the newts.net

Both Bob and Tim have opened their Fish n Trips accounts this week with some nice fish.

Bob sent this report:

I fished at butterswood, goxhill - right near the train
tracks.  I got 2 Carp both about two and a half pound, two Tench about a pound and
a half and two Rudd 4-8 oz.  All on a garbalino flatbed method feeder, micro
pellets and corn hook bait on a hair, with maybe an additive or two, think next
time will be better now i have a feel for where to fish it.  Might try bradley
again soon.  Sounds like it has picked up, went in early september and not much
good.

Thanks to Bob for his pics and report.  You can click on any pics to enlarge them.  I particularly liked the blood red colouring on his Rudd’s fins.  Gorgeous colour.

Tim sent this report:

Had a trip to Snitterby today and what a day it was! Got there at 6am got 3 rods out for half past, first fish 5 to 7 - 15 and half caught on legered Polan.  Then went quiet for a bit then had something sniffing on my paternoster float with small trout on, 15lb nicely marked fish, then it did go quiet for awhile about 11am I moved my other float up a bit flicked it out only to see it scream off down river bang 19lb beautiful fish caught on eel section.  Then nothing for awhile then float went again hit it but it pulled out felt like a nice fish packed up at 12:30 so all in all a good mornings fishing when you no were to go ;)

So thanks to Tim for his pics and report - which has given me an idea for a new feature on the Fish n Trips page.  I’m going to add a % of the record feature for our biggest fish.

In simple terms if you catch a 10lb fish of a certain species  whose British Record is 20lb you’ll score  50% of the record.  If you catch a 15lb fish of the same species you’d score 75% of the record.  I’ll do this for all of our best specimen fish caught during the Fish n Trips Challenge.

So to start the ball rolling Tim will hold the Pike top spot for now with a 19lb fish.  The Brirish Record Pike is 46lb 13oz.  This gives Tim a Pike Record Rating of 40.58%

Another reason I thought it would be nice to add is because Garry Ornsby caught a monster Carp this week also.  The story and pictures will follow, but his Carp was independently weighed and verified at 17lb 4oz.  This gives Garry the Carp top spot with a Carp Record Rating of 26.19%

These fish and the new % Record Ratings have been added to the Fish n Trips page above.

I’ve fished in some cold weather but this was just ridiculous…
(click to enlarge pictures)

This is what happened to my short baitcaster rod while pike fishing at Bardney Lock a few days before Christmas.  After noticing what was happening I put my rod down and tried to remove some of the ice build up from the end eye.  The ice was very crisp and solid and I couldn’t remove it without using considerable force and risking damaging the eye.  By this time the line had frozen solid through every eye on the rod except the butt eye.

It took two hours for my rod to thaw out!

You wouldn’t mind freezing your b*ll*cks off for a nice double figure personal best Pike, but we didn’t catch a bean.  I tell a lie, this is probably when I caught the flu that laid me up for most of Christmas!

In a break from the usual monster Pike horror stories you often hear of as a Pike angler, where huge Pike have been seen taking ducks and chicks off the surface of the water in one gulp - Here we have the tables turned as a cormorant gets one back for the birds and shovels a Jack Pike down his throat.  Great picture (click it for biggy).

After spending all day at Bardney Lock with just a couple of small Jack Pike to show for it, enjoyable though it was, I was in need of some further entertainment. Then I found it. Some fool holding a deadbait in his hand and waving it 3 inches off the nose of a hungry 8lb pike.

I wonder what happens next?

I haven’t cast a line in search of Pike for nearly 20 years now, so when the invitation came for a few hours wobbling a dead bait one early morning I thought yeah why not, it will make a refreshing change from trout. We met up in Brigg and fished the Old Ancholme from a spot just a side street from the precinct in Brigg.

A very simple setup of 12′ Carp rod, 8lb Maxima, 18” wire trace and a wobbled smelt accounted for my first little Pike of around 3lb above.

And not long after this 4.5-5lb’er below.

Not bad for a couple of hours, frosty morning work!

I’ve been thinking for a while now of trying out some form of lure fishing with a small or single handed multiplier reel. Inspired mainly by Rex ‘Yibbida Yibbida folks - Thank your mother for the rabbit’ Hunt, watching him single handedly flicking lures from a boat towards some sunkissed Aussie coastline. I thought that’s one style of fishing I’ve never tried and I really fancy a go at.

So I’ve been on the look out for a decent multiplier reel and a suitable rod. I think I’ve found a good reel in the Team Diawa Viento I managed to get from an American tackle shop via e-bay. Not an easy job as you might think as the Yanks seem to prefer right hand wind reels, but eventually I was lucky enough to win a bid on a left hand wind one. I’m still undecided about which rod to go for. I’d like something that will handle a BIG pike and cast lures big enough to catