Esox await

The year of 2017 has, thus far, been a struggle from an angling perspective. Outside influences have impacted upon my ability to get onto the bank with monotonous regularity. Absolutely nothing I could have done to alter the situation, therefore I accept my lack of results as a direct consequence - such is life! On Sunday, we were able to move Bev's parents back into their Herne Bay flat and, as a result, our bungalow has returned to something close to normality. All of a sudden the Social Services have been galvanized into action and the wheels are now in motion to re-assess the needs of this elderly, law abiding, tax paying, couple, who have contributed to the coffers for their entire working lives! How screwed up is our system when, newly arrived, non nationals are given priority over those whose taxes have been used to fund the provision of this service?  I'll end it here for fear of being labelled a racist. Only in, politically correct, England (Not Wales, Scotland or Ireland) is it considered likely to cause offense by being proud of your birth place or flying the flag of St. George!

I'm English and 100%  proud of that fact.
What a pity our politicians have all the backbone of a
"Jelly-baby" and wilt at the first sign of p/c confrontation.

The nights are drawing in and there's a distinct chill in the early morning air, pike time is now upon us. No targets set, as yet, I just fancy a winter of seeing what I can do locally? I have a new section of the RMC which seems to be ticking all the right boxes. It's certainly well off the beaten track but, does it hold any decent pike? If neglect is a factor in pike location, then this venue has it in abundance - I'll have to wait and see what turns up. Knowing how well the canal responds to cold conditions, it will be a month, or so, before I bother travelling all that way. In the mean time there are the drains of the East Kent marshes, The Stour and one of our, two, club lakes to explore. Realistically, it is the river that has the greatest potential to turn up a decent fish, but those drains still have that mystique which provides the element which makes my angling so much more of an adventure. The club water has all the usual vibe which is associated with match anglers encountering anything heavier than a "skimmer" bream. Pike take on dimensions of Blue Marlin when a pole angler recalls how he had a pike snatch a roach from his hook. "It was like a crocodile!" The reality being a fish in the six to eight pound bracket in the majority of situations. A double would be a nice result under these circumstances and, as such, a worthy mini project, perhaps?

18th January 1988 - Wilstone Reservoir
22 lbs 2 oz of Tring pleasure.
One like this over the coming winter will do very nicely.

Perch are another species about which I still have much to learn. They are certainly present in our club fisheries and also in the RMC, so my challenge will be as much based on location (why are they here but not there?) as the methods required to actually catch the stripey bleeders. This is one species that I feel a new PB is a very achievable target given a concerted effort. Since 2011, I have been fortunate to have seen Benno, Luke and Simon all take perch in excess of 3 lbs - my turn next?