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).

05 January 2010.

Accidental seatrout kelt.

I went up the river a couple of days back to see a two lads who were fishing for grayling. Although it was a bright sunny afternoon it was very cold indeed and when I met the others they had barely had a sniff. We chatted for a while and, of course, I couldn't resist a chuck. I'd taken my spinning rod armed with a large silver spoon on the offchance that a pike might be stupid enough or hungry enough to move a foot or two to intercept it.

I moved away from where the others were float fishing and had a cast into a likely slack. On the third retrieve I felt a pluck on the lure. One of the best things about braided line is that you can discern every twitch and knock at the business end. I tried a couple more casts in the same spot but - nothing! For ten minutes I tried a few other likely spots and then, having given my first potential customer a bit of a rest, I returned to try again. Second chuck there was a sharp tug and I was in. It was immediately apparent that this was not the pike I sought. It was a decent size but, unlike pike, it came to the surface thrashing and rolling. As quickly as possible (that's pretty quick) I drew my captive to the bank and could see that it was an out-of-season seatrout of about six pounds. I took a couple of pictures and bending down unhooked the fish, still in the water, with my pliers. It swam away strongly and hopefully it may return to be caught again in the 2010 season. Pity it wasn't a pike!

Damn, it's a seatrout!/P>

Just a second.