Closing time again

My river season has been a strange one this year -  I've hardly done any to speak of in comparison to previous years. Most of my time has been spent lure fishing the canals for zander and the odd perch instead. My visits to the rivers has been so few and far between I don't think I even fished for barbel this year which I aim to rectify in the new season ahead.

Well, in my usual last minute rush I tried to squeeze a few sessions in over the last remaining weekends in hope of a river pike, and maybe some trotting for grayling. Suffice to say this didn't quite go a well as planned and either the conditions were against me or the fish not obliging. And so we came to my finale on the river on Friday afternoon. Thursday night prior around 10:00 pm, tackle prepared, baits purchased for Pike and maggots for trotting for grayling so it starts to rain and didn't stop until well into next morning on Friday.... just bloody perfect timing.  So as suspected arriving at the first river venue that afternoon to find it chocolate brown and creeping over the banks. No good for trotting nor did I feel confident in searching for pike holed up in any slacks in that lot either.  Next venue and conditions were slightly better the river was up but not too much. A few other anglers were already down to try for barbel.  I found the swim I fancied was free and quietly set up my gear as a barrage of heavy feeders boshed down into the river around  me.  This river was still steadily rising as my carefully positioned banksticks indicated, starting on shore then soon to be surrounded by water.   After an hour of this and not so much as a twitch on maggot or Lamprey I decided to cut my losses and head elsewhere while there was still time. To a smaller river now that can usually be relied upon to throw up a few Jacks in a short session, with the outside chance of something larger. Again within the time allotted for something to have occurred, the same empty result on both maggot and deadbait. I was just not feeling it here either so with one last chuck of the dice I was off to the canal.

First cast on  the half Lamprey I had been using all afternoon and within 15 minutes the line started to tighten and the float sank away resulting in this lovely mid double to save my afternoon. (15lb 3oz)

 

 

The only other notable capture since the last update is this lovely 2lb 4oz canal perch caught at the beginning of March.

 

 

 

 

 

 So that's my end of season update, a season where I spent practically most of the time fishing the Canal and neglected the river, and now I can't fish it I am missing it already- roll on June 16th !



 

 

 

Jan to Feb round up

Lure fishing for canal zander  has taken up most of my fishing time since Christmas and It's been quite enjoyable, catching plenty of zander and the odd perch. I've even started to dabble with drop shotting finally but I'm not convinced yet. It does work well that's true but not sure it's anymore effective than jigs or lures not in my limited experience of it so far. It's all subjective though and you need to fish how you enjoy doing it and not by what current the trend is.

Not many pike to report this winter and as the days tick by I grow more and more consious of the fact that my winter river pike fishing will soon run out of time. I will of course continue to fish for the zander on quick after work sessions especially as there is enough light left now to fish the witching hour properly(light into dark).

I managed to get on the river today for an hour or two and while the result was a resounding blank it wasn't a complete waste of time. You see after sitting for the first hour with no action. I thought about how I could get my bait to a beter spot.  I soon discovered a new technique for those hard to reach spots downstream you can't quite cast to,  namely trotting ! Yes nothing new there and no doubt it's a standard tactic for most pike anglers, but this was the first time I've thought about using it myself for pike. I suppose the swim I was fishing lent itself perfectly to technique, indeed it is a very good roach and grayling trotting run.

The slack area on the near margin is mouthwatering for pike but is unreachable by cast alone due to the overhanging trailing branches of the first tree,  but trot a sardine down the swirling current to the desired distance then tighten up the line to swing the float and its cargo in towards the margin and straight into the mouth of a waiting pike. Well that was the theory. First attempt and the float glided into position in the slack water. It stayed in position for a while then 'bob bob' stop. "Better check that" I thought, As I wound down the slack line pulling up tight to the rig, the rod hooped round to a heavy weight then the pulse of a large fish kicked back up the line. I had to get it away from the branches quick so tried to bully it out into open water. The fish started to move and was just clear of the branches, I was now ready to fight her in the strong flow of the pool when that sickening shift in pressure from heavy to light suddenly occured as she let go ! Arhh ##@** she hadn't turned the bait yet and the hooks had not stuck. Ahh well at least the theory had worked and a good fish was hooked all be it only briefly, but I think i'll be back before the close.

December Catch up

lure caught PB

Not a lot of change in my fishing since my last update, I'm finding it difficult to be motivated to do anything other than a bit of lure fishing these days. Maybe I've just become a bit lazy and succumbed to the convenience of chucking a bit of kit in the car and grabbing a few hours a week here and there.

I've been fishing with my light set up mostly hitting the canal catching plenty of small perch, zander and the odd small pike to keep me interested mostly all have fell for my small 2" jigs.  Recently though I have started to find some better Zander. I also hooked a larger pike last week that was on for a few seconds long enough to see a glimpse of its long flank before the small 2" jig pulled.
I returned on Christmas Eve for a quick go for the pike after finishing work with my medium set up and a BBZ lure that just happened to have been left clipped on. First cast and wallop a zed of about 2 or 3lb, not the pike I was after but very welcome all the same.

Just in time for Christmas

 

 The next time I could get down wasn't until the 27th for a few hours in a more wintery landscape following a layer of snow on boxing night. While the snow had all but gone the temperature had dropped since my last visit a couple of days before, and this didn't deter the fish it seemed. Once again practically first cast in the same area and bang another zed on. The fish thrashed on the surface then gave a decent enough fight pulling line off the drag before doing the usual roll to the surface and a capitulating glide into the net.

 

you want some - I'll give it yer !

 

Looking down at my prize in the net I was pretty pleased with the size of this one, and happy when the scales registered 5lb 4oz.  A new lure caught zander PB and whilst not my biggest ever zander certainly a pleasing fish to catch from the canal on any method. The session didn't continue in this good form though and I struggled to both catch more fish and to deal with cold hands able to work the rod and reel effectively enough, so once my flask ran out I called it a day about half past ten.  Getting back home for some fresh hot coffee and toast to thaw me out was a welcome end to an overall pleasant mornings fishing.