Frank has a bad dose of the wind ! and may the Force be with you !

Jeff and I ventured forth in the teeth of another storm . This time it was Frank who was wreaking havoc on the North of the Country , but it certainly felt as though he was having a bit of laugh at our expense too ! At least we had no flooding ( yet ) .We turned right and motored off to a spot Jeff had previously earmarked as a sheltered area against the prevailing wind .

We settled in and after the celebratory seasons tea and mince pies we waited for the Pike to show up .

I was using an Abu  Cardinal 66 on one of the LRH's for the first time . The green and cream livery of these reels is in my view the personification of what a fixed spool reel should look like . I spent ages looking at the reels in the famous ABU catalogues of the 1970's but could never afford them . They are now selling for three times their original prices on the " Bay of Evil " ! I love them !

I soon had a very tentative take on one of my rods ....the Cardinal was in action !

The Pike put up a spirited fight but was soon landed in Jeff's new folding net ( a superb device ! ) and laid ready for unhooking in the " Sladle" . Again a really great piece of kit , that puts fish welfare and safety first . Well done Jeff !

I must also learn to smile in the photo's ! ( I will remember to " Smile for Brian ! " )

We moved a couple of times but the wind and high water levels made life difficult , so an early finish was in order before Jeff went off to greet the " Force " in the new " Star Wars " film . ( A great film which M and I saw last night )

Stuck in a Rut ?

I started this morning admiring the lovely red sky . " Red sky in the morning Sheperds warning ". Well perhaps I should have heeded the warning .

I had planned a trip to a local lake , which has to be accessed via a long lane then via a field track . All went well until I had reached the lake . I decided for some reason to move the car and face it back down the track , just in case of any issues with the mud later in the day . Well I got stuck ! Well and truely stuck ! Luckily a bit of tooing and froing freed me and I made good my escape . What to do ? I decided to leave the lake and go elsewhere in search of a dry place to park !

Another local lake beckoned and off I went .

I have been experimenting with a set up  for using a swing tip . It was a method I really liked as a teenager and seemed pretty successful . I had tried a fibreglass Diawa leger rod exactly like the one from the 1970's when I had used it . But it was to say the least a bit of a floppy pole ! So £25 later I had a new Shakespeare Sigma Specialist 10 foot rod with a scew tip ring . A bargain !

The lake has a small population of Perch , so I tried my luck with a worm approach and as I flicked the bait out i remebered the old adage :" a fool at one end and a worm at the other " .  Was I to be the fool yet again ?

I had forgotten that casting with a swing tip demanded a careful approach to prevent a tangle !

One to the fool !

Pretty soon however the tip was dancing to a tune dictated by a number of small Roach .  I got the hang of waiting for the first tremble of the tip and striking on the " up " . A line bite was also easy to read once you had your eye in . I was enjoying the trip down memory lane hopefully there would be nomore mud to trap me  !

Once again the tip trembled then lifted smartly , a strike met with the rod hooping over and the ABU reel churning : no Roach this one then !

The rod handled the Carp ( it had to be ! ) very well  and was surprisingly powerful for what is a very cheap rod.

The lovely looking Carp I estimated at about 8lb and after a quick photo ( the tape is set at 18") I put her back .

I then checked the rod again and found that the rod was described as rated for lines up to 12lb . No wonder it had some hidden power reserves !

Out went the worm again .

One to the fool and one to the worm !

Surprisingly I did'nt get anymore Roach . In fact no bites at all .

Then the rod was ripped out of the rest and the swing tip went into horizontal mode !

The culprit ...

Another Carp , this time about 5-6lbs .

Worm 2 : fool 1 .

I was lucky to get a present for Xmas that has been on my Amazon list for a while ; a barometer . I will be taking it along with me on my fishing forays and noting the pressure . I will keep you posted .

Route 66 ? Will it live up to expectations ?

I have dug out one of the old Abu's , for a quick winter appearance . The lovely green and cream of an ABU 66 will grace the handle of one of the Hardy LRH's , for the next few trips after Pike .

To Swing or not to Swing ?

If its possible for a fishing method to immediately tranform me back to my " evergreen" youth , then its the swing tip . I really liked the method and it seemed to suit both the slow flowing stretches of the rivers Ouse and Uck that I used to fish at the time . When I moved to lakes , it immediately worked with many Tench and Bream falling to " my " method .
I also managed to regularly catch Pike on my legered worms at " Highlands lake" on the tip , which was great fun and probably sparked my interest in the species .
So in my re visiting of my youth I have dug out the old books from the WW library ...

