River Monsters: Twenty No:3.

 For a few sessions on the boat and bank I have had some good luck and hit some fantastic specimens, however there has been something missing, as to what, I'm not entirely sure. Maybe the battle with a monster Pike being that missing piece of my seasons jigsaw?.

 Having spent most of the Christmas period either working or spending it with the family my fishing time has been greatly reduced, however I had managed to get some fresh air on a couple of occasions, one of those occasions was this trip, in search of Pike. A river I am starting to understand just a little more and a river I am very keen to extract the secrets it holds. I have been lucky enough over the last three seasons to catch two twenty pound plus specimens and I feel thats not all and don't feel the job is quite done hence my continued attentions.

 Stealth is part of the game, usually. Not on this session. I arrived to find the river slightly up, only by a couple of inches but running fairly murky and I struggled to make out the bottom even in the margins which is unusual but a new hurdle to tackle. Confidence levels took a hit as I hadn't had to fish in these conditions, nevertheless I was there and looked to make a go of it. I got my self set up, 20lb mono, 25lb Drennan pike wire and a 20g slider float is my usual, I only change the float for something bigger if I'm trotting bigger baits or laying on at distance. As I'm only fishing 20-50 yards its not an issue and the low resistance free running float gives me all the indication I need.

 After five minutes of preparation I got my first trot in and surprise surprise the float remained static in an eddy further downstream without incident. As I slowly retrieved the bait I felt a little pull on the bait, I thought about striking, instead I let it go and allowed the bait to go back on the trot, within seconds the float bobbed and shot under! Confidence was boosted no end in an instant, funny how fishing works! The fight wasn't strong and with my stepped up gear I got the better of a nice clean looking Pike in quick time.

 Happy with that one! Not quite a double but a lovely fish all the same. I couldn't wait to get the bait back out. After releasing that fish downstream some way I decided to give the run another trot to see if anything else was home and on the prowl. I think I was hoping the commotion that one above caused would have bought something else into feeding. Another trot down the same crease yielded no rewards this time, so I decided to go right tight to the far bank, which was quite a cast but the response was almost instant, possibly five seconds between the bait hitting the water and the float vanishing, I swear the float didn't even get to right properly. Just how I like it. 

 Within a few seconds the Pike breached the surface and cleared it by a good half a foot at least before crashing back down with a large splash, acrobatic Pike is something I don't often see and with that show of athleticism I could tell it was bigger than the first, the fight a little more purposeful and stronger too, as the last Pike found out my gear was too much to challenge and soon after she was in the net. Thinking it was an easy double she went on the scales and to my surprise she only just made the mark.

Long, lean and pretty empty.

 In the murky water I was having a bit of success! Effectively three trots and two Pike is the sort of return we can only dream of. I was happy with that and it could of ended there in regards to what I'd caught numbers wise, however I always harbour dreams of finding a big fish as I know its possible, it only takes one bite. 

 Having had joy in that particular area I fancied a move, not far up, maybe 40/50m upstream from the beginning action, it didn't look like much but a bush half way down looked a place for an ambush. I got a bait on and trotted it the length of the run without a touch. Not surprised by that result I deepened up on the float so fish worked slightly deeper, the desired effect was almost instant. Just as the float came level with said bush it slipped under and a powerful but slow charge began which set the tone for the fight, being out of eye shot and murky water I couldn't the fish. I wasn't sure about the size, it didn't feel big, probably no heavier than the last two. 

 With that in mind I was in no rush to get her in and I spent the next 3-4 minutes tackling the tricky lunges into near bank overhanging vegetation. As I gained on her and its frame came into view just under the surface nearly at my feet a large frame was soon apparent, I went from rather cocky to a nervous wreck. The thought of a twenty pounder on the other end was just awesome, by the time she got under my feet the fight was all but done, a half hearted charge was easily thwarted and my net bulged with my best of the season.

 Boom!!!!! Just what I dreamt of and I got one! A real good looking Esox weighing 20lb 8oz and my third river twenty. My confidence may have been lacking upon arrival, an hour later and I couldn't have been more upbeat! What a creature and very well fed too, long, muscular and mouth full of big teeth. After getting a couple of self takes I awaited her to start kicking which didn't take long before dropping the front of the net down and watch her waddle out slowly back into the murk. Special.

