Old Estate Lake 30-12-12

A while back i had a conversation in the tackle shop with a chap when buying dead bait,he said didnt know you fished for pike,only oct-march i replied,he said come and fish our lake anytime.So i called him up and arranged to meet him today,he let me in and said its all yours,no one else one.I had a quick walk round and picked an area that looked a good place,depth was about 5 ft .I fished a pat rig a foot of the deck,and a ledgered bait far out on the bottom,baits were small roach and smelt.The water was like a mill pond,flat calm.I swopped the ledgered bait over after a couple of hours to fish closer in,with a change of bait,Herring.
I now was chucking a variety of lures about ,only trouble i had was when retrieving close in i was picking leaves up,so i changed to shallower lures.The morning went without a beep on the alarms.The weather was overcast and a slight breeze on my back,time to move.I decided to move up the bank 50 yard,s.I changed the ledgered herring to a fresher one and cast to some tree,s on the far bank.The other rod i changed to a float and fished a bigger roach at about 3 rod lengths out.I carried on trying lure,s .I decided to try the savagear lip skull and attached a smelt for sink and draw,it worked really well,no takes but an awesome idea.I had to be off the water for darkness,i reeled in both rods and headed down to the bottom of the lake for half an hour throwing lure,s..A lot deeper at this end so will try down there next time i go.My only dissapointment was finding a hand line tied to a tree,which i removed.Probably my last fishing session for 2012,see you all again in 2013.

Savagear Lip Skull.........................

Push the red locating pin through the gill plate....

Once the pin is located,the bait is ready to go,i used a smelt...

This is how it looks with pin located,im going to add a stinger to it.......

Another Lure Session 28-12-12

After thursdays abandoned session due to an abccess and a trip to dentist,i decided to target the canal again.A different area this time,i arrived just after 8 thinking im mad as it was drizzleing,i wont melt so off i went over the bridge to see another angler fishing where i wanted too.i turned right and went the other way,spent about an hour on the move,no follows so headed back to see if he,d gone,he hadnt so walked past him and headed to walk as far as i could,i reached another bridge,started casting in and around the bridge,when all off a sudden i saw a pike strike so tried to tempt it to another meal,no reaction so moved on.I covered quite a distance,once i reached another bridge i decided to turn back and try the better area,s i had already tried.i could see the angler in the distance,he had moved,so i was in the area i wanted,tried various lures,time for a butty,well earned brew and me tablet back at the van.after about 15-20 mins i headed back out.I tried all my lures i had and couldnt get any follows,different retrieves,side to side,in a straight line and nothing,i did find a half dead roach which i tried to revive,a pike had hit it but damaged the fish beyond repair,wish id had a float and trace,nevermind,make a good bait for the drifter float or pat rig.
Till the next time................

Thought there was a storm brewing........................

The trouble with this country,full of litter louts,so annoying.........................

Boxing Day 26-12-12

After my xmas day lure sesh for 2 hours with no results,i decided to try the canal.Rain was forcast after 1pm,so i got there early,started in a few likely spots trying different lures.I made my way up the canal,staying in area,s ,casting under tree,s and some bridges.As i made my way up i spotted a dead fox floating in the canal.After walking a mile i made my way back,i changed over to a bigger lure,but no follows.I made my way up to the basin area and tried there,nothing.I headed back to the van and decided to try another area a mile away.nothing happened there either,so it,s back to dead baiting tmos,till the next time....

The dead fox.....................................

Photography

Another passion of mine whilst fishing is to take pictures,too capture a moment.Heres a few of my favourites whilst i have been on the bank.

A shot from the bivvy ................On a local Resovoir

A tricky robin,fed him biscuits to gain his confidence....

A self take on xmas day 2011,blanked ..........................

A picture i took behind a local still water............

The light was fading on the Derwent

The garden peg on the Trent.................

The Mighty Minnow.......................

Deer Lake Northern Pike taken on the original big s lure

My mate Lee with a canal personal best stereo speaker......

Local Pike Water 18 Dec 2012

I went yesterday with lee..Lee had a jack close in before the weather turned early on to bad rain,i decided to leave in the afternoon and try today.I went to a local water i keep trying .I arrived at first light fished paternostered roach on one rod,Ledgered joey on the other rod.I decided to sit it out at this end with the water being a bit deeper.At 11am i moved all my gear a good 70 yards up the bank to shallower water.I casted out the paternosted roach bait.I picked up my other rod to change to a float,the dropper went and i was into a 7-8lb Jack,quick pic and she swam into the weed.I tried popped up herring and float fished smelt.Nothing came of this,i left knowing ill be back for another go.Till the next time...........

First Light...................................

Fell to a paternostered Roach...............

A jack and a bucket 15-12-12

After last weeks blank that did include a run it was time to get back out.A long walk to a swim that i hadnt fished for a while.We got there and Alan set up far bank and i set up to the left.The problems started as i set up,the water was up,so i could only set one rod up in the water,ledger and lamprey as bait.I moved the other rod up and fished sunk paternoster and a roach dead bait.I set tip rod up later after the rain cleared to catch some baits,caught a bait for Al first,he put this out on the drifter.Wasnt long before i had one.I put this on the Pat rod and within 10 mins the dropper went,struck and landed a jack about 5 lbs.I moved the lamprey rod and carried on tip fishin,my swim got ruined due to a pike snatchin my bait and the swim went quiet.We Decided to stay till an hour into darkness.I reeled in the lamprey rod that was about 60 yards out,it was real heavy and as i got whatever i,d hooked nearer the bank it was a 10 litre Bucket.Nothing into dark and we packed up.Till the next time....

The Bucket...........................Just put the jack back,didnt take a pic.......................

Big Wild Water Pike Floats

I got these from Mark Berrisford at P.A.C Region 31 meetings.There 10 inches by 1 inch floats.These floats are self cocking.When fishing bigger waters where theres snags or when boat fishing theses floats sit perfectly still in the water.They also cast really well with the set up ive got for using them,ill post a picture of that when im next out....

Till the next time......................................

First Double of the Season 1-12-12

After the last two sessions blanking and nothing to live baits or deads,it was time to get back out.With overnight rain i woke to no  frost on the van.Arrived at the water and headed to a quiet spot to catch some baits.After an hour with only a small perch for my efforts,i packed up and a long walk to the swim.I set up a paternoster rig with a herring,on the other rod was a float ledger with a smelt.When alan arrived i set about fishing with the tip rod again,wasnt long before we had a roach each.I put one on the pat rig.I was fishing in between the pat rig and float rod catching roach and had two snatched of pike,so was confident.An hour passed and i moved the float ledger,removed the float and fished further out with a lamprey.It wasnt long before the Delkim beeped,drop off started to drop and as i grabbed the rod the fish was off,struck it was solid,after a good fight on my new Treble-7 rod,Alan netted the fish,weighed at 15.7.pictures taken and returned.Stayed till dusk and with no further fish we headed off,Till the next time....

15.7 Ready to go back strong............