First of 15!

Natasha's first proper pike...well chuffed!

Hi all. 

Well, at last there appears to be a slight break in the weather at last. The last few days have been rather damp and dreary but at least it's starting to feel a bit milder. In fact on a trip out this week there were plenty of snow drops popping up around the place. Always gives me a feeling that spring is just around the corner and winter is a thing of the past! Yipeeeeee!

Wednesdays trip out with Natasha was a bit colder and blustery and our chosen club venue looked rather bare and desolate. Despite the cold we set up on a small point that enabled us to have a good view of the lake and plenty of choice spots to aim at. We spent 2 hours in said swim but to no avail. We couldn't get so much as a nibble in the shallower water. We then had a move around to the otherside of the lake and fished midway along the bank into about 6-7 feet of very clear water. I swapped over the roach and mackerel dead baits and traded them for smaller hooks and a couple of Smelt hook baits instead.

All the rods were placed in likely spots using a free running lead set up and we sat back to await results.....It took a while before there was a hint of any action and the left hand rod started to bleep on the Delkim. A few more bleeps and a gentle wobble on the tip of the rod signaled a pikes intention rather than that of the wind. A few seconds later and the line started to peel from the spool of the reel. I gave Natasha the rod and she struck into a solid resistance. The fight was brief but great fun for her and within a few minutes she was the proud captor of a lovely male pike of around 7lbs.

That was the only take of the day and we decided to pack up and head home at around 4pm. I popped into my local tackle shop on the way home to grab 2 pints of mixed maggots and a few blockend maggot feeders for the following day on the Wye!

5lb 14oz barbel...not a monster but who cares when it's tough going. My first of 2015 too!

I set the alarm for an early start (4am).....The alarm went off and I lay there listening to the rain slamming against the window pain. I thought for a few minutes as to whether I really wanted to spend the day sat in the cold wet conditions or whether to just stay in bed until mid morning and be a really lazy bastard. I switched off the alarm and went back to sleep! I awoke again at 6.45am and it was still raining but not as hard as before. I then systematically got up and went to the bathroom. I was up and ready to go. I packed the car with my gear which had spent the night on the lounge floor awaiting departure.

A nice little Wye chub

Next thing I knew was that I was in the car and on the motorway.....A quick stop at the junk food station saw me tucking into a MacyD's sausage and egg Mcmuffin and a fresh coffee. By 8.50am I was setting up on the river in a spot I've done so well in in the past. The river looked absolutely bang on for a fish and was despite all the rain, rising only very slightly. I placed a maggot feeder on the upstream rod and a straight lead setup on the lower one with a River Monster boilie on.

Well, I sat there and sat there and sat there! Not a twitch all bloody day! It got to 4.45pm before I got my first bite of the day! A very steady pull that sprung back and then piled away at full pelt. The fish was hooked mid river in heavy flow so it gave a great account of itself. I grabbed the rod and flipped the back wind off only to smack my knuckles on the spinning spool. The scrape bled all over the place and made for a bit of an uncomfortable scrap with what was clearly a barbel.

I couldn't believe it that I had been right about the fish starting to feed again. Yes it had been tough and there wasn't exactly a lot of fish to go at but here I was hooked into my first barbel of 2015! I sunk the net under her and let out a sigh of relief that I had got her in on the 6lb hooklink I was using. I set up the usual bits and bobs and hoisted my prize clear of the water. 5lb 14oz on the scales....Not a monster by any standards but my first of the new year and only barbel since late October last year!!!

A great end to the day. 5lb 3oz Wye chub! Happy as!

My next chance came just as the light was fading away and a nice little chub of 3lbs scoffed the river monster boilie....This was swiftly followed up with a much better one of 5lb 3oz. All 3 fish taking the boilie rather than the maggots or pellets. Just goes to show how bloody good that bait really is! Even when it's fishing stupidly hard and cold the bait still does the goods. Very proud of that one!

Well, that's about it for now. I may have an odd day out next week but I've not got a huge amount in the diary between now and the last week of the season. Bob and I are hoping to fish together the last week of the season as he's booked the time off work. I'll be driving down to him to try and bag that illusive first ever river carp and my first Kennet Barbel! We'll then be hitting the Wye for the last 2 days of the season. Fingers crossed it fishes its balls off!

Tight lines guys
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