 Understandably, I found it tough to regain focus. Knowing that it would be possible to catch another just as big or larger pushed me to crack after I had a little punch of the air in celebration. 

 The next two hours drifted past with no such luck, the float didn't even quiver as I sent it trotting down stream on numerous occasions. It wasn't until the sun began to lose its strength and dusk begin to settle in did I get another chance, with the sun full on my face for the remaining minutes I noticed a Pike close in where I had a little visibility. I could see she was a mid-double and a fish I wanted to catch, as she wafted up in the current effortlessly I trotted a bait down to her and in a split second a set of flaring gills created a flash as pandemonium set in. Pike number four was on. This one decided that she wasn't going to make life easy and on numerous powerful runs to far bank sunken trees she really put my clutch to the test, a couple of times I had to slacken off as I thought she might break me off under the strain, thankfully though that didn't happen and a bit of careful battling another mint river double graced my net. What a day it had been! 

A mint 14lb 6oz specimen to round off proceedings! 

Fish Of A Lifetime, The Book.

 About 2 years ago I was very kindly offered to contribute to a book called "fish of a lifetime", I obviously jumped at the chance and for the next few months I added little by little until my final piece was handed to the editors to weedle out any mistakes, grammatical errors and so on.

 After a while the trail went cold and I thought that the book wasn't going to go to print and although I was honoured to have been given the opportunity I was always thinking about. Then out of the blue, the main man Adam Perna emailed me and attached a draft copy of my piece, all eight pages of it. I was/am still, chuffed.

 So even when it seemed like it wasn't going to happen it did! here is a shot of the cover and the 1st contents page, with yours truly contributing in Chapter Six. To have a piece side by side with some of the most awe inspiring catches of my generation and those before is quite brilliant.

The overall quality is very good.

 Chapters include the detailed catches Keith Berry enjoyed as he went on to achieve the British rod caught record among a string of simply breathtaking specimens, some of which I may never ever witness. Also catches of some very special Carp, Pike, Chub including Rob Youngs incredible insight to the Dorset Stour record brace, Neil Maidments blast at Dever Springs for monster Rainbows and Steve Frosts awesome river Perch. For anyone who wants who would like to purchase a copy of the book, please contact Adam using the details below, cost will also be given upon contact.

12 Rosehill Cresent, Twyford, Buckinghamshire, Bucks, MK184EF

07510150795

or email: adamperna2@hotmail.co.uk

For me, it was a pleasure. I hope you purchase it, you enjoy it.

James.

Esox On The Brain.

 For many seasons now the thought of Pike fishing had excited me to the point that I'd hatch so many plans in order to catch them, so much so that they would be neglected almost entirely every time late-autumn would settle in. I guess as a species they didn't excite me enough. Looking back now it seems absurd, what can I say, other than I really feel that I am making up for lost time. This season has already been my most successful in relation to the amount of trips embarked on.

 For me, rivers are naturally my favourite watercourses to tackle and I am yet to have caught a stillwater pike this season, I suppose one has to fish a stillwater to catch one. I will look to put that right soon enough, however, the river pike fishing I have access to is too good to ignore, the rawness of the stretches that I fish and the ever changing scenarios met on the bank or boat is what keeps me coming back time and time again. Since fishing for Pike a little more frequently I have discovered just how exciting it is, even when you aren't catching. Whilst on the look out for fish in clear waterways like the Wessex trio and rivers a little closer to home it can be an education in itself.

 There is one place that I have Pike fished over the last 3 years that I can't get enough of, access is difficult and the fish are certainly not easy, however once you catch one you are well and truly hooked by the stunning appearances. Armed with some bait and my basic gear I hit the river. With the water being fairly murky on my arrival I hoped that I wouldn't struggle to locate fish and having arrived around 1330 I had just a couple of hours to locate a fish and be successful in catching her.

 That proved to be more difficult than I envisaged as I couldn't find a Pike over 6lb and surely wanted something a little larger to reward me for the effort made to get there. Two hours came and went before I found a nice Pike, mid double from what I could see, tucked up under a far side bush on a narrow part of the river. My task was to get a bait close and the benefit of using small chublet is they love cover and the little tyke made its way straight towards the cover where the Pike lye. I thought it was a foregone conclusion, how wrong was I!