 This was the classic . Old Fred was "on it "when it came to the tip . Then chapters in various other books developed the method . I must admit my own method was a small feeder with " Expo" groundbait and crumb with maggots , corn and worms on the hook . Seemed to work !

So the re development of the old method required a rod , as none of mine had a threaded tip ring . A search of E bay soon found a bargain and for the grand total of a fiver I got a rod exactly like my old schooldays one ! Once I had hold of it i realised that times have moved on ! I will use  it,  but the fibre glass construction and floppy action , and a lack of enough rings may limit its use . The problem with all the lakes I fish locally can be summed up in one word : Carp ! Now I like catching Carp , but NOT when I want to catch other things , as you either lose tackle to the Carp which I hate to happen , or up the line and rod strength to give a chance of landing safely one of the Golden devils ! Unfortunately the Diawa may not have the guts to do the necessary ..... we will see .

I also supplemented my swing tip collection ...

Also a quick search of the internet revealed a Sigma carbon leger  rod from Shakespeare for the grand total of £26 , so its on order. I know its not cane , but .....

The next stop is some water !

A Day with the Elite

Today was the first trip out for the New/Old Intrepid Elite . I had filled the " match" spool with 100m of my favourite Drennan Floatfish line in 6 lb , but I slightly miss judged the capacity as the spool is obviously slightly larger than I thought , so a back fill will be needed at some point .

The reel works really well but the clutch is shocking ! So backwinding it is or finger control on the rotor .

I set out to try for  Perch and the usual approach of red maggots and chopped worms , with a large " snake" on the size 6 hook was the order of the day .

I missed a sail away bit first chuck ! Doh !

Jeff joined me after a few traffic issues , to again try his hand at the Perch .

Anyway all was quiet until the rod was nearly pulled in and the Elite went into " churn" mode !

The culprit ...

I would put this a " Wild" Carp , it certainly put up a scrap !

Jeff managed a nice Perch late in the day , before the rain set in .

We decided to stay on into the dark and see if anything might develop. But the Perch did not make an appearance .

Fishing with Float and Fly by William Child

A great book !

I read and re read this as a teenager . It was one of about 10 fishing books in the school library . I think I was supposed to be reading " proper" books when I was in there but I usually reverted to one of the fishing books ! Probably explains a lot !

In Desmond's Footsteps

Jeff had been out earlier in the week and had had what can only be described as a " Red Letter Day " . Eleven Pike from this river is an achievement in one days session . Yet when one is a twenty , and two doubles plus some high singles ....wow ! Well done Jeff !

So I only had one day at the weekend , so hoped that the river would be in the same conditions .

The onset of Storm Desmond and his rain and wind lashing the north of the Country would I have thought put paid to the fishing , but the river stayed at its normal levels , despite a howling wind and some very persistant rain .

We motored off to fish the favoured areas and pretty soon we had some action . The above Pike weighed 18lbs and seemed to have been in the wars with a number of cuts and growths . It was a very large fish which if I had been asked to estimate its size , I would have put it in in the mid twenties . Perhaps a fish that is on the decline ?

As Jeff had the fish in the net , I got a run and landed a 9 lb Pike which Jeff recognised as one that he had had in his RLD session .

Jeff then landed a 7 lb Pike .

Gildex and Hardy LRH 's ready for action .

Then it was my turn to get in on the action ! Cane bending into action.

A 16lb fish for me , then a 14lb er . Excellent !

The Elite

I always viewed the Intrepid reels as a " Bit Inferior" to the ABU and Mitchell stables . Shame really as they were very good .I saw pictures from Barrie Rickards and others who used them but didnt get to try one ...till now !

Jeff Smith kindly agreed to turn four rubbish " Elites " into one user .

So here goes with a new / old reel for the winter campaign !

The reel will be loaded up with line and set to use against a few fishy foes .

A Blustery Day !

" Happy Winds -Day !" - a quote form WTP that very aptly fitted today .

I went off to try my luck after a Perch from the club lakes .

I knew the wind would be a problem but...not this bad ! I packed storm poles , and guy ropes for the brolly not expecting to need them .

Oh dear !

My brolly was as standard with the central pole ,  but with the following additions :
1) Pegged
2) Guy roped
3) Two storm poles

Yet it still moved a bit in the wind ! Actually for "bit "read , " alot " .

As to the fishing ....not a sniff !

I tried the lobworm and maggot attack which had previously worked .

I use a red floating plastic maggot as a retaining point for the worm on the barbless hook .

The smorgas board of delight :

Spot the difference ?

My prize at the end of the day !

Say " Cheese" ..... a new bait ?

I took Irvin fishing for his first trip in about 15 years  .

He quickly got back into the groove and started catching fish .

