A good month all round.

There are very few occasions when I find myself in agreement with Neville Fickling but his statement, about January, being the month for catching "big" Pike, remains as relevant today as when he made it back in the early 1980's! Looking at my results from the RMC, this month, certainly suggest that what I am doing is consistent with Neville's theory. I had twelve sessions during the month, with eight bites, from Pike, registered of which seven resulted in fish being landed. Six "doubles" and a "twenty"! Where are all the jacks? Those lesser specimens which must be present in a healthy ecosystem; something that the canal certainly is. Could it be that my approach manages to be far more selective in as much as my bait presentation is deliberately targeting the bigger fish? I will offer an, in depth, explanation once my campaign has finished, on 14th March! My running totals are as follows :-

Target No.1 - three "twenties" - two landed = 67% (rounded up)

Target No.2 - twenty "doubles" - sixteen landed = 80%

Target No.3 - one hundred Pike - thirty landed = 30% (I've already conceded defeat for this particular part of the challenge)

Although my diaries do support the January/big Pike correlation, they also point to the fact that February has always been the month, on the RMC, when Benno, Luke and myself have enjoyed our most successful sessions coupled with more than our fair share of fish in excess of 15 lbs. If the Pike gods are on my side, there is every possibility that I'll have the project wrapped up before the start of March? Watch this space!!!

Birding has also been a very rewarding side show to my angling exploits. I'm still not too sure about the local stuff, instead being perfectly happy to continue my self-found year listing effort. As of today, my list stands at a modest 91 species. There are still some glaring omissions which will surely be rectified at some point in February. My odd sojourns down to Pegwell, Ramsgate Harbour, the cemetery and King George VI Park will continue, yet only if I fancy a stroll, not part of some more established routine. 

Pegwell stroll

 In keeping with my current routine, no Pike fishing until Monday, thus avoiding the weekend circus which convenes at various access points along the banks of the RMC. No doubt I'll be tidying up odd, discarded, drinks containers and dead bait wrappers in the aftermath, but a price worth paying to have the place to myself for the weekday sessions I so enjoy. With my year listing a very poor relation to the Pike campaign, I decided to take a wander around Pegwell Bay & Stonelees NNR in the hope of adding a few more species to that particular tally. I have to admit to a very serious, school-boy, error! I didn't bother taking the scope - what an idiot? Binoculars and the long lens camera set-up were my companions for the sojourn and proved to be woefully inadequate under the conditions. If it were important, as it has been in my past, I would have thrown the dummy out of the pram. Today it was more of a wry smile, knowing that I'd screwed up and no-one else was to blame. 

Certainly not all doom and gloom, I had a very pleasant walk around the site adding another five species to the list which has now reached 89. However, it wasn't about the birds I added but, instead, those I could clearly make out through my binoculars yet were unable to be clinched due to distance and light levels being a limiting factor. Hey-ho! There's always another day? Three species which would have surely been added are Sanderling, Grey & Ringed Plover, plus there is always the possibility of Caspian and Yellow-legged Gull and any amount of seabirds moving, offshore, along the coastline.

It was whilst watching the Common Seals, hauled out along the banks of the tidal Stour, that the day's highlight occurred. A lady borrowed my binoculars, thus allowing her to look at these animals for the first time. An absolute privilege to be able to share in such a moment - I don't know who was most excited?

It's obvious that I saw nothing exceptional and, what I did see, won't be passed on to some third party in order for it to be "authenticated" or "recorded". Was it, therefore, a trip without purpose? (As has been questioned by a fellow blogger) Having no need to justify my involvement with our natural world to anyone else but myself, I will sleep well in the knowledge that by sharing time, and equipment, with another person, I might have inspired them to continue looking? That'll do it for me.

First impressions

Well I'm back home after the first afternoon/evening RMC Pike session. Not sure that there's much I can conclude from the effort, although another "double" to the tally certainly ensured it wasn't a wasted journey. Three baits in the water by noon, meant that I was starting my session at the point in the day when I'm usually getting on my way home. No sign of any of the regular crowd, with the exception of the rambler who's input was catalyst to this venture. I enjoyed my time on the bank, as usual, but wasn't too sure what I was expecting to happen. At 13.40 hrs, my right hand alarm signalled a bite and, after the usual tussle and bankside rituals, I placed a nice Pike, of 14 lbs 11 oz, into the ET Pike Tube prior to getting the camera kit set up. 

A fresh bait in the canal, followed by me moving the other two rods to the east of the one that had seen the bite. And that was my lot!! Not another bleep for the remaining three and a half hours. By the time I started to pack up, there was already a coating of frost on the kit and the wet landing net was rigid! Quite obviously, one session isn't going to allow an understanding of the feeding patterns of the Pike in the venue, but I saw enough to want to get back for a few more visits in the hope of learning more?