 As my bait got within two-foot of the stationary Pike it spooked and bolted from under the bush and into mid river right in front of me, now by this point the sun was already losing its strength and dusk was not far away, I knew I didn't have long. So I wound my bait in and plopped it upstream of the pikes new holding station and let the bait drift down, again as it got roughly two-foot in front I could see the Pike shudder and in a flash of the flaring gills my bait was gone and the float bombed under, by that point I had already struck and I was battling a decent fish. A couple of powerful runs had line peeling from the spool in spectacular fashion and almost didn't want the fight to end but knew I had to get her in. Thankfully the hook hold was pretty good, right in the scissors and typically when Pike are hooked there they rarely come off, however they butcher the trace so its always a replacement job. However, with a Pike now in the net and on the mat its a small price to pay for such excitement.

 Seeing her in the water I thought she was a little larger, nevertheless I was very happy to cap an afternoons fishing with a 14lb 9oz Esox, in less than ideal conditions! What with the constant soaking and the cloudy river it did make for a tough day, it all ended well!

Zander Hunt: Waking The Sleeping Dogs.

 Driving home after packing the boat down after another successful trip afloat I couldn't help but think that what had just happened was a messy blur and that my brother for all his moaning came away with a huge fish like that. Never mind, I was very happy for him. That however lit a fire under me and I was in the mood to get straight back out....work however had other ideas, a full schedule of clients I saw no gap where I could get out, the issue is taking the boat out needs time and that wasn't looking likely. As always though I am happy to graft and as each client was satisfied and I'd earned my crust, by midday I was finishing up with my last!

 There was no loitering around, I shot straight home and got the little bits of gear I'd packed away the night before and hot footed it out the door and back on the road, with no time to waste I picked Brian up on the way and with empty roads at my mercy the Zander hunt was back on. It had been just 23 hours since I set my new personal best twice. Typically I would be happy for months afterwards, the simple fact Richard had caught that beast the previous night my competitive side crept through and my focus was attempting to trump him. I was on the hunt. It had been a while since I felt so invigorated to catch fish, I guess that's why I fished quite well as a kid as we used to push each other to succeed in many aspects of childhood.

 Conditions were identical as the previous day and a big tide was expected again, just the recipe I hoped for. Why I was hoping for this I'm not entirely sure but I feel that some of the logic behind it that has bounded around my head may well ring true to a certain extent. The bigger tides obviously seem to move bait fish from their normal haunts and into the more unknown territories where predators lye in wait for an easy meal. Now, having been fairly successful earlier in the previous day I hoped for something similar. So having got close to the mark where I had my two (7.13 & 9.01) a bait was popped down and as we both got comfortable my float bobbed and sailed away, before I could hit it the float came back up and on close inspection a couple of puncture holes were present. A Zander for sure!

 I knew we were in the right place, we had to keep going and not long after I had another dropped take...was I going to rue those dropped runs? It certainly seemed so as after ten minutes and three dropped fish the activity stopped just like the day before and our floats lay lifeless..then, out of nothing, Brian's float danced on the surface momentarily before plunging under the surface, when he put a firm strike in his rod it bent double and we knew a big fish was on the other end, within twenty seconds she came up to the surface and rolled, showing off her massive silvery flanks, as she did that a massive boil came up on the surface and she was gone, I looked to Brian and the look on his face  said it all, it was a big fish! I saw most of it and I knew it was a double.....

 Luck plays a massive part in angling and it was certainly missing there. That was it for well over an hour before anything else happened, a half hearted tug on my float was all that broke up the endless wandering of the float in the flow. We constantly changed the depths that our baits were working at and hoped it would change our fortunes and induce a run or two. Alas, there was no such luck and I was beginning to see the writing on the wall. With such perfect conditions I honestly thought we would have done better.

 Dusk rapidly came and went with only one little bob of the float and Brian had a couple of enquiries before he packed his rod away, the light levels were gone and I could only make out a tiny silhouette of my float, twenty minutes after dark had settled in I could just make out the float vanish from sight and a powerful jolt shot through the rod, whatever it was I struck into it and held on for dear life. Within seconds a powerful surging run sent me into a nervous wreck, I had no idea what I'd hooked and in the dark it was daunting. No torch on board didn't help but that didn't stop Brian from getting ready with the net. About thirty feet from the boat a massive boil opened out on the surface, like something from a horror film! I was trembling with a combination of excitement and fear.

