Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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Freshwater Fishing

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 several 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. As you see I also add the odd piece from my friends and correspondents if I've not been doing much. 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).

Small lures.

I have to say that I'm no great lover of small lures. If I think that the fish may be turned onto minnows or other tiny fry I'll try a similar sized imitation but on the whole I prefer a bigger bait in the hope of tempting a bigger fish. This week, following my computer debacle, I eventually forced myself to go to the river for a spin and ever hopeful of a perch I opted, against my better judgement, for a size 2 Mepps.

At first it was a bit slow and I had no bites at all for perhaps twenty minutes then, casting to the far bank, the lure was taken as soon as it hit the water. No perch this but a small pike which gave a reasonable account of itself jumping clear of the water and making the clutch zuzz a bit. A little later a cast upstream into shallow streamy water produced a sharp bite and a little wriggly trout - better than nothing. I decided to switch to a small plug to see if it made any difference. I've taken the front treble off the plug (one given to me by my New Zealand pal Alan) to avoid it fouling the lip (I still can't get hold of small strong trebles). The plug worked very well fished either with or against the current and in the next half hour I had another six, out of season, trout, all in fine fettle and unspawned. I suppose I should have packed in when I'd caught a couple but I was ever hopeful of a perch or a chub. So much for my small lure session.

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you!' get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

Pike.

I'd added a small tail to the Mepps which may not make it more attractive but damps down the spin a bit.

Ready to release.

nicely lip hooked even on the small lure.

My first trout.

This one took the Mepps as I wound it at speed with the current.

Plugged trout.

Both the small lures were effective for trout.

The plug.

I replaced the front treble with a split ring and a small metal ring to maintain the balance.