Where there's roach there's pike - usually - so I pinched a couple of hours this evening for another bash at the Isle with a different approach. I swapped the 13ft float rod for a 9ft spinning outfit and a bag of roach from the freezer.
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Nothing showed in the run I fished yesterday, which came as a surprise, but the pike were home in more or less all the other likely spots that I tried. I like to use smallish baits, generally, when I'm wobbling, as all I'm bothered about is some action on this method, and any pike is welcome. That said, I usually go for bigger baits in flowing water than I would on canals, purely for visual purposes.
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Nothing showed in the run I fished yesterday, which came as a surprise, but the pike were home in more or less all the other likely spots that I tried. I like to use smallish baits, generally, when I'm wobbling, as all I'm bothered about is some action on this method, and any pike is welcome. That said, I usually go for bigger baits in flowing water than I would on canals, purely for visual purposes.
The pike today hit the bait harder than any I've experienced before, on the first two occasions hooking themselves. Fishing for pike in this way has really taught me the value of a carefully set clutch. Having grown up match fishing, I would almost exclusively use the backwind, but with stiffer rods, braid, and the pike's incredible acceleration, you can really only negotiate the fight from a pike, smoothly, using the drag.
Six pike was the reward for this impromptu bit of fishing, with five of around 3lb+ and the best a fish of over five pounds. Such fun, with the only downside being the demise of another pair of trousers as I attempted to clamber up the difficult banks of this river. A nice, big, irreparable rip (try saying that after two sherries), in the backside, was the end result.
Carried on fishing though.
Six pike was the reward for this impromptu bit of fishing, with five of around 3lb+ and the best a fish of over five pounds. Such fun, with the only downside being the demise of another pair of trousers as I attempted to clamber up the difficult banks of this river. A nice, big, irreparable rip (try saying that after two sherries), in the backside, was the end result.
Carried on fishing though.