 Seeing the fish roll on the top I was certain it was a Zander, the surging runs Pike make didn't materialise, it could only mean one species. Knowing that, I prayed the treble stayed in place and that I would get the chance to see what I was playing. Three minutes roughly of being in contact with this fish it was finally on its way to the boat, Brian did his best to miss the fish with the net but somehow we coaxed her in! The treble came out in the net!!! How lucky was that?!

 Owing to it being so dark and peering into the net as she along us I couldn't get a decent gauge on it, so whilst I soaked up the glory of a last gasp catch myself and Brian wondered whether it was worth continuing and thought it would but having only just see my float go under it was going to be difficult to continue so with that we folded down the rods and went ashore. Only then, we got a good look at the Zander did it dawn on me I had cracked the double figure barrier and boy, what a specimen it was too! When she came into the net I thought it was roughly the same size as my best from the day before, that thought was banished once I had seen all of her on the mat. The rest was a blur as I knelt posing with one of the most impressive creatures I've had the pleasure of catching!

A new personal best of 11.9.

 To celebrate we went to the pub and rose a couple to the river and its gift.

Zander Hunt: Leviathan Zed.

 Now, I do class my self as bit of an all-rounder, with that said there are a couple of species that I haven't given much time up for, Zander certainly fall within that category as I know exactly how many times I've targeted the species. On a river I have embarked on two trips catching one little fish around 2lb, on canals I have made five trips whilst banking again, just the one. Lake Zander is where I have had the lion share of success, over 6 trips I managed approximately 25 fish to 7lbs exactly. My reasons for not continuing with the lake Zander fishing was for two reasons, its an expensive hobby when you are paying £18 for a one-rod predator ticket for 4-5 hours fishing and also the fact a double was a pipe dream amongst the hungry schooleys.

 Fast forward roughly 3 years since I last made a fist of it and I found myself questioning why don't I target the Thames Zander once again, this time in a boat I'd have a lot more water to search and the chance of a fish or two would be greatly improved. To the drawing board it was then. Having not taken on the challenge properly of catching a Zander by design since my visits to the Surrey Hills I had some work to do.

 Knowing that they hunt the very same fish that the Pike do I toyed with the idea of scaling down, but in the end I resisted the temptation and actually upscaled my treble to a 2/0 as in previous experience I found that you never hooked Zander but more like gripped them, so with a bigger gape single treble I relied on the initial strike to hold firm. So with the heavy detail out of the way I got the boat together and invited my brother Richard to come and join me for a foray on the Thames. I love being afloat, just a great feeling being on the water and giving ourselves every opportunity at success.

 Having set the boat up we got into the first area where I knew a decent drop-off existed and dropped a bait down which trotted around perfectly for ten minutes or so before to my surprise the 20g float bobbed and slipped under, after winding down and making contact the tension went and whatever had picked up my bait was gone. This did fill me with lots of promise and didn't hesitate in getting my bait straight back down. Probably fifteen minutes passed with nothing doing so a quick cast to the other side of boat resulted almost immediately in the float bombing out of sight.

 I waited roughly four or five seconds before hitting this one and straight away it felt like a better connection as a decent fish came up to the surface and rolled, thus showing her entire flank I knew I was connected to a Zander that was likely to be a new PB, with Zeds you can't dream until the net slips under the fish as they have an incredible knack at spitting the treble as they seem ready for the net. Thankfully for me the fight lasted only a couple of minutes and as soon as the fish lay in the net I knew I had struck it lucky.

 So having stopped shaking momentarily I weighed and got my brother to photograph my prize as I gleefully stared at the Zed. That didn't take long!

7lb 13oz! A new PB :)

 Not even half an hour afloat and a new personal best was in the bag! Well, that PB was always going to be threatened knowing what is living in the waters I am fishing, after releasing that fish and punching the air I got myself another bait and inched it out roughly where the last bite came from and before I could check the drag was set properly the float vanished from sight. I was in again and within seconds the fish rolled on the surface just like the first one did, at first glance I couldn't work out if she was larger or of similar size so I played the Zander carefully and after a couple of powerful runs she succumbed to me and inched over the rim of the net, as soon as she did and I released the tension the treble pinged into the air narrowly missing my face!

 My first real search for river Zander was beginning to pay big dividends, this was one even bigger. As I lifted her out the net and into the boat I got a true gauge on the fish and thought I may have my first double figure specimen for the species and another PB to boot. Knowing that Zander do have large frames and often not weighing what their sizes would have you believe she still achieved the dizzy height of 9lb 1oz! I was in dreamland!

