Sunshine Pike fishing

Fellow blogger, Brian (Pike Blog), has summed it up quite simply with his latest offering entitled Pike Time. October is here and the 1st saw the start of yet another traditional season. I must admit to having very mixed feelings about the early season pursuit of our apex predator, yet this year (winter) is probably going to see my last serious campaign on the banks of the Royal Military Canal? I already have a target to land a "double" before Oct 13th, when the first Canterbury/Thanet Regional PAC meeting takes place. To this end, Bruno and I took an extended stroll along two sections of the canal, this morning, just to establish if it is a viable proposition whilst there is still extensive weed growth in both near, and far, margins. Fortunately the answer was yes, so I am hopeful that I'll be able to get a few sessions in before the PAC gathering. 

31st August 1987
17 lbs 1 oz of accidental capture whilst Zander fishing on
the Cambridgeshire Fens.

My approach will be exactly the same as my previous campaigns, although I do have a couple of tweaks for my dead bait presentation which may assist my cause?  These early season fish are usually well below their peak weight, yet still have the ability to put up a decent scrap when hooked. 

Pike in the autumnal sunshine - absolutely wonderful fish.

I have taken Pike in excess of twenty pounds during the month of October, yet am not too worried about such things at present. All I want is be able to say that my campaign is up and running when Nick, our R/O, does the "round robin" on that first night. As for the campaign, over the entire winter period, I am hopeful that I might get another Pike which tops the twenty-five mark, thus smashing that glass ceiling again. A long way to go and many things could change between now and March 14th 2026.

Home again

 I arrived back in Dumpton just before 20.00 hrs, last night, having driven from Bristol Airport. After collecting Bruno from my neighbours Glynis & Terry, I did little more than get the suitcase from the van and have a quick snack before the duvet was calling. Absolutely knackered, I didn't need much persuading, even though it was only half past nine! This morning we had a, rain shortened, stroll over on Worth RSPB Res which was enlivened by a flock of nine Crossbills flying west over the Pinnock Wall. Back indoors around 11.00 hrs, I got the suitcase unpacked and then set about getting the holiday images transferred onto my laptop. This took quite a while, as there were about three thousand and, quite obviously, these will require a fair degree of effort the go through them thoroughly. However, I've sorted out three which should set the tone for the holiday.

Spotted Flycatcher

Imm Red-backed Shrike
Both the above species were seen regularly around the
apartment buildings and adjacent olive groves

I have every intention of posting a more in depth overview of the fortnight, purely because I couldn't have done it without the help and support from Leon & Pauline. The final image is of a most unexpected encounter with a Richard's Pipit, the first one I've seen in Greece. I flushed it from besides the track I was wandering and, unlike the majority of other birds, it decided to fly back over my head and perch in the sunshine on a nearby Eucalyptus tree.

A very obliging individual