An old pike fishing story

Everyone likes an old pike fishing story, so here's the tale of my personal best, caught many, many years ago from New Road Pit, Shepperton.

The photo below shows a couple of old Abu Hi-lo lures from the late 1970's.  They have adjustable diving vanes, which makes them very versatile, especially in the floating version. When I was growing up I used these lures all the time, for the pike from my local gravel pit.   They both have a story to tell and the stories are one reason why I am now loathe to use these two old friends.

The dark green lure is a slow sinker and it was reasonably successful, if fished deep and slow.  One winter, I fished it too deep and too slow - the lure snagged and I lost it.  But years later, whilst in the same spot, there was the body of the lure washed up on the shore, missing the hooks, which had long rusted away.  The rest of the lure was fine, except for the fixing point for the middle treble. 

The olive coloured plug caught me my best fish.  One February evening, after school, I landed a pike of 22.5lb, after an epic fight that started in daylight and ended in the dark. I had a shocking experience of unhooking the beast, on my own.  The fish closed the old fashioned gag I had at the time and I hadn’t heard of the modern way of unhooking.  I soon learnt by trial and error and got some deep cuts for my lesson.  Staggering home in shock, my mum almost fainted when I piled through the front door, gory but happy.  She insisted on taking me to the doctors next day for a tetanus boost, in the backside.  The excuse letter for my teacher was priceless: ‘Dear Mr Bennet, I am sorry Alex missed school this morning, he was bitten by a fish’.

Fat perch

A few weekends ago, when it was still Winter, or at least not Spring, let alone the Summer weather we had atthe end of March,  I actually caught some lovely fat perch, from Lydes Farm near Bristol.  The lake is set in the middle of a manicured golf course - a very modern type of water.  I caught the fish on juicy fat lobworms, collected at dawn from the local park, after some overnight rain. This is a very old fashioned way of bait gathering.  The best perch was over 2lb in weight and I lost a much bigger one. I also caught two ‘nuisance’ carp, both long commons, of 12lb and 7lb.  All great fun on 6lb line.

For tackle technicians, I have been using a paternostered feeder. The hook is tied to the end of the reel line after a float stop has been threaded on.  I then tie a link above the float stop, using a Billy Lane stop knot.  The tag nearest the reel is about 30-40cm and the other tag is trimmed down.  That way, the loading from the feeder keeps the stop knot tight and you still have the security of only one knot in the line, at the hook.  Useful when the nuisance fish are large carp.

Our own Bristol Avon Clean up has started

Every time I go fishing I pick up litter and plastic bottles.  It's depressing.  However, inspired by clean up campaigns on other rivers, I have decided to get something going on our own Bristol Avon.  I fish the river fairly regularly at Newbridge, downstream of Bath.  It is good fishing, in a very pretty landscape, with lots of wildlife - otter, boar, deer, water rail, wildfowl and more.  But the banks are marred by litter and the place deserves better.  So today, my girls and I made a start and managed to fill our rubble bags with plastic bottles from just three spots.  We collected over 200 drinks and energy bottles, plus about 30 larger bottles, 2 oil containers (one still with oil, but no lid - nice), 10 or so gas canisters, 5 beer cans and 6 glass bottles.  The girls were brilliant and want to go again, with some more help because I can assure you, 7 bags weigh alot and we dragged them about a kilometre back to the van.  With the exception of the oil containers, we recycled the lot at Tescos.   If you'd like to help, leave a comment or email me through our web site www.afla.co.uk.  Birds will be nesting soon, so a 'deep clean' will be impractical but we hope to do another session this spring.

Old fishing history - Ed loses a pike

Bristol Avon blues

I fished the Bristol Avon for pike on Sunday, probably for the last time this season.  Rain in the morning had put colour in the water and lots of debris was floating downstream. Not ideal pike fishing conditions and so it proved.  I fished in several spots for 3 hours without a nibble. 

That was my longest pike fishing session of the winter and boy do my records reflect it.  I think just one fish over 10lb came to the net, which is very poor.  Next year, I’ll find more time to get to the river.

I did see a lovely rare bird for the first time in over 30- years – a water rail.  This member of the coot family sulks in reed beds and is very shy. The bird has a very distinctive body shape and beak and I was delighted as one crept under the rod tips. However, what I don’t understand is how come I haven’t seen them more often?  After all, I have spent a lot of the last 30 years also sulking around in reed beds.

