After what seemed to be a long-awaited trip back to the River Ouse, I decided to stop off en route at a little local pit. This is a pit I have not fished before, so I had no idea of what to expect. I chose my swim and began to plumb the depth, and on only my second cast a swirl erupted around my float. This was definitely caused by a pike, as I have encountered these similar situations before. I knew that if I were to introduce a bait almost instantly, there would be a great chance that it would be taken straight away.
My Sardine had only been submerged for a couple of minutes, and nothing had happened, so I gave my float-fished bait a little twitch, and then it was taken. A short and rather half-baked tussle followed on the fish’s part before a nice colourful camouflaged Pike of about 10lb slipped into my awaiting landing net. After an hour or so, I decided to move on to the River Ouse. On arrival, I found the river to be carrying a significant amount of extra water, this was due to the recent and persistent rainfall we had, and this also made the river very coloured. The first couple of hours were going rather slow, so I thought it was high time for a sausage sarnie. While my bangers were sizzling away on the stove, I looked up and saw my float-fished half herring had finally been taken. It then began slowly moving off downstream. After a firm strike, the fish was on and clearly up for a spirited fight, especially as it now had the added help of the extra flow. After a few arm-aching minutes, the pike was safely in the net, and it was another nice fish of around 9lb. Another 4 hours had now passed before I had any further action, like before, a half Herring bait had fooled this Pike. This fish weighed around 10lb, I say around, as most of the fish I catch I would rather estimate than weigh, as it takes less time, and I like to get my fish back as soon as possible. Unless, of course, it is of specimen size...
After enjoying a couple of days at home with my wife, I thought it was time to get back down the river. On my arrival, I discovered that the condition of the river had somewhat deteriorated since my last visit. The weather too was not much better; it was raining with a cold north-westerly wind. My first chosen swim was an off-shoot from the main river. I found some slack water to fish but after an hour and a half, there was no action forthcoming so I decided it was time to move on. I did not have far to move to my next swim. There was a point where the main river merged with a back water, which lead to a marina. The water from my left, and right, was pumping past me at a high rate of knots. So, between the two, it had left a slack area. This spot, I decided, was where my baits were to be positioned. It was only a matter of minutes, before my float-fished Herring was taken by a small fish of around 3lb. But, it just goes to show, that even in the worst conditions, you can still catch fish. Anyway, a little while later, I decided to go and try one of my more productive swims. This was only a short drive away, but when I arrived, I found my swim to be totally unfishable. On that note, therefore, I decided to call it a day. Indeed I had not been feeling too well that morning, so the best place for me was to be was back home, by the fire! Until next time, good fishing,
Stu
Before I go, we would like to introduce a young local lad, and no doubt an up and coming Carp extraordinaire. James Picking of Graveley, caught his personal best fish, a fine looking Common Carp, it weighed exactly 15lb. James caught his special fish on a ledgered Source Boilie, this was aided with some popped up Sweetcorn. Congratulations to him!
