The (Relatively) Calm Waters Of The Canal

There have been many times when fishing that I have been much too stubborn either with tactic or location, Those days normally end with the dreaded blank. Saturday wasn't one of my stubborn days.

I have been eyeing up the River Parrett in West Somerset for a while now. A desire for wild river Pike and potential doubles has been an itch I've needed to scratch. So with the floodwater receding the hour and a half journey was made with Will, Olly & Dad. We sorted out our day tickets and headed riverside. Unfortunately the flow was still heavy and the water full of dirt and debris. We had already paid our money though so we decided to give it a crack. Dad started poorly and it didnt get much better for him... He had new Pike imitation Lures and proceeded to stick two of them in a tree and a hidden snag. As we moved further down river from Langport the River looked like it had potential for a few pike (in much different conditions), but it was running too fast and coloured for our lures to be noticed. Dad then cast his new Savage Gear Hybrid Pike into a tree and it inevitably became one with the branches. He was in a real foul mood now and I heard the classic SNAP! of a shattered rod, in frustration he had pulled his rod past it's breaking point. We were having no luck either and decided to try the Taunton & Bridgewater Canal instead (via Taunton tackle shop!),
The really quite friendly chaps in the tackle shop advised going further down the canal away from the town to avoid the cloudy water coming through from the River Tone. Taking their advice we got to the Canal to find it strikingly similar to Tiverton canal. A small shallow waterway no more than a few metres across. It also shared that Canal's predator density. The place is full of little Pike, it didn't take long for both Olly & Will to land their first Pike. Will's being a lovely fish of around 4 pounds, Olly's being (quite a bit) smaller.

We all had numerous hits and follows from small fish and I had my first Pike of the year on a classic Red & White Plug. A tiny fish but very welcome indeed!

The wind really picked up after that and we were looking for more sheltered swims. We passed a fellow Pike fisherman with his two Sons who was dead baiting. They had a couple of small fish as we passed and it was good to see young lads embracing the Pike as the fine sporting fish it is. We decided to drive on further along the Canal. There were a couple of interesting bends along it that shouted 'Pike Lair' to me. It still surprises me at the size of Lure that a Tiny Pike will attack, I was fishing with a 6 inch long Fox Zander Pro and I had Pike a similar size going for it! Entertaining though this was I desired a better fish. A better fish did take my lure but spat it out after thirty seconds after I had cast under a likely looking overgrown bush. We decided to head back as it was getting late but I couldn't resist one last cast near some more brambles... The hit was superb and the fight was one of a better fish, no monster but much more satisfying than the Pencil-Pike that had been entertaining me all day. Will netted it for me and although it was only around the 6-7 pounds mark I felt that satisfying glow only a Pike can give me. I really do love them.

We headed home having all caught except Dad, his day will come, plus now he has a lovely new rod to test out! 

Thanks for reading.

The Species Total after that is:

Ben - 8 Species - Perch, Roach, Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Gudgeon, Common Carp, Rainbow Trout & Pike.

Robbie - 5 Species - Perch, Roach, Rudd, Mirror Carp & Eel.

Will - 4 Species - Roach, Rudd, Gudgeon & Pike. 

Olly - 3 Species - Perch, Rainbow Trout & Pike. 

Phil - 1 Species - Pike.

Rainbows & Specimen Gudgeon

My last post waxed lyrical about the greed and the beauty of Perch, going as far to say they are the prettiest and greediest of fish in the UK. On Friday I reminded myself of a fish far bolder and arguably even better looking - The Rainbow Trout.
I have always preferred the classic wild Brown Trout to its magenta-hued American Cousin but there is no denying their attraction. They are lightening quick, acrobatic and just plain stunning to look at. A myriad of spots, silver and pink. Olly had never caught one before and I knew the perfect place to get him his first, Simpson Valley in Holsworthy.
Simpson Valley Fishery is a well run and progressive Fishery that caters to all aspects of freshwater lake fishing. They have all the classic Coarse species plus Large Pike and three species of Trout. Recently they had opened up a new Lure & Fly lake which has Trout, Perch & Pike in it. I had fished it before and had reasonable success, a couple of Rainbows and a couple of Jacks, nothing astounding but good fun. So on a damp but not particularly dreary Friday morning we made the trip from Plymouth to Holsworthy. I brought my two favourite set ups with me, my Lrf and my baitcaster. Fishing LRF style was my plan for most of the day and within 20 minutes I had a fish on. An exceptionally strong Rainbow that took a little Spoon. On the light rod it was a fantastic fight but it managed to fling the hook out as it leaped clear of the water. I wasn't disheartened as Olly had one on about 2 minutes later, that too throwing the hook near the end of the fight. That is the trouble with Barbless Hooks, much better for the fish but not so great for your catch rate. I quickly learned that you had to keep the line very tight to the fish during the fight, any run towards you or leap had to compensated with fast reeling and suitable drag. I had lost two fish before I landed my first, this fish wasn't large but put up a great account of itself on the light tackle. To Olly's amusement I managed to slip over on the mud mid fight, planting my arse on the soggy ground whilst trying to keep in contact with the fish. Luckily he stayed on and though wet and muddy I was a happy man with my first Rainbow of the year, taking me up to two species so far.