The last PB lasted roughly 10 mins...9lb 1oz!

 I left home in the morning dreaming, by 1330 I was wide awake and experiencing that dream!

 By this point I was fishing immersed in euphoria, my float had barely stayed still for 15 minutes and the action didn't stop there as I had a further three takes in a manic half an hour which unfortunately all came off as I suspect the grip of the treble wasn't quite right and the Zander were able to slip away unmolested. Then as if a light had been switched off the feeding spell appeared to have stopped and we set off again in search of more activity. We certainly got that beginning hour of the trip spot on the money, right place, right time, strangely enough Richard didn't have a single bite....

 So as we both scooted around looking for more action we came across a grey seal in search of possibly the same prey but it, just like us wasn't particularly successful with finding the fish again. For around 2 hours we perused the weir pool and surrounding river to no avail, I tried moving the float up and down to hopefully come across feeding fish again. Dusk was rapidly setting in and I thought that if we were to catch another it would be the fifteen minutes either side of sunset and true to assumption Richards float went under which quickly came back up before he could strike, then mine went a minute later which I hooked into and I was locked into battle with what felt like a big fish and in the failing light I could see a large frame top in front of the boat and in an instant the float came hurtling across the surface and with a huge boil my fish was gone...

 I was gutted but I had no time to dwell on that as Richards float quickly vanished and he quickly took up the slack, as he put the pressure on the fish the rod hooped over and fooled us into believing he was actually playing a Pike and the initial lunge certainly suggested that but what surfaced perplexed us both! A mega Zander was thrashing around just 20 foot from the boat and I was shaking just watching Rich play the fish, this was without a doubt the biggest Zed I had ever seen! As dark began to settle in my brother smashed his personal best with this incredible specimen. The final seconds of the fight were a blur as we both remained absolutely calm (shitting it) before I shipped the edge of the net past the incoming animal. She was colossal and weighing in at 13lb 3oz it was just simply an incredible fish. Just to think he was complaining not an hour before that he hadn't had any takes and it was "doing his head in". Sometimes when your lucks in, it is IN!

Holy Sh*t! 

 I was possibly as happy as he was with that! But, that catch left me with a dilemma...that being he had caught a double figure Zed before me and out of my boat! I couldn't let sleeping dogs lye.

 Part Two coming......

Tidal Pike, The Elusive Twenty.

 Since I started to venture out on the Thames in the boat ( SS Essess ) I have dreamt of getting big fish in it and having been unlucky on a few occasions my luck was finally in, but it was hard work. My arrival at the slipway that I frequently use greeted me with brown water which was thundering through, so much so that a glance further up river revealed very little of navigable water, my boat partner for the day was my Dutch friend Yannick and having talked up our chances of a good afternoon afloat we couldn't really turn back.

Some serious flood water coming through.

 So I decided to get the boat rigged up and off we went, the challenge was to find the slacks amongst the turbulent waters of the Thames in flood, with the slight drop in air temp the steam rose of the river tantalisingly, the sort of conditions I really enjoy fishing. Problem was our roving baits would need to be bang on the money if we were to catch and that proved to be the hardest conundrum.

 As we motored upstream against the powerful creases and riding the main flows from the weir we finally after careful planning made the main feeding area, far away from the average angler. Having fished this particular weir a bit now, maybe 12 times I have begun to work out timings that the fish hunt and where is more productive. Believe me it matters too as we spent two hours or so biteless, we fished well, we simply hadn't found the fish.

 Then out of nowhere my 20g float bobbed and slipped under where I was then met with a decent amount of resistance, however not enough to get excited about as most of the Pike in the boat fight well. For over 3-4 minutes the fish remained unsighted until a large swirl appeared just under the surface where I made out a silhouette of an upper double + Esox, just what I was hoping for!

 Not long after she appeared on the surface the net was shipped out and the first fish of the day was safe in the folds of my net. Knowing how the fish feed here I didn't hesitate to get a bait back out and within a minute my decision was vindicated as the float slipped away again, this time the culprit was a lot smaller. At around 7lb it wasn't a tiny fish and welcome. As I attempted to prepare the camera Yannicks float went under and another spirited battle ensued around the boat, again it wasn't big but that hot spell was certainly upon us and juggling two Pike in the net already and Yannicks 5lb+ fish which we chinned out was pushing it a little.

