And so it begins

First of many...i hope

The 1st October is the traditional start of the season pike fishing season and the long wait is finally over.

Rods have been dusted off and reels re loaded with line and the freezer is full of bait.

With a 1/2 day's fishing planned, I decided to head out to one of my favourite waters to see if the pike were willing to play ball.

I headed out of the house and with the sun rising I drove the to the water. There was an air of expectation as I drove through the lanes with the sound of Nickelback playing on the car stereo. I was soon in the car park and with the gear unloaded, I was on my way for the hike to a favourite early season spot were the pike are known to frequent.

The days seem perfect with a overcast day, decent chop on the water and the bank to myself. First thing first and the net, mat and pike recording note book are laid out. Then come the bait rods and with two of the BB350 been prepared for distance fishing on two different distance rigs. Why two, well I have been reading a lot over the year on the best distance castable rig for pike and have narrowed it down to two rigs. So in order to prove which one is the best rig for casting, I've been trialing both. More on them as the season progresses.

Signs of bad handing or red sores

So what are the baits, well on the two distance rigs, mini mackerel and lamprey. Both great baits for distance fishing (thanks Sir Michael) as they stay on the hooks when whacked out. The third rod was my standard close range float ledger with popped up bait to give el pikey a clear view of the bait in and around the dying weed beds.

I didn't have to wait long for the first run and screaming run on the mini at range was soon struck into, and a scrappy 4lb came to the glove. Rebait and send to the horizon again before settling in for the first cuppa of the morning. Just finished this and the lamprey is off, but when I wind down there is nothing there, so I leave it. But whats this the backbiter won't stay on?!? line is steadily being pulled from my hand, wind down again and another slightly bigger jack is gloved out (must be something in this lunar thing). Same process of rebait and out the bait goes again.

Signs of a healed wound

As I sat back into the chair and started to take in the morning glow, the mini is off again and another pike is hooked, but this one has no intention of coming in quietly even though its not very big. It first tries to get into a snag, then it buries its self into the weed bed and goes solid. The rods not moving, so a release pressure for a moment and the pike is off again, but feels twenty times heavier. After a lot of huffing and puffing a 7lb pike with a twenty pound of weed is netted. Pike and weed is soon unravelled and unhooked and returned. A third mini is baited up and whacked out with last season motto "Hav it" ringing in my ears. Time for another cuppa.

Drink is poured out, but no time to drink it, as the alarm is sounding again, one thing you can say about Billy's 'Backbiters is you can miss the ear piecing sound of them.
The mini is motoring off again, and soon I'm into another jack. Nothing huge, but another pike on the tally chart. The fish is soon on the unhooking mat, but whats that sound, did I forget to turn off the alarm. On hang on, its the middle float ledger going off. The jack on the mat was soon back in the water and I struck the middle rod and yet another jack was landed.

Tail shot for future ID

 08:30 - 10:34 saw 6 runs and 5 fish landed, not a back start to the campaign. Nothing huge, but with the autumn pike being fighting fit and each one putting a bend in the rods. The last 1.1/2 of the session was uneventfully and soon my 1/2 day pass was over with and I am heading for home.

TL for the pike season.