tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338589224051075532.post5800322535767145700..comments2024-03-29T08:25:42.543+00:00Comments on Of Esox & observations : A pre - Christmas recceDylan Wrathallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285181139467170047noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338589224051075532.post-72611615004266227582016-12-10T19:41:44.220+00:002016-12-10T19:41:44.220+00:00Gav, under no circumstances would I consider mysel...Gav, under no circumstances would I consider myself anything other than a "journeyman" pike angler. I've been unbelievably privileged to have captured some very large fish since that fateful day, way back in the 1970's. However, nothing about angling is carved in stone, thus all is open to challenge and revised thinking. Over the years I have captured a number of pike during the hours of darkness, all of them as a result of laziness (my PB from Wilstone - I couldn't be bothered to reel in a crucian livebait) or accidental capture whilst targeting other species - zander and eels in particular. Your recent success has led me to question a few things about my own approach - Benno and I spent a while, this morning, talking through the scenarios of why light into darkness sessions might be the way forward at our next venue.<br />I wrote about Eddie Turner & co - "Do something different" - well deliberately pike fishing in the hours of darkness is certainly something which needs further investigation by my way of thinking.<br />Cheers for the comment(s) and tight lines - DylDylan Wrathallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01285181139467170047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338589224051075532.post-44505640439311498272016-12-10T15:54:04.101+00:002016-12-10T15:54:04.101+00:00Dyl, when it comes to piking one thing I don't...Dyl, when it comes to piking one thing I don't have is a wealth of experience to draw upon. So when it comes to 'feeding times' for example, although I have read that the first few hours of the day can be best I cannot point to umpteen occasions when this has been true for me. If I had, it might influence me to give [possibly] undue importance to getting on the bank for dawn. Rob's experience with pike is likewise limited, but in the past he has deliberately fished for them at night several times, and caught. What I am trying to say is that neither of us is tied to a certain way of doing things because of years and years of 'that's what has always worked'. One thing we are trying to do on our chosen venue is keep far away from other anglers. So far the only ones we have seen were a handful of carpers back in October when we had a recce. I suspect that night-fishing will keep us under the radar a bit, so I was more than happy to try it. An additional bit of encouragement came from reading that a certain highly successful angler on the venue (with, I think, over 40 years experience of fishing it for pike) frequently caught at night, even in freezing conditions. All that, plus now having caught a big one after dark (and just one was all we needed to give us the necessary reassurance that we were on the right track) add up to a healthy injection of confidence. And as you say, confidence is 90% of the battle.<br /><br />By the way, my fish was caught around 5:30pm.Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.com