6 Runs ,No Pike

I left home this morning at just before 5am,light frost on the van.As i made my way to the river there was lots of salt on the roads,must of been a cold one up here.I arrived at the river just after 5-30am.I made my way to my swim about a 400 yard walk.I was set up quick and baits cast into the misty river.After it came light,i decided to leave it an hour and chuck some lures.This didnt last long as my rod rings froze up.At about 9-30 i made my way back up river to try a new area.Baits were in,herring cast to left hand bank and a pat livey close in.Wasnt long before the first run,i struck into what felt like a good fish,only for it to come off.I quickly re-cast and within seconds it went again,struck,felt good came off. A bit later the herring rod went and that came off.That was 3 ,nothing wrong with my hooks,couldnt believe it.Not long after the pat rod went struck,connected and that came off,damn thats 4.By now there wasnt much left of the livey.I changed over the herring rod to lamprey.I cast it about 4 rod lengths .It wasnt long before a full blown take,and that was no 5.I poured a brew lit a smoke and it wasnt long before the rudd rod went,struck and no 6 didnt stay on for long,you can imagine i turned the air blue.After long thought i came up with knowing i wasnt letting the run develop more,due to being a big bait,but its always the case with pike,strike early and avoid deep hooking. A dissapointing day,but lessons learned.Tight Lines

Rod rings frozen..................................