 What made this even more interesting was my float vanished again! This time it certainly felt like a big fish and with a couple of minutes on the clock I began to feel that the big one already in my net was about to eclipsed when inexplicably the treble must have slipped and the unseen monster vanished. I was understandably gutted but I thought that we had better get a weight and photo of the bigger one in my net, with the others released we concentrated on matters in the boat.

As it approached the boat I thought it was a twenty plusser.

 Once we had a grip on what was going on in the boat we got this mint 17lb 13oz Pike on the mat and ready for a couple of pictures, good length but the weight was certainly in its girth and stomach, she was certainly a young female with very good genes and I'm certain will hit the high twenties come a couple years down the line if she avoids the poachers, seals, pollution e.t.c.

 And as they say "that, was that". Fifteen minutes of action was met with a biteless finale to match the lead up to the flurry at around 1345-1400, I don't think many anglers realise how good Pike are at hunting.

 A new Thames personal best to boot!

The Dutch Maestro.

 For a few days back in October a friend of mine, Yannick, made the journey over from the Netherlands to taste a little of what England has to offer in regards to angling. Funnily enough, Holland has pretty much every species that we do, however, certain species such as the Barbel and Grayling are not as widespread as they are here in the UK and makes targeting them back home a real challenge, so the plan was to target a different species every day that Yannick was here.

 As time drew closer to his arrival I was watching the weather and river levels intently, this single aspect would make or break certain waterways and their targets, Barbel love a bit of coloured water, on the flip side the Grayling aren't so keen, finding feeding Grayling in the coloured water often proves fruitless unless you as the angler is comfortable with a maggot feeder approach and await the enquiries, I am not so comfortable with it. Not a purists approach in my honest opinion.

 Thankfully as Yannick arrived at Luton for me to meet him we had our first named storm of the season (put sarcastically) where everywhere got a good drenching and the strong winds forced most of the trees to shed their leaves.........oh joy :), The plan was to find a couple of areas to drop some bait in and come back to them around dusk to see if any fish were home, the time leading up to that we went on a mobile approach. When covering such large distances between feeding pods of fish its the only way, my preferred method for certain.

 After an hour or so of trying my Mark IV Avon was bent over backwards as a furious Barbel opted to head for cover rather than play nicely. The combination between my match aerial and 6lb line made for a great fight, not the biggest I've ever caught but a good reward as nothing up to that point was showing and the anonymity puzzling as I can often find fish, even with difficult conditions. Maybe 5lb 8oz I had a quick snap and off she went, this trip wasn't about me so continued on in search of more to give Yannick the chance to experience the fight a Barbel can give.

 For around four hours we continued to search but our efforts weren't rewarded like we thought they would be, with dusk looming we both got prepared for a couple of hours of static fishing. Knowing that dusk is often the best time to get an opportunity if its going to come we prepared everything and got a bit more bait out so that the baits were in the water for "prime time".

 Not twenty minutes later, the outside quiver tip sprung into life and slammed around, like a snake poised, Yannick was on it and his chance of a Barbel had materialised! The only question was would it come to net and surrender?

Never in doubt !

 A happy man indeed and weighing in at 8lb 1oz, not bad for his first.

 Not long after that Barbel went back the heavens decided to open, we kept our minds focused for another hour without incident, with that we decided to beat a hasty retreat to my house and we got ourselves warm with a firm eye on the next day!

 A nice early start and we were in the car on route to the Hampshire Countryside for a days Grayling, this was one trip I was thoroughly looking forward to as I haven't fished for the Lady of the Stream much of late, conditions weren't terrible but plenty of rain was in the forecast, along with 18mph winds the forecast didn't disappoint and was bang on......by 11am we were battling the elements, cracking on early doors to get the best fishing done was order of the day and after slow starts for us all Brian, who joined us two caught a couple of stunning specimens to a smidgen under two pounds and after finding his feet Yannick got amongst the bigger fish with the best weighing 1lb 12oz which turned out to be his personal best and he delighted with that!

 For me, the trip wasn't as successful as I hoped for but to see the boys catch well I was more than happy. 

 Oh and a few out of season Trout also made their presence known....

