Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

Information Page

For anyone unfamiliar with the site always check the FRESHWATER, SALTWATER and TACK-TICS pages. The Saltwater page now extends back as a record of over four years of (mostly) sea fishing and may be a useful guide as to when to fish. The Freshwater stuff is also up to date now. I keep adding to both. These pages are effectively my diary and the latest will usually be about fishing in the previous day or two. The Tactics pages which are chiefly 'how I do it' plus a bit of science are also updated regularly and (I think) worth a read (the earlier ones are mostly tackle and 'how to do it' stuff so if you are new to fly fishing or spinning these are the ones for you).

22 December 2009.

Better than nothing!

I've had a stinking cold which, hopefully, will be gone by Christmas. Anyway, the other day I fancied a spot of spinning to see if I could tempt a perch, chub or pike from the river. I started off by using a small plug and fishing everywhere from the fast flowing shallows to the deep, still holes under the bank. I only managed one bite which I missed but I decided that it was probably a trout to judge from where it was - in about 30cm of water rushing along over a gravel bed.

Not too encouraging so I changed to a jig with a worm on the hook instead of the original soft plastic grub. Zilch! Clearly it was not going to be a good day after the hard frost and with the water still a bit coloured. After half-an-hour of 'jigging' I'd had enough and I decided to have a last chuck into a deepish, slow flowing stretch above a weir. I switched to a self weighted, soft plastic shad about 12cm long with a waggy tail. First chuck I was retrieving steadily just off the bottom (at least all the weeds ahve been washed out so it was easy fishing) when I had a sharp take and hooked a jack pike. I landed the fish and took its picture and moved on slowly upstream having a chuck every five or ten metres. Five minutes later I had a second bite and landed another pike about the same size as the first one. At least it wasn't a blank and certainly better than nothing at all.

First pike.

Close up.

And another one.

Well hooked.