Never too old to learn

That winter Piking campaign of 2021/22, on the RMC, seems so long ago. My mini project, for February 2023, is now fully underway and I'm struggling to get to grips with many aspects posed by these RMC Pike. If getting old has any benefits, and they're certainly not too obvious, then the ability to learn from past mistakes must be one of the best? It was a comment posted last year, by a fellow Pike angler, questioning the merits of "tweaked" dead baits over more standard offerings which I was unable to offer any sensible response. I use anything which I feel will give me that "edge" over other bait presentations. 

Well something isn't right. I've lost two very decent Pike, since the start of this caper. The one on Monday 6th Feb was a very big fish indeed. I actually had it to the net before it surged off, shook its' head and spat my bait, complete with hooks, leaving me feeling like I'd swallowed an orange! Do nothing? Well nothing changes, so I obviously had to do something. As there's still two and a bit weeks of February to go I'm not minded to start posting details about what I've changed, and why, because it might be a load of tosh?  All I can report, thus far, is that at 08.20 hrs, this morning, I managed to tempt my latest Pike from the canal. A very nice fish of 15 lbs 11 oz which took a popped-up, flavoured, coloured, 1/2 Herring section, thus exactly what I've been offering since 1983! Two steps forward, one step back? 

Talking about the RMC, what I must say is that it is an absolute pleasure (privilege) to be able to spend time on the banks of this iconic waterway. The other folk who enjoy this stunning place for dog walking, jogging, cycling, rambling and/or whatever other purpose, are a wonderfully diverse mix, the random nature of our conversations is testament to all that is good in society today.