Fortunately, angling has the wonderful ability to allow me to engage with so many other aspects of the natural world. Birds, today, weren't that different to any other recent outing but, still kept me entertained whilst awaiting an alarm to signal the next take. Light levels were all over the place, yet I still find it a bit of fun to attempt to get token images of the birds on show. I suppose the best thing is that I make no claim to be a digital photographer, thus happy with the second rate offerings I seem to capture. Todays efforts are just that - efforts! Yet good enough for a blogger to convey the RMC vibe.

Spot the Med Gull. RMC snow flakes

As I packed up and pushed my barrow off the canal, there were at least three (possibly five) Barn Owls calling out in the darkness. It couldn't be a wasted day?

Snaggy reward

It's always nice when a plan comes together and the result, you'd hoped for, becomes reality. And so it has proven with my decision to target that snaggy section of the RMC. Only two sessions, thus far this week, but I've already seen my unhooking mat graced by yet another "double". The real icing on the cake will be if I manage to get any action during my afternoon, into dark, session tomorrow?

13 lbs 4 oz - yet another "double" closer to my target

I've been playing around with my bankside display, not that I'm likely to encounter any other Pike anglers whilst at the RMC. I'm doing it "because I can" I suppose. I've already mentioned that I swapped my rods and reels. It has now gone a step further with my decision to incorporate the £1.66 (Three for a fiver) Dragoncarp "Ultimate Redmire" bite alarms and my brother, Sye's, home made "Back-biters". What needs remembering is that my terminal tackle, bait choices and presentations haven't altered one iota and that's the only bit that the Pike will encounter, until it's too late. The kit on the bank and what it looks like, however, is for the angler, not fish, to worry about. When I end this current project, be it a success or not, I have every intention of posting a "how I do it - warts an' all" Pike fishing the RMC piece. I've been capturing odd images of the tackle, scenery, plus other bits and bobs, with just such a post in mind.

Because of my anal obsession with recording "doubles" (whatever species) I know that this current Pike campaign is, already, the most successful I've ever undertaken. With, at least, another nineteen sessions planned before the curtain falls, a new benchmark has been set should ever I find myself seeking a return match? I cannot deny my love of Pike angling, although another campaign on the RMC might be unlikely but, "never say never!" Wherever my angling adventure takes me the RMC ain't going anywhere so will always be there should I need to scratch an itch!

Bite time?

There are just fifty-one days remaining until the close of the "traditional" coarse fishing season and with it, the end of my 2021/22 Pike challenge. All being well, I expect to get in another twenty-one sessions before the curtain falls on this particular campaign and my sights alter focus in search of other species. Resting against a bookcase, in my study, are three rods which I have only used once since our last trip up to Loch Awe in 2019. They are a Tri-Cast 13' 2.25 lbs t/c, a Bruce & Walker 13' 2.75 lbs t/c and a Bruce & Walker 12' 2.25 lbs t/c. All carbon fibre, manufactured in the mid 1980's, they remain very serviceable bits of angling hardware and a pleasure to use in the right situations. 

As I had said in a previous post, my angling focus has moved some three-quarters of a mile along the RMC and has certainly proved to be a positive decision. However, between these two points, there is a section of the canal that contains some rather substantial snags which certainly have the potential to hold Pike. As fantastic as my Duncan Kay 1lb 10oz t/c rods are, using them in this type of situation isn't particularly wise. If fish welfare is important, then I need to use gear which will cope under these specific conditions. Whilst I readily admit that these alternative rods are nowhere as much fun to play fish on, what they lack in finesse, they more than compensate with the brute force required for keeping hard fighting Pike away from the underwater obstructions, once hooked. I've made the decision to spend the next three sessions, so to the month's end, targeting these snags just to see if I've overlooked an opportunity? 

There is one other avenue of exploration which I feel needs some attention in the run up to the finish of my project. Up until now, all of my sessions have been conducted from pre-dawn to mid-day (maximum) and a very successful approach it has proven to be. However, because of a chance conversation with a guy, whom I regularly see out on the bank, the possibility of a late afternoon, into darkness, feeding spell has come into my thinking. Obviously there is only one way to check out the hypothesis and I've already made plans for a session, next week. One session isn't ever going to be enough to make serious judgement upon the possibilities, but it will be a start. I well recall the "problem" caused by night feeding Pike during my winter Eel campaign of 2015/16, so the concept isn't something new. 

