Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

"HOME."

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).

Piking

The other day Nigel popped in for a chat and since it looked like a pleasant afternoon we decided to have an hour or so on the River. He popped home to collect his gear and after we'd had a bite of lunch we met on the river bank.

The first objective was to catch some bait so we each tried float fishing with maggots. The mill-stream glide where we began proved to be a mistake and all either of us could get were trout - including some decent sized ones. This prompted a move to a still pool with hardly any flow and at once we were into roach. Nigel had several fish of around half to three quarters of a pound and it wasn't long before we set off to the main river in search of predators.

I'd rigged up a light paternoster with a 4/0 circle hook on a wire trace and Nigel had a similar trace but suspended under a float. We had barely been fishing for five minutes when my line tightened and began to move up against the flow. I tightened and I was in. The fish put up a fair old show and it was a while before I eased it into the netheld by my pal. Good start. After the first pike it slowed down and we had no more bites for perhaps half-an-hour when Nigel called that he'd had a take. In fact the fish failed to encounter the point of the hook two or three times before he eventually hooked and landed it. The problem was probably big bait, moderate hook and modest (*8lb?) pike. That as they say was that. Avery pleasant session nonetheless.

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

Dace.

A bit small for pike baitthis one.

Roach.

That's more like it!

My pike.

This one was nicely hooked on the circle hook.  No monster but a fine fish all the same.

---again.

Same pike with captor.

Nigel's pike.

Only a little smaller than the first one but much harder to hook.