Benno and I endured a very unpleasant 5 hours, pike fishing, on the Royal Military Canal - we blanked! It speaks volumes that my highlight was the sighting of an adult winter Mediterranean Gull (my photo is from my archive - Jan 2011)
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| An adult winter plumage Mediterranean Gull - stunning, but not why I travelled to the RMC this morning. |
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| My first twenty - 20lbs 3oz (November 8th 1981) |
As we stood there, on the bank side, getting colder by the minute, we tried to define what it is that draws us from our beds to undergo these endurance challenges? The love of pike fishing is the underlying reason, and the chance to battle a "big" pike is always in the background - no one knows where or when, these encounters are therefore the stuff of dreams. The stiff easterly wind kept temperatures below 3C, yet we both remained positive about our chances - despite knowing that conditions couldn't get much worse! Gadget texted us with news that he'd taken a 7lbs 4oz pike from his syndicate water at Minster - that made us feel so much better; NOT! It didn't require much for us to call it a day, we packed it in at 12.00hrs, but had already arranged our next outing and were planning for the annual pilgrimage to Scotland in May.
We talked about our bait selection and our tactics, yet the weather plays a far bigger role than anything we can do in the current conditions. I drove home knowing that I have a week at work in which to plan my next outing. If I don't go piking, then there are many more species to target. No - winter is pike season and I'm confident that I'll be back on the RMC for yet another session chasing dreams.
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| A Scottish double doesn't like the feel of the hooks - May 1982 (I can't think why we would want to go back?) |
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