First pike session of the season out on the drains, and probably one of my most successful. I started first thing in the morning, this was very slow. I fished until lunchtime, but still no success.
I then packed up. drove for a mile or so down the drain to my next spot.
The next swim looked more promising. Plenty of features and the roach or bleak topping.
I baited up the first rod, and cast this out with half a mackerel as bait. Then the action started.
I was in the middle of getting the second rod ready, and the buzzer just went crazy and I wound down and struck into my first fish of the day. A lovely 12.6.
After a couple of photos and releasing the fish back into the depths, I finished setting up the other rods. One was on a sliding float setup and the other on a ledger setup. After I eventually settled down, I had another run, which I missed.
I was able to hook the fish and it felt a reasonable size, but was successful in shaking the hook out.
As the wind dropped, the silvers were starting to show more and also a small shoal of roach passed through. Had a feeling that this could be a good afternoon.
As I was making a brew, I had another run. I struck into the fish and had a great fight with it. After a while the fish began to slow down, then disaster struck. My net got caught on some reeds and I just couldn’t get the fish into the net. Worried I was going to lose and preying it wouldn’t make a final lunge into the depths, but I was able to chin it out.
After weighing the fish and a couple of photos. I let her go, soaking me on it’s way down to the depths!
After finishing my cuppa off, I saw some fish scatter, obviously being chased by the predator I was thinking.
Anyway I had a float out, and just as I thought, the float started to bob and make it’s way across the drain a few minutes later, then it disappeared beneath the surface. After a nice scrap, pike number three was banked. A lovely marked jack.
After this little one, the runs began to dry up. I had a go for the zeds into the first hour of darkness, but on this occasion I was unsuccessful, although did get a run, which I missed.
Overall a cracking day out on the drains, and hoping for few more days like this to come!