"Can't stop,l have a pike to catch!"

[comanche 2,799]

"Can't stop ,l have a pike to catch!"

These were my words to my mate as l finished doing the photographic honours for him with his second big bream of the day. I'd already spent much of the previous few hours running up and down the bank to photograph a variety of specimens for him ,including two  roach an ounce under 2lb and a 4.5lb chub.

In between all this exercise l had been struggling with a swim yhat kept running hot and cold . Alternating between float and swim feeder kept a few small fish coming between periods of inactivity but l was begining to suspect the presence of something sinister beneath the water. This was confirmed when retrieving my feeder for a refill l found myself engaged in a brief tug of war with what l guessed was a jack pike.  

Returning from photographic duty l rummaged for one of the pike traces l carry for such occasions and a lump of plasticine for a weight. I only had 8lb braid on my spare reel but reckoned that would be enough to deal with a naughty jack. The rod wasn't exactly ideal for the job ,11feet of light whole cane  with a split cane tip. All l could scrape for bait was a tiddly dead roach . So tiny and with the river running high and brown the chances of it actually being noticed in the murk were realistically pretty slim but somehow l felt confident. Hence my comment to my mate " l have a pike to catch."

Well l didn't have to wait more than five minutes before my line jerked.  Waiting only long enough to get my grip on the rod comfortable ,l struck. Oh lord,this was no jack! .I  let it run first into the fast water upstream, then downstream,then just as it was trying to climb out of the river where it had flooded over the far bank my mate appeared like an angelic apparition.  Not so angelic l would've kissed him even without Covid restrictions ,l might add ,but a welcome sight nevertheless.

Weirdly as if from some fore sight ,possibly with the subconscious hope of a barbel l had brought my big landing net instead of the usual tea strainer. 

There were another ten minutes of this nonsense to go which included the fish sulkily cruising back and forth  in ten feet of water at our feet and some more runs downstream. During this time my mate caught a glimpse of the fish and didn't help my nerves by announcing that it was massive   , the biggest pike he'd ever seen!  When the time came he did a steely job with the net though.

I was quite pleased.

Edited October 26, 2020 by comanche

[Blackmag 5,870]

Well done a nice write up to there's some stunning marking on it 

[comanche 2,799]

3 minutes ago, Blackmag said:

Well done a nice write up to there's some stunning marking on it 

The pictures don't do justice to the markings either. Or show how chunky across the back it is. 

[Blackmag 5,870]

Out of likes Comanche did you weigh it 

[comanche 2,799]

1 minute ago, Blackmag said:

Out of likes Comanche did you weigh it 

Yes. My mate weighed it on his scales and announced it was 9lb!  The micky taking so and so After the net was deducted  we settled on maybe a tad over 18

[Councilestatekid 1,644]

Nice 1 pal nice fish there not bad for a little jack  

[Blackmag 5,870]

Well done I bet the pike gear is first to be packed next time but I could only imagine the fight on the centre pin in a fast river 

[comanche 2,799]

6 minutes ago, Blackmag said:

Well done I bet the pike gear is first to be packed next time but I could only imagine the fight on the centre pin in a fast river 

Centrepins are so much easier to feel when to give and take line you get much better direct control than with a fixed spool  clutch . 

Edited October 26, 2020 by comanche

[Lenmcharristar 9,179]

12 hours ago, comanche said:

"Can't stop ,l have a pike to catch!"

These were my words to my mate as l finished doing the photographic honours for him with his second big bream of the day. I'd already spent much of the previous few hours running up and down the bank to photograph a variety of specimens for him ,including two  roach an ounce under 2lb and a 4.5lb chub.

In between all this exercise l had been struggling with a swim yhat kept running hot and cold . Alternating between float and swim feeder kept a few small fish coming between periods of inactivity but l was begining to suspect the presence of something sinister beneath the water. This was confirmed when retrieving my feeder for a refill l found myself engaged in a brief tug of war with what l guessed was a jack pike.  

Returning from photographic duty l rummaged for one of the pike traces l carry for such occasions and a lump of plasticine for a weight. I only had 8lb braid on my spare reel but reckoned that would be enough to deal with a naughty jack. The rod wasn't exactly ideal for the job ,11feet of light whole cane  with a split cane tip. All l could scrape for bait was a tiddly dead roach . So tiny and with the river running high and brown the chances of it actually being noticed in the murk were realistically pretty slim but somehow l felt confident. Hence my comment to my mate " l have a pike to catch."

Well l didn't have to wait more than five minutes before my line jerked.  Waiting only long enough to get my grip on the rod comfortable ,l struck. Oh lord,this was no jack! .I  let it run first into the fast water upstream, then downstream,then just as it was trying to climb out of the river where it had flooded over the far bank my mate appeared like an angelic apparition.  Not so angelic l would've kissed him even without Covid restrictions ,l might add ,but a welcome sight nevertheless.

Weirdly as if from some fore sight ,possibly with the subconscious hope of a barbel l had brought my big landing net instead of the usual tea strainer. 

There were another ten minutes of this nonsense to go which included the fish sulkily cruising back and forth  in ten feet of water at our feet and some more runs downstream. During this time my mate caught a glimpse of the fish and didn't help my nerves by announcing that it was massive   , the biggest pike he'd ever seen!  When the time came he did a steely job with the net though.

I was quite pleased.

What a cracking fish, nice 1

[Nicepix 5,650]

Lovely fish and good angling. Especially on that light tackle.

Looks like the charity shop price tag is still on that reel. Of course you have invalidated the guarantee taking it near to water.

[Rabid 1,936]

Excellent write up on an epic session.

i forgot just how fantastic a fish they were, and lovely markings on it, well done.

[comanche 2,799]

On 30/10/2020 at 11:51, Nicepix said:

Lovely fish and good angling. Especially on that light tackle.

Looks like the charity shop price tag is still on that reel. Of course you have invalidated the guarantee taking it near to water.

The reel is pretty old and who knows how many previous owners it had before ending up on a charity shop. So it's probably a bit much to expect a guarantee . 

       On the other hand ,l've lost count of the times I've layed out £1.40 on half a pint of brand new maggots only to find out that in my experience very few of them work properly and actually catch fish. And when they do ,the fish are pretty small.

        I tried complaining to the man in the tackle shop but he laughed. So l threatened him with a visit from Trading Standards and he stuck a rod- rest up my nose.

[kanny 19,384]

Stunning looking pike,  well done  

[longers01 2,319]

Nice looking fish mate love a bit of pike fishing had some decent fish over the years atb longers01 

[NEWKID 26,182]

What a cracking looking fish, great angling mate