Not what you want whilst deliberately targeting Eels!

I've not fished into dark for a while and recognise that, at this time of year, it will pose some specific issues should I have to deal with a decent Pike when the light has gone. Head torch(es) and spare batteries will be essential items, as will a supply of extra layers. As for trophy shots? I'm already thinking along the lines of getting the camera gear set up in the daylight and then covering it with a padded bag to stop condensation from forming on the lens. Whatever the outcome, it will be good to push the boundaries of my experience with the inhabitants of the canal. Always learning; because the day I think I know it all will be the day when I pack it up!

Utter madness

 I had all three rods cast out, baits in position, before 06.45 hrs this morning. A clear, calm, dawn saw the sun rise in a cloudless sky and therein lay the problem! As the light intensified, so the temperature dropped and "cat ice" started to form on the surface of the canal. By 08.00 hrs the canal had a lid on it and my baits were underneath. Absolutely no surprise that nothing happened from that moment onwards. I packed up around 11.00 hrs, having to break the ice to get my rigs back - what fun!!! A Barn Owl ghosted past, at 07.05 hrs, whilst three Little Egrets flew east and a Grey Wagtail fed along the canal margin. I did glimpse a Kingfisher, as it sped by, but the majority of my time was spent attempting to get decent views of a Mink. Always remaining in the shadows, my attempts with the camera were "iffy" at best. A cracking little animal, whatever the rights and wrongs of it being at liberty in the Kent countryside.

Not back with the rods until after the weekend, there are some nest boxes to build which should see me gamefully employed, in the interim, plus Bev has some ideas for tidying the garden and conservatory. No rest for the wicked - eh?

Pieces of the puzzle

Back down on the banks of the RMC, well before sunrise, ensured I was able to get my baits in position long before "bite time". As it happened bite time didn't produce a single bleep from the alarms and I was convinced that another blank was on the cards. However, two Barn Owls helped ease the situation, plus at least three Badgers which were picked out in the beam of my head torch as I got the rods set up. Pretty sure that the sound of the alarms caused these animals to come and investigate the source of the high pitched bleeping? It was just before 09.00 hrs, whilst chatting with Kevin (& Mac) that my right hand alarm signalled a bite. Sadly, after going through the time tested ritual, my strike only resulted in a small Pike rolling on the surface prior to shaking its' head and ejecting my bait, complete with hooks. Having seen the fish I wasn't too disappointed, although it would have been nice to add another number to my campaign tally. Kevin and Mac headed back towards their car and I was, once again, alone awaiting something to happen. 

I rang Bev, shortly after 09.30 hrs, and stated, during our conversation, that I'd be packing up around 10.45 hrs. She had just said "see you when you get home" and rung off when the alarm on the middle rod burst into life. This time there was no mistake. Over with the bale arm, tighten down and fish on! A very spirited encounter ensued, as the fish had no desire to see my unhooking mat. Fortunately, the tackle was up to the task, my prize drawn into the landing net at the first attempt and, therefore, I was able to go through the well rehearsed drill of unhooking and weighing prior to placing it into an ET Pike Tube to recover. At 14 lbs 2 oz, it was another double closer to my target, I'd worry about trophy photos after packing the rods away. 

I now feel at least some of this RMC conundrum has started to unravel. My bait choices & presentation, rig mechanics, bite indication methodology and, most importantly, fish location are all beginning to make sense, purely on the basis of my results. I've now undertaken eight sessions during January which have resulted in just six bites (from Pike) and five fish landed - four doubles and a twenty!! Knowing that I set my stall to cater for the pre-spawning females, this level of success would indicate, to me, that I'm not a million miles away from cracking the code? Effort equates success, and I have no issue with this mind-set, however, single minded obsession shouldn't be confused with effort. If unable to ring the changes and accept failure, even the most myopic of angler will enjoy a moderate level of fishy action. For me it has to be about pushing boundaries, constantly questioning what and, more importantly, why I'm doing whatever it is at the time? I've said, on many occasions in the past, "it's no good getting old if you don't get artful?" I'm sticking by this sentiment, purely because there are no short-cuts to experience. You have to have lived in order to learn from the journey, thus lessons, your life has provided. With this as my base line, I'm one lucky man. Life has been extraordinarily kind to me. 

I have every intention of sticking with my current campaign right through to 14th March. Quite how close I'll be to my targets is anyone's guess. Three "twenties"? I would like to think so. Twenty "doubles" - possibly in the bag by mid-February? One hundred Pike - not a hope in hell. Three sessions a week until mid-March, means there's potential for an awful lot more twists and turns in this campaign before I cross that finishing line. Onward and upward!