Luke and I were down at the Royal Military for 06.00 hrs, on Sunday morning, hoping to pick up where he and Benno had left off the previous week. They had taken eleven pike, to 16 lbs 9 oz, in a short session just before the onset of that crazy cold spell. What folly! Snow melt water had entered the canal - the result being a complete blank! We stayed for nearly six hours, not a sign of a fish.
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| A magnificent sunrise - "Fool's Gold"? We didn't have a touch. |
It wasn't a session without enjoyment; Luke and I haven't fished together since the catfish sessions at Greenacres, way back in the previous summer. Plenty to chat about, plans for carp, catfish, perch and pike - places to go, fish to catch. As the sun came up, the canal looked fabulous and our expectations were very upbeat. The fish, obviously, had other plans and we failed in our task - "not much of an advert for pike fishing?" being my comment. Lots of other folk, enjoying the facility, walking their dogs, riding bikes & horses, or simply having a stroll - some very nice conversations, with complete strangers, being a brilliant compensation for the lack of feeding pike.
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| Benno with a 16.09 - just a week ago! |
Great pic of Benno Dyl, that must have been some session. On the blank session afterwards, could another factor be that the predator having had a feed before the cold snap, is still digesting the meal?
ReplyDeleteAlthough there is certainly a possibility of a period of inactivity following on from a sustained feeding spell it does seem to be an established view that, post thaw, cold water influx (and associated salt run-off from treated roads) has a very negative effect on pike feeding behaviour. As for the photo? Taken on Benno's i-phone!
DeleteI can believe that Dyl.
ReplyDeleteWe really need cleaner places to pike fish in - Scotland looks nice!
Love that sun rise shot
ReplyDeleteSir, that is praise indeed! A simple Fuji Finepix effort if you like - Dyl
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