 After a swift trip back to London we planned our next days fishing and although I knew we had a lot of rain I fancied a trip to the tidal Thames for a days predator fishing, something that I thought would be great fun, just one issue with that particular plan was that I hadn't envisaged the river was heaving through and coloured more than I thought it would be.

 Not to be deterred, the boat got set up and off we went, in waters that maybe we shouldn't have......it was more like a washing machine than a weir pool, but we were there and to fish, to begin with we fished the little slacks amongst the rolling water in the vein hope of a take. With small Chublet on the business end it was a matter of time. 

 Out of the blue around 2pm my float slipped under and I was met with a solid Pike, followed by another within just 5 minutes. Things were starting to hot up and not after long the flying dutchman also got his reward for the constant roving around. 

Not the biggest there but mint condition.

 As always is the case on the Thames action usually comes thick and fast in little spells, we knew bites wouldn't come much easier and had to make the most of it. For us though bite time appeared to last just 20 mins and all four runs came off a patch of maybe a meter square! such was the precision required to get a fish, crazy as its not a small area to work, to get it down to an area that small and catch for us was quite incredible as has we not found that tiny area we would have blanked, no doubts about it.

 The last day before Yannick was due to go home was spent targeting a species of fish we have many of here, but in the Netherlands they aren't as prevalent, that species...the Chub. For us, they are in practically every waterway from the far southwest of the country to the lower regions of Scotlands and Northern England.

 For me four pound Chub are dead easy to catch and I know many places to target them, so, with that knowledge I "expected" us to catch a hat full. Obviously I was chuffed when on the second trot of the day resulted in a nice Chub around 3.8, that was exactly how I wanted it to start, for the next 4 hours bites came steady as did the Chub, a nice bag of fish up to 4lb 4oz was a good day, however the larger fish remained elusive as I know it does fish over 5lb and some in excess of 5lb 8oz, luck of the draw I suppose. Not bad for a first time!

Early Birds Don't Always Catch The First Worm.

 With the temperatures beginning to drop slightly in late October the thought of targeting some predators was crossing my mind more and more, knowing how little they have featured in my angling over the years I certainly fancied getting out in my boat more often to attempt in catching a few. Pike of course are my main target with one eye on a twenty pounder, for me on the tidal it would be a great achievement, I believe they are present but without fishing it pretty seriously I'm only ever going to come across one by pure chance.

 Luck is a massive factor in any anglers life, there are times when it abandons you, equally however there are times when you question, how? how did i just land that? it's a question I've asked myself on numerous occasions over the years. Now this may not be pertinent to this particular post, but when I do finally catch up with my scribblings all will become clear!

 On this fine, dry, late October day myself and Brian "the vice captain" launched the boat for a jolly around on old father Thames, the joy we both get from being afloat almost turns us into little kids again. The fact that we are also fishing on pretty good hunting grounds also fills us with confidence that at any point our floats could disappear and be connected to an angry Pike aiming to take us into one of the many snags that are present within the swirling cauldron within which they live.

 For myself, catching is fairly important to me now owing to my lack of time that is available, I know I keep saying it, but I have to admit, it makes me fish even harder, never in one place for too long and only selecting conditions that I think would be conducive to fishing for that specific species. Something else that Brian and I have discovered that there isn't a rush to get a bait out for a pike, typically bites don't come around until mid afternoon, so being that early bird doesn't necessarily mean you'll be the first to catch!

 Enquiries I find come anytime from 1345 onwards to dusk when they cease feeding, efficient as they are it narrows down the time that we have to be successful, these findings may not be relevant on other waters, here, on the Thames these are very relevant as more than 95% of all pike caught off the boat in 2 years have been beyond 1330, quite an astounding piece of info for those who aren't sure what times are best to target them. This however is only based on info collected by myself, Brian and my brother Richard.

 So naturally, Brian and I drifted around the pool, dropping the weight down on areas we fancied 20 mins to trot around. Great thing with liveys is that they just amble around and effectively search out the fish for you, they want to find cover and the predators are hiding in the cover, lying in ambush for such prey! Just before 2pm and my float bobbed and vanished from sight, could only mean one thing! Pike on!

 A handful of firm runs made for good sport and in the boat the fish fight seem to fight so much harder, before I caught a glimpse of it the visions of a mid double esox was running through my mind, then this spirited fish around the 10lb mark finally gave up and lye in the net awaiting its photo to be taken. The first two hours as expected yielded no action, this was hopefully the beginning of the fast and furious action.