 But interestingly he sneaked a few bits of cheese from his sandwiches and caught a few Bream and a small Carp . This got me to thinking , that other than the occassional bit of cheese paste , I rarely use the stuff . However its , yellow , smells and is oily , what could be better from a bait perspective ?

I used spam on that day and caught a Perch and a few small Carp .

 Still nice to be out and about !

 Lilies . Always a draw for me ,I have to fish next to them !

So the next trip with Irvin had us loaded down with cheese ! I changed the location to a small farmers pond , which has a good stock of Common Carp . I am sure they are proper " Wildies " they fight like mad and are all long and thin but have massive tails for their size . Oh and they like cheese !

 Irvin also manged to catch some " Cheesy " pants !

 A Cheese fest !

 And some more !

" The Way I Fish " - Dennis Pye

As I had the rod , I thought that I should read about DP and his exploits on the Broads.

I have never read this book before , but I have heard many things about DP and his potential exagerations of fish catches and the sizes of the fish he caught .

241 Pike over 20 lbs between 1952 and 1963 is certainly a fantastic catch rate ! Maybe he did exagerate some of his catches ,  but this man could catch Pike and in his day on the areas he knew was probably right up there with the best of his generation .

However taking things on the value of the advice in the book , DP was a one method angler when after Pike . He livebaited with large baits drifted into the areas of the Broads he had highlighted from previous recces and observation. Having fished the Broads it is a fanatstic environment and its shallow weedy waters with reed fringes is a perfect Pike habitat .

There are some intersting chapters on other species and being quiet and careful with observation and watercraft being the main points he raises rather than tackle or bait , I think he was really on top of his game.

A great read !

The Chapman 700 - Dennis Pye

E Bay ...a thing of good or evil ?
Well I put a bid on a Dennis Pye 700 rod , not expecting to win it . I won it ! At a very reasonable price too !
A quick bit of research on the TFF and a recommendation was made for a refurb of the rod via Steve Boncey and the rod has now been sent off . Hopefully it will make an acquantance with a Pike before the end of the season !

Seventh Time Lucky ....plus a surprise

My recent trips out after Pike have a common theme ; they were all blanks ! So 6 trips , with the new /old gear all fired up and poised but no luck , not even a sniff !
Well the seventh trip dawned and Jeff and I ventured into a cold dawn on the good ship " Finatic " .

The red sky in the morning adage ( Shepherds Warning ! ) did not bode well , but you have to be in it to win it !
The Hardy LRH No 2 , and the Gildex reels are performing well and just need some fishy adversary to test their mettle fully .
In the first spot , my float paternostered deadbait soon trundled off and the resulting strike produced a real Arun beauty .

She weighed 16 LBs and put a real bend in the LRH !
I quickly dropped the bait back in and a real snorter of a take took the float off into the middle of the river before it submerged . I struck and expected a small Pike to be the culprit but I was in for a surprise .

A Bass ! This is the third Bass I have had from the tidal river in the last 15 years of fishing . Amazing to get a sea fish this far up river , some 15 miles from the sea !

The next day dawned with a frost and we again headed off up river with the tide . We motored along way up river and fished a favourite area .

After a couple of moves I had a very tentative take , which I assumed was one of the local Eels which seem to take a great interest in deadbaits at this time of the year . ( Who says Eels are scarse ? They should look along the river they are packed in here ! ) A strike resulted in a very quick change of mind as to the culprit as the fish decided it didnt want to come and join us ! The rod and reel combo handled the situiation well but I must admit the left hand control of the Gildex is not my preferred option . The result was an 18lb fish in lovely condition . As we landed her , Jeff had a screaming run from a high single figure Pike as well . A feeding spell at last !

Jeff followed up with another Jack in quick time to bring the short lived feeding spell to an end .

Seven , my new lucky number !

Piking with a Gildex

The Gildex was a bit of a mystery reel for me . I had heard of it but never seen one . So some enquiries with the TFF resulted in the location of a couple , and following a full service by Jeff they work really well and despite some surface marks they work really well .

The idea was to match the reels to a pair of Hardy LRH's and then use them from " Finatic" on the Arun .

The reels direct drive seems to be no great issue and I am looking forward to fighting a large Pike !

Keep your fingers away from the reel on the cast though !

A couple of deadbaits , one on a paternoster and the other on the deck are the tactics of choice !

Interestingly the check on the Gildex is a great bite indicator if you are not watching the floats , as a few Eels pointed out to me on the Arun yesterday !

The water was a bit dirty following the recent rain , which might have put the Pike off , but no runs from Old Esox !

But some nice views and anyway its great to be out there !