Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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Information Page

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 pike.

It's getting towards the end of my bass/mullet fishing season now so Nigel and I had a sortie to the river the other afternoon. By the time I arrived my pal had caught a few grayling by trotting maggots. After I got there he packed in float fishing and picked up his pike rod. We set off, full of enthusiasm, to try and catch a pike. Nigel was using a float (salvaged from beach flotsam) and a small fish while I decided to spin with a large, soft plastic, Slandra. Despite recent rain river was still very low and only slightly coloured. It was not too cold and we were quite optimistic.

We started fishing in a wide, shallow, muddy bottomed pool. My lure was perfect and wriggled along seductively just above the bottom. On about the fifth cast a pike of about four pounds lurched out of the weeds and missed the lure completely. We decided to leave it and try for a bigger fish. Mistake!!! We couldn't buy a bite in any of the other spots. After a couple of hours we were making our way back to the cars when Nigel called out that he had a fish. The excitement was short lived as it turned out to be even smaller than the one we'd seen earlier. Next time perhaps?

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.

Certainly not a monster but it saved a blank.

Unhooked

Nigel's pike ready to go back.