Monday = Pike

Its Monday the 1 November and I'm not at work, so it can't be bad. What also makes it nice is that I've had another days fishing.

Today was going to be a day of firsts, well one anyhow.

It was the first time I have fished with a work colleague, aka John Boy.



John Boy is another mad keen angler and has fished most of the water in the area. He is one of the few local anglers to have caught pike over 20lb from most waters, bar this one. To be truthful, he has only fished here a couple of times and has managed a jack previously.

I met John Boy at 6:30 and after a quick chat we drove to the first swim I had chosen for the day. It was a swim that I had fished many times before in the season and had taken fish early in the morning when they are patrolling the marginal shelf.
It is one of those swims that seems to produce a few fish over the course of the day, but does not seem to hold any for any length of time, thus its is a swim that I class as a pike patrol route.

We settled in nice and early, with the wind coming in from the north. It was a big change from Saturdays wind direction and the air temperature was noticeably cooler on the face. After a couple of hours with only a couple of phantom runs, we decided that the cooler onshore wind was probably affecting the bait fish. So we quickly packed up and headed off to the top end of the fishery with a view of fishing a known mark.
Unfortunately on arrival, the swim was already taken by a pike angler. Now on a weekend this would not be a strange occurrence, but it was Monday!!!!!!

After the shook of seeing another pike angler out, I pointed us in the direction of a swim that had the wind blowing across us, but it also meant the sun would be shining on the water and this might spark the pike into life.

I was in the process of setting up and my last ledgered bait which had been cast to the point of the headland, when the bait runner started to whirl into life. A quick strike and I was into a small fish.

Nothing huge and it was lightly hooked into the corner of the mouth. John Boy was in the water ready and just as he was about to chin it out it shook the hooks at his feet. But as he said "that counts".

The bait was still attached and it was soon recast back to where it had come. Probably an hour passed, when the alarm when again and I was again into a small fish. This one came in very quickly and it was clear why. It was the scrawniest fish I have ever caught, it had a deformed back and scarring down it back. Even though it was lightly hooked and returned within a minute, it did I'm afraid look like it would go belly up. But it didn't and it did swim away.

John Boys baits I'm afraid remained untouched and just when we were contemplating a move the ledgered 8" jack herring was away. I struck into something a bit better and after a short time a night low double came in. Fish number 22 for the season. Not a bad start.

Nothing more happened in the morning, apart from a sailing boat caught John Boys line. So it was time for a move.

The took a short walk along the bank and we settle in on the point. John Boy has the pick of the area and decided to fan out it baits to the left. I was left with the right and found some deeper areas that will be worth a look once the frost and cold weather sets in.

For 3 hours nothing, not a run and it was starting to look live John Boy was going to experience his first blank of the season. But with only 10 Min's to go before we both had to pack up, his bait was picked up. At first it looked like it might be a half decent fish, but after the weed had dropped off the line and small jack of 4lb was come into the gloves.

But wait a minute. That fish looks familiar, yes it was the same scrawny fish I had caught early about 200m away. Poor thing was really hungry and probably thought it was its luck day. It was soon unhooked and returned. Just.

After that we packed up and head home. Another goods days pike fishing for me and the season tally is 22, can be bad when I set a target for the season of 20 pike.

TL

Sorry no photos of any of the pike, I've not got this one trained yet to take the picture as I play them in. Normal service will be returned when 'm out with Blankman. AF