Freezing
cold but still catching
I enjoyed my perch fishing
so much last week that I decided to continue where I left off.
After all, angling should first and foremost be about enjoyment,
and if we aren't getting pleasure from our fishing then we seriously
need to step back and re-evaluate where we are. In a work situation
we all have to do things that we don't like from time to time,
no matter how much we enjoy our job. But angling shouldn't be
about that. We fish because we want to, not because we have to.
And particularly if you are a specimen angler (as I am) it's an
important principle to remind ourselves of from time to time.
It can be easy to get slowly but surely lured into a world where
catch-at-all-costs rules the roost.
| Surprisingly,
no frost
With
the country being plunged into a severe spell of cold weather,
the forecast was not good. In fact the whole of the area where
I live in particular was covered in an icy blue as I watched
the weatherman tell us all to
wrap up warm and not go out unless it was necessary, due to
the sharp drop in temperatures. But you have to be in it to
win it and my only concern was that the canal might be frozen
over, making fishing impossible.
I
packed my gear anyway and several times I got up in the night
to look through the bedroom window. And each time I was encouraged
to see that no frost had taken root. My wife thinks I'm mad.
Most people get up in the night because they think they hear
a noise downstairs, yet I'm up and down like a jack-in-the-box
because I want to check on whether the canal will be frozen
or not.
Up
for the final time while it was still dark I had one more
peep through the curtains and was greatly encouraged to find
that the windshield on the car was still ice free. It was
very cold though, only cloud cover had kept Jack Frost at
bay. In fact if I say cold, that is painting the wrong picture.
Freezing is the correct word.
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A
small pike from the canal
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Three
runs, one pike
I
parked the car and began the journey to the peg that I had
chosen to fish. Like most anglers I determine beforehand which
swim(s) I intend to occupy. It's all part of the preparation
and planning process and the more groundwork we do beforehand,
the more we increase our chances of catching. I started off
by casting out my float rod with maggot as bait. Within twenty
minutes I had a small gudgeon, which meant that the livebait
rod was also out.
An hour later after
numerous gudgeon and small roach on the float, I had my first
action on the bob. I will share more about my rig in the next
canal perch article, but the single hook didn't take hold.
It may have been a perch or a small pike, I couldn't say,
but fifteen minutes later I did catch a pike, which is the
first photograph in this article. There must have been a feeding
spell going on as I lost a further fish at the net a short
time later. A couple of boats then sent the swim into quiet
mode for a while before I once more was striking into a fish
that had taken the gudgeon.
Losing a big perch at the edge |
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Tip
of the week
If you have a negative view
of pike, think again.
Check
out the Pike Angler's Club of Great Britain (the link can
be found on my home page) where you will find some excellent
stuff on the species.
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This
time the hook held and I found myself playing what was either
a small pike or a very good perch. As I had already been
amongst the pike I never really thought much about it. Until
I saw the fish that is. It came into the upper layers of
the canal about a rod length out and I found myself looking
down at a big perch. It had already been on for some time
and so the option of a hook pull wasn't on my mind either.
But then suddenly, and without any warning whatsoever, the
tackle shot from the water and the fish was gone.
Funnily
enough though I wasn't gutted or devastated. I think disappointed
is how I felt as far as negative emotions were concerned.
But the overriding thought I had was that I will be back
and I will catch this fish. I laughed to myself as I pictured
the people in the film Jaws who are on an obsessive mission
to catch the shark. The difference is though that I'm not
obsessed (well not yet anyway) and we are talking about
a canal not the ocean. I knew that the prospect of catching
the fish had gone for that day though, but even before I
packed away I was planning to return the next morning -
weather permitting of course.
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A
much better fish on session two
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Back
again and a nice pike this time round
Well,
the weather did hold out and it even felt marginally improved as
I set up. But that was very deceptive and soon the cold really kicked
in. In fact I caught one small roach early on and that was that.
And literally the moment the bait hit the water on the predator
set-up I had a take. And what a fish it was, certainly for the canal
in question. I struggled to fit it into my landing net. The only
downside though was that just as I caught the fish someone came
past (an angler) who made the comment along the lines of 'No wonder
the gudgeon have all disappeared, the pike have eaten them all'.
And not perhaps having the same views as I do regarding discretion
of where fish are caught, I imagined the swim being broadcast to
all and sundry. Pike thrive on neglect and if my worst fears are
confirmed, this one won't get much peace.
Now
I know that sounds selfish but just the way the angler spoke in
the brief conversation that we had told me that fish welfare wasn't
high on the agenda. I've seen too many pike thrown into bushes and
left to die to have faith that just because someone is a fisherman
they care about fish. Pike are the most misunderstood of all coarse
species and as a result they are also the most abused. The idea
that some anglers have is that pike are killing machines that go
round all day long eating everything they can get their teeth into,
including swimming dogs and paddling children. But rather than upset
the balance of the water, pike maintain it. They eat diseased, dying,
weak and dead fish and as result the venue stays healthy. Start
to interfere and you will have a jack explosion. But then again
it's easy to blame a bad day on 'there must be a pike in the swim.'
It sounds better than 'I'm not actually as good an angler as I like
to tell everyone that I am.'
Click
on the icon for this week's video clip
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The
week ahead
The
freezing weather is predicted not only to persist but to
intensify. If that proves to be true I will attempt to continue
after perch but switch to the river and in particular the
Dove. With arctic temperatures forecast it's going to be
hard, but you never catch anything sitting at home.
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