Pike and bait session

The bait freezer was running decidedly low on contents, so I headed down to a pool that I know contains lots of Rudd and Roach to stock up.  The morning was overcast at first and a cool breeze was blowing into my face, I was glad I had a jumper and fleece on.




I used a margin pole for ease and started getting bites soon after starting.  The first fish was a 4" Roach followed quickly by another, then the Rudd started to make an appearance.  I continued catching throughout the morning and soon built up a good number of fish to restock my deadbait supply. 


I initially thought a Rudd/Roach ...eh?

There was a surprise when I landed this hybrid which for some reason I thought might be a Rudd /Roach at first, (I expected the anal fin to be longer in a bream/roach - i.e. more bream like)  but then after studying Jeff's picture of a Bream/Roach, it's most definitely a "Broach" or a "Ream" - (make your own mind up on that one). 

I had also brought a Pike rod along so decided to set it up and cast it to an area in my periphery vision, so I could continue with the pole but have the pike float just a half glance away.  There was a sunken weed bed to my right so I cast in front of this with a fresh caught Rudd live bait to roam around in front of the weed.

The  Rudd and Roach continued to come on the pole, but soon the Pike float had started to stir too, it bobbed and moved off ,  I wound down and pulled into the fish.  The first Jack Pike was landed and after a quick snap was taken it was returned.



Jack one

I put on another livebait and cast it back to the same area,  it was soon away again with another fish a twin of the first.  After returning this second fish I decided to try a sprat deadbait to see if they would spark any interest.



Jack two ..... Like peas in a pod

 Meanwhile on the margin pole the bites had dried up a bit, I had been fishing up in the water and getting consistent bites, but now it was clear the fish had dropped lower down now that the sun had burned the clouds away and was glaring down onto the water, and into my face.  I adjusted the float and caught a few more fish from the bottom, but not as consistently as before. 

The sprat was being ignored so I wound it in and packed up the Pike rod to concentrate on getting a few more baits before it was time to go home to get mower out and cut the lawn (whoo hoo, domestic chores ).