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Sunday 6 February 2011

Much a do about nothing!!!


Having started a new job recently the fishing has had to take a bit of a break (such is life).

I have consoled myself by cleaning all my carp gear down and re lining my reels. Also tying endless rigs in preperation for a return to ryton again this year.


Something that in my 28 years of angling that has always been pushed to the back of my mind is pike fishing.I have the up most respect for the pike and its prehistoric ever prescence in our water ways .However I have always believed that pike fishing is somthing that must be done with a whole hearted approach and as with all fishing the safety and welfare of the fish must be paramount.


This year I have gathered together all the necessary gear and pike safety equipment (pliers ,mat barbless trebles)etc.My intention is to try to catch a pike by design and get to grips with the basic aspects of this discipline of the sport.

I went on my first pike outing last weekend and boy did I struggle.......!!!!!


The conditions were good the weather was cold but bright and the river was in fine fettle ....I however was a paranoid pike literature obsessed twitch pot.

I have decided to keep my pike fishing down to the safest tackle and basic flost rigs .Eventually the rest will follow and no doubt could lead to more bites but first things first.I set up two soft action carp rods and baitrunners with 30lb fox braid .The rigs were identical long cigar floats to minimalise drag by the flow of the river and 18gram bulk leads .The traces were 15inch 20lb semi barbless size 8's.


As mentioned before I really like to read up on different aspects of the sport and like to go in to things prepared and equipped when targetting different species.I set the floats to what I think was overdepth and set about attatching some rather large (in my opinion ) dead roach which I had purchased from Baileys of warwick.In to the roach was inserted a medium fox balsa stick to pop the bait up.The edges of the river were deep and dark and I struggled to see how the bait was acting before I cast it.

I tossed both rods out and let the bait settle down strem of me,keeping the rods high and line direct to the float.


To cut a long story short after around 4 hours I was packed up and on the way home as I could not settle and didnt feel I was fishing right and presenting my bait in the right way.

My next pike outing will be on a stillwater where I can take time looking at popping up baits and fine tuning my very basic skills .
TODAY !
This morning I decided to give the river a bash .My plan was to go to Bretford in search of monster chub but on arriving at the stretch I wasnt sure what bank you could fish and so decided to head for somewhere sheltered for comfort more than anything.
I set up at the top end of saxon mill and set about fishing a piece of flake on the hook and a cage feeder of liquidised bread to accompany it My 2oz tip was being blown backwards with a really strong up stream wind and bite detection baecame hard .I did however get a pull round and a chub of around 4oz was swung to hand .Several more bites followed and so my spirits were high ,however the wind was becoming a real pain.
After a couple of casts I decided to head down in to the coppice and fish swim that is made from an old wall and is very sheltered .Slightly down stream is a protruding tree that gives somthing to fish to .
Almost immediatley my tip rustled ,twitched and then pulled slowly round .I struck thinking it was a dead cert but the fish was not hooked.This then happened another 5 or so times so I decided to shorten my hooklength and tie on a smaller hook .Out went the feeder and round went the tip with such vigor that surely this time the fish would be hooked but again nothing .
Eventually I did connect with a fish and was not suprised to see the blue shade of a 6oz roach in the clear river.The fish was returned and I recast again only for the same frustrating proccess to happen again and again and again.The bites were every single cast the tip would curve round perfectly and the strike would be met with nothing .I used a whole loaf worth of liquidised bread over the next hour or so and only managed another smaller roach.
I am meant to have the day off tomorrow and have vowed to return with my float rod and 2 loaves of liquidised bread and put these fickle roach to the sword.
Never have i enjoyed so much not catching any fish!!!

2 comments:

  1. Nice write up Bazal.

    Did you get my float back from the tree?

    Cheers, Keith .J

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  2. Bazal,

    In terms of Bretford, the field on the left as you go over the river heading from Cov to Rugby, isn't fishable to my knowledge. My club gave it up last October and I believe it's private land used for horses.

    I don't know about the fields on the downstream side of the bridge, but the one on the Cov side has a public footpath, so it might be viable if there are no signs up.

    Good luck with the Roach tomorrow.

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