Oh happy days, a plump fish from January this year.

Catching up on sleep at the Kennet

Richard and I enjoyed decent naps on the river Kennet.  Not together of course and always with a hand on the fishing rod, in case one of the river’s big barbel took our bait.  That didn’t happen. In fact, neither of us had a decent bite or sign of fish despite fishing with maggots and devious attractants.  I even took extra care with a camouflaged net across the swim, in case I turned  in my sleep and startled the fish.

When sleeping, I rest my head on my pack, take the rod out of the back rest and snooze with reel in hand and a finger on the line. I would hate to lose that old reel.  The camo' net is there to catch me if I get dragged in.

So, a very odd blank but not unexpected,  We have fished and failed on this stretch of river before and the fish get alot attention from many anglers.  But we have also succeeded with the barbel last year and hopefully, now the fish know that they have nothing to fear from us, we'll trick them next time. 

As ever, the red kites were a joy to watch, patrolling the fields behind us and I had many small birds twittering in th ewillows beside me - long tailed tits, goldcrest, wrens and so on.  But I wish I could go back in time when there was a big head of small friendly ish barbel on the river, instead of the few hook shy whoppers that live in the river now.

After perch

Yesterday morning I got up very early to fish the river before work.  I slipped out of the house without waking the family and got to Keynsham just as the sun was rising.  My heart sank when I saw that the river was rather brown.  The rubber lures I had with me were unlikely to be effective.  Still you can only try.   Whilst it was yet another fishless trip, I did enjoy the freezing temperature, the frost on the ground, the birds and deer and exploring a new stretch of river.  No points for guessing the venue in the photo.

Meanwhile at home, the girls presumed that I was in the office, working early.  The eldest ran upstairs but couldn’t find me – she thought I must be on the office loo, reading the latest Wye and Usk fisheries guide (an excellent read).  Obviously, you do not disturb dad when he is such a delicate place.  Fifteen minutes later, my wife ran upstairs, thinking that I must have had a heart attack or passed out in action.  On discovering toilet empty, the penny dropped and they guessed where I was.  

All this before 8.30am, when I actually started work.  What a full life we lead.  It would improve with a perch or two in the net, but I guess one can't have everything.

Bristol Avon Pike

I haunted my usual spots on Saturday morning, up before dawn - it is always good to be out. 

The river looked so different from the calm frosty conditions of last week. A very strong wind blew waves upstream and the clear water looked grey under the clouds. It was also milder. If I were gravel pit fishing, I’d have put money on catching a big fish.
But rivers are different and after two hours I had managed just two bites and one small fish banked (not the one in the photo from a few years ago- that ain't small for me). Then nothing despite trying several swims, moving baits, static baits and lures.  I then had a mile long sprint back to the car, fully laden, as a may-day call came in to get home asap. 
So, a really big pike continues to evade me but there is still eight weeks left of river fishing and with hard work I might get lucky.

Perch at Hunstrete

Perch

With perch currently growing to unprecedented sizes and in many waters, now is the time to go for a specimen, before the natural cycle of changes and the whoppers disappear.

My plan for the rest of the winter is to try for one, from either Hunstrete Lakes, Lydes Farm, The Bristol Avon at Claverton, the Kennet and Avon Canal and possibly the Kennet.
My first effort was on 7th January at Withy Pool at Hunstrete, near to the aerator.

I took along a couple of points of red maggots, some worms and light spinners.  The maggots and worms were fished on a feeder paternoster, one rig in the margins and one near an island.  There is something pleasing about a pair of matched rods, bobbins and Optonic bite alarms - I think it goes back to tench fishing in my youth.

All was slow for a while, then the margin rod with a little size 14 sedge hook baited with red maggots screamed off and I hooked the desired whopper.  Except it was a carp. Still on 5lb lin the fight was long and exciting.

Later, I tried spinning, using a classic Ondex spinner.  These spinners are quite light, even in a large size, which is ideal for this fairly shallow water.  The large blade catches water easily and revolves even in still water.  The blade also flashes well, which is good for coloured water.

Soon after starting to spin, I hooked a fish.  Another whopper, but much too big to be a perch (the little 7ft rod was bent double) and I though it might be the Withy Pool Pike (a youth caught a ‘20’ on a boilie), but no, it was a lunatic carp, hooked in the mouth.  Luckily, it fell off.
In the end, I had no perch and no more carp in the morning.  I am going to try again, but with soft baits and jig heads.