensible person would give this up as a bad job and go fish somewhere else so I suppose I can’t be sensible because at times like this I’m just stubborn and find myself plotting and planning.

What I really want to be doing is attempting to catch Tench and for the next month I will hopefully be spending some time doing just that.  With my track record for catching these things and the fishing form I find myself in, what could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile… Thankfully the situation in Norfolk seems to have calmed down with no new reports of dying fish.  The BA have finally got in the act by offering to help clear up the dead and rotting fish, wouldn’t want any holiday makers getting upset would they?  The EA netting teams have been brilliant and the guys on the ground are owed a debt by anglers.  However other people within this organisation really ought to take a long hard look at themselves.

Unfortunately there has been another fish kill in East Anglia, this time on the Suffolk Stour, more details here;

http://www.pikeanglersclub.co.uk/river-stour-fish-kill/

As I don't have any pictures that are remotely fishy here's some Charlatans instead.