 Well......fast and furious is what we both hoped for, alas that is not what happened. For over 2 hours we continued to work the pool to no avail, as dusk was beginning to settle in we decided to drift back over the area we started on and within minutes the float stopped dead in its tracks and stormed under, action once again!

 This slightly longer less podgy Pike had slipped up, just as we both thought that Pike time was coming to an end. Both pike were in great condition and bodes well for the future of the tidal river. After the release of that second fish we continued to trot around the pool, unfortunately there was no further action. Until next time, tight lines.

A Little Catch Up.

 It has been a fair while since I revisited my blog, even though I haven't been on here much I have managed to get a little fishing done! Not easy mind you, but any time out is welcome as the early rigours of fatherhood aren't easy.

 I have targeted a few different species over the Autumn with predators featuring mainly. However, smaller species such a Roach, Grayling, Perch, Gudgeon and a rogue Tench!. All of which represents a fantastic bit of sport and something I could never tire of, here is a little gallery of fish taken over a months period before I got my predator head on.

A chalkstream beauty.

Freelined bread in the margins fooled this 6lb 6oz Tinca.

For me, I could only manage modest Grayling on that occasion.

Then once the weather started to turn slightly cooler and the clocks went forward my predator head was firmly screwed on, stayed tuned.

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See you there hopefully. 

Chubbing On My Birthday.

 I am thoroughly enjoying my beginning days of fatherhood and what an experience it is too, nobody really tells you what to really expect, for those who read this and aren't parents yet, be prepared for the sense of selfishness to disappear pretty quickly, those who already are parents will probably just sympathise and nod to themselves, it is the best birthday present I could have ever asked for, myself and the good lady are besotted but equally as tired.

I missed these views!

 As the 7th of October approached the missus suggested I have a morning out fishing and before baby a days fishing wasn't even spoken about, I'd let her know what my plans were and I'd just go, none of that anymore !. I thought as I hadn't been in a few weeks that it would be lovely to get out, but for what? I had numerous targets drifting in and out of favour for a couple of days prior to my escape, in the end I decided to take my 15ft float rod out for a dusting off, Chub were my target for the day.

 Once the species was chosen the dilemma of where to go then cropped up, did I go for numbers? or specimen fishing, where catching just one of two would have been an achievement?. Quantity it was.

 Armed with a loaf of bread, ready to fish by dawn I was prepared for a potential glut of Chub, the outcome could be anything and that was what lured me to target this particular river as I've bagged up numerous "five pound plus" Chub and that in my book is excellent fishing. To begin with a healthy amount of crumb was deposited into the head of the pool, with the intention of the rolling water to distribute the white mist all over and whip up a frenzy. Frenzy it certainly was! on my first trot too!. As my flake had barely got a foot under the surface with my float stiff laying flat on the surface it whipped under! I thought to myself, " it's going to be a good day" and boy was it!

Hauling!

 I effectively ploughed my way through Chub after Chub after Chub with the average weighing approximately the 2lb 12oz to 3lb 8oz mark which is great going, a number of low to mid four pound specimens also put up some very spirited scraps on my delicately light trotting gear, there were two noticeably good fish mixed in the hoards that graced my net, the second largest weighing in at 4lb 14oz and then best was clearly well over five pounds at 5lb 6oz which is my best this season so far, although I've not targeted them much this season. I was pleasantly surprised by how well fed the "five" was and that how well it fought, for quite sometime I've debated whether it has the ability to deliver a six pound plus specimen, with this particular fish being as rotund as it was and seemingly young and clean gives me hope that maybe it is possible.

My best of the day at 5lb 6oz.

 I spent five hours in the water trotting with hardly a trot going by without a fish or an attempt missed, I had clearly got them in a feeding mood and found it so exciting to end up with a bag that probably, based on a law of averages to be over 200lb. 59 Chub came to the net in the end in that flurry and I could have continued fishing too as there was more fish present, just holding behind a massive fallen tree which clearly seemed to hold the entire shoal as I got most of my bites from there, the initial couple of fish came from the pool right under my feet, but as I started to get through the fish they dropped further down the run to the sanctuary of said tree, for me it was a brilliant bit of fishing and with very little time out as you can probably deduce I savoured that for a few days afterwards.