Me and Olly swapped lures and he was quickly in on the tiny spoon (Trout can't resist small flashing lures), his fish was slightly more subdued but was very interesting once we had it in the net. It quite obviously had survived a Pike attack, a bite mark from a fish of perhaps 5-6lbs was clearly on its side. Trout are incredibly agile and this one had showcased that. 

It did raise the question of how well the Pike are doing in the lake though? The Pike had been moved into the lake from a smaller cloudy one just down from it that was full of Coarse fish. They now found themselves in a crystal clear lake full of lightening fast Trout and the odd perch. It will be interesting to see how they fare in the future as the small Pike have extremely little to feed on and I can only imagine will end up as food for the larger girls who struggle to catch the Trout. With this in mind I used my baitcaster to fish both large Trout and Pike imitation lures to no avail. Perhaps they weren't in the mood, perhaps they wanted something else, either way I'm still yet to catch a Pike this year. I had two other Trout, one on a Fox Rage Mini Fry which has been my favourite lure so far this year, then we went home satisfied with a another fish species and some superb fights. 

On Saturday (seriously hungover from my Dad's 50th birthday celebrations) me, Will and Robbie made our way to our home ground - Bake Lakes. Planning to nail a few different species on float fished Maggot. Simple fishing for hungover minds. I was slightly late getting there and Will and Robbie had already had 2 species by then. Will, a couple of roach, Robbie, a roach and a Mirror Carp. His Soviet Headwear obviously working it's charm! 

I set up and quickly had a couple of small Roach plus a lovely bonus Hybrid Roach/Bream (which for the purpose of the Challenge we are counting as a different species). We stopped for a quick lunch break, headaches still in full effect. Then headed on to Luxor to get even more species. Feeding the swim with Red Maggot we soon had a feeding frenzy going on, with a fish a chuck. Will could barely get his bait in the water without some Roach or Rudd jumping on his hook! Then a magical moment for myself...  A specimen Gudgeon! We were in fits of laughter as we appreciated the monster at the end of my hook. 

In all seriousness a special fish for myself as I haven't caught one since I was a young boy and it was a little silver and blue flanked beauty! Will quickly followed mine up with one of his own, a brace of Specimens. We had numerous fish afterwards and it was a truly memorable way to spend a hangover. One where you are glad to be a Fisherman. 

The leaderboard after those two sessions is as follows: 

Ben - 7 species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Roach, Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Common Carp & Gudgeon.

Robbie - 5 species - European Eel, Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach & Rudd.

Will - 3 species - Roach, Rudd & Gudgeon.

Olly - 2 species - Perch & Rainbow Trout.

Phil - 1 Species - Pike. 

Birthday Bliss

Perch - the freshwater tiger, the fish with more mouth than brains, a creature so often a saviour of fisherman's day trips.
If you fish in freshwater it is extremely likely you have caught a Perch. Juvenile Perch are some of the greediest and bold fish in UK waters. They are also quite probably the prettiest. I have so many memories of days catching 40 or so fish on red maggot around 11 years old. In those days a fish of nearly a pound felt like a world record, a fish to be talked about for months. But everything changes when you catch a specimen...

My first Specimen Perch came whilst deadbaiting a roach in the margins for Pike at 12 years old. I can remember the rod pulling round ridiculously and I was sure I had a monster Pike, I had something more special. A two and a half pound Perch. I had never even dreamed of a Perch so huge. It blew my young mind and I never looked at the species the same way again. Those maggot munchers were potential roach murderers and it fascinated me so. I have been lucky to catch many more two pound plus fish since then but not many meant as much as the fish caught on Wednesday 3rd February (my 26th Birthday).

I have been a bit desperate for a fish as late and (as it was my birthday) an early finish at work and therefore a chance to fish was not to be taken lightly. A couple of hours at my favourite Perch haunt with Robbie and my Dad Phil gave me great hope of a first fish of the Challenge. I had still not caught on my new Shakespeare Lrf set up and it seemed perfect for Perch. It is quite simply amazing how far you can cast a 5g lure on a light setup. This allows you to cover a lot of water whilst also being able to appreciate even the smallest of fish.
We fished for a good hour and a half with no interest. My nerves were starting to get the better of me. Surely not another blank? Then Robbie let out those beautiful two words - fish on! The sun was setting and the magic hour had sparked the perch into action. Robbie's fish was a proper warrior. A fish that made up for its lack of beauty with attitude.

Renewed optimism I cast again and three chucks later I had a fantastically strong take. The ultralight rod bent wonderfully in the light of the sunset and I just enjoyed the fight. He wasn't going on huge runs but also wasn't coming in easy, big head shakes and staying deep. When the fish came to the net I could finally appreciate my first fish of 2016. A perch with a belly to rival most avid beer drinkers. Close to Three pounds we didn't need to weigh it. Just photograph it in the early evening sun and release it to terrorise the roach once more. 

I was ecstatic. A specimen Perch had once again brought a massive smile to my face.

Let's hope this is the start of a really special year!

Thanks for reading.