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).

Piking.

I had a short pike fishing session on my local river the other day - just to get back in the swing of it. We'd had a bit of rain so, although the water level hadn't risen much (it's rock bottom) there was a trace of colour. First I caught a few baits. This was easier than it's been for some time as the murky water and mild weather seemed to have made everything hungry. I had dace, trout and roach one after another even on my crude float set up. Good start!

The pike were less easy to tempt and after some little time and several biteless pools I was beginning to think that I should have stuck to roach fishing. In most pikey spots the water was so shallow that I had my float (a little cork) right down by the wire trace. Eventually, after slogging through lots of sloppy mud churned up by the cattle, I reached a spot where there was a reasonably deep eddy. I pushed the float up and lowered the bait into the deeper water. Nothing! Until I was about to lift the roach out and move along again then, with a crash and a splash it was taken - right on the surface. I tightened immediately and the circle hook was in. I played and landed the pike, a reasonable specimen of around the ten pound mark, before taking a couple of pictures, slipping the hook out and returning it.

I put another bait on and walked round to the other side of the pool. Within minutes I had another take from a fish of similar size to the first but it took the bait off the hook before I could tighten. I tried in the same spot for perhaps ten minutes but either the fish had moved or it was satisfied with its meal, so no more action. All in all a pleasant hour's fishing on a nice mild afternoon.

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

Roach.

A nice sized meal for a pike.

Pike.

Eventually I managed to get a bite in deeper water but at the surface.

Well hooked.

As always the circle hook is well situated for removal.