If Carlsberg Did Pike Trips....

 Between my brother "Richard" and I there has always been a slight angling rivalry around Pike, he rarely fishes and catches some pretty awesome specimen's, although he hasn't been out of late as he is expecting his first "pitter patter of feet". I don't have any tykes yet but the day will come I'm certain in the not to distant future, until that day comes I will endeavour to find some time on the bank as I always do, recently I had a long wander on a river system in search of Pike, or Pike looking swims, these I did find and some specimen fish, staring at me as if I was their next meal, I could assure them though I was more threatening as my 9ft Chub Outkast rod and 20lb line would tell 'em.

 That was over a week ago now, how on earth I didn't get back down sooner beggar's belief. Well the time came to revisit and I had a plan that I wanted to execute and cut a short story, short, the plan was full-proof with maximum devastation, armed with 45lb armor trace and a single size six treble (semi-barbed) I set off with those tight cut-outs in mind where the "Big Girls" were spotted, making my way there I thought that the trip could be futile as in that time they could have moved for miles, so my plan was littered with holes and all depended on whether they were lazy or simply found their holding area, so many variable's but within ten minutes all those elements of doubt were banished as the float stopped and then a flash of a Pike's mouth followed by a very powerful run.

 Mad how we question our logic but seems to work out for the better more often than not, I could feel a decent weight on the end but it was far too erratic to be a large one, then out of the depth came a beautifully marked Esox of maybe ten-pound or so. As the Pike slipped into the net the treble flew out and just missed my head which was lucky for two reason's, I got a beating on the bank too as this double figure Esox didn't want to keep still.

10.09, a good start but I want the Grandmother.....

 This season has been absolutely brilliant, but it has been missing something big on the Pike front so I thought I'd put that right with this enormous Esox Lucius. The take was something else, the fight was simply mind-blowing and the netting situation was very difficult but upon the third attempt I got to taste my first success at a twenty pound plus specimen, the sheer size of her in my arms was un-nerving, everything about it was stunning, spell-binding, in my opinion it's just what being a Piscator is all about, a special moment and this was the coming together of nearly a decade's work, New Year's Eve will be celebrated well. Here she is in all her glory.

At 21.07 she represents a new Personal Best.

What a stunning specimen, I feel honoured to have caught her.

37 inches of sheer river monster.