Back
to winter
The weather has been
very spring-like of late, and that of course has been an asset
as far as my gravel pit campaign has been concerned, particularly
as bream and tench have been the quarry. But the last of the four
nights I did over a period of two weeks saw a definite downturn
in the weather. The easterly wind saw temperatures plummet and
as well as a very cold night, a ground frost descended. Not that
I'm frightened of the cold - far from it - but I believe it's
a wise angler who is switched on to the weather. And with more
of the same predicted, I gave the pit a miss and focused on the
local canal.
Struggling
to catch a gudgeon
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I
have really enjoyed my visits to the canal this year pursuing
perch and that was my plan for the week this time round as
well. There are several
ways of fishing for perch with my favourite at the moment
being livebaiting. It does mean that you have to catch your
bait first though, and whilst sometimes you have gudgeon queuing
up to be caught, other times trying to catch them is akin
to finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.
The
frustrating thing was that I did catch two gudgeon and within
minutes of them being out on the rig I was playing a fish.
Not a perch I might add, but pike. So in over four hours of
fishing, in effect I was only really fishing for about thirty
minutes in total, if you look at it from the perspective of
the maggot rod as a means to an end. Not that I am tempted
to do it, but you do understand why some anglers bring their
livebait with them!
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Yet
another pike from the canal
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Amongst
the pike again
When
I was a youngster - and even beyond that - the Staffs/Worcs
Canal was not seen as a pike venue at all. But returning to
the canal, and in particular fishing for perch, I have been
surprised to see just how well rooted Esox Lucius has become.
I still wouldn't call it an established pike venue though,
more that the fish are in pockets. But the numbers of different
fish that I am catching shows that they are well on their
way to colonisation. With so much ignorance around in the
angling world towards pike, this may sound like bad news to
many. But what will happen - assuming man doesn't intervene
as we often see with self-initiated pike culls - is that everything
will settle into its natural balance.
The
pike that I am catching from the canal aren't big by national
standards, but as with all fish we measure them against the
venue. And so on that front, as long as we're not expecting
20's and 30's, a low double will prove to be a very good pike.
As for the future, who knows. It will be interesting to see
if some real leviathans are caught. The boat traffic is heavy
at times, but there are enough positives to create the right
environment. In the meantime I will continue to catch them
at whatever size they are. Even if I am really fishing for
perch!
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Small
but perfectly formed
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Back
another three times
The
short sessions that I do on the canal mean that I am able
to get more in during the course of a week than when I pitch
up at the side of the gravel pit for a two-night visit.
Consequently I made another three trips to the Staffs/Worcs
before the week was out, each time heading for a different
section. Twice out of the three I struggled for gudgeon
and on the third I was catching fish so big they were not
ideal for perch livebait. You can't win sometimes can you?
So
I was more or less fishing the small 2BB waggler float,
which of course will also pick up perch, as well as test
the potential of all the other species as well. And when
I am fishing a brand new stretch, that's how I like to fish
anyway. I did catch some small perch as well as a ruffe
on one of the stretches. But I also got amongst some nice
roach, including some very good ones that bumped the hook
before I could net them. But all this is stored at the back
of my mind for the future.
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The
weather gets back on track
And just as quickly as the weather turned wintry, it also
got back on track at the end of the week. By the time I
did my final session of the week, the wind direction had
changed, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. That
can only mean one thing - back to the gravel pit next week.
I find that being an all-rounder keeps me fired up. Not
that I need any encouragement to fish, but the old saying
that variety is the spice of life definitely rings true
for me. So just one week away from the pit and I can't wait
to get back! Join me next week and see how I get on. I'm
confident, but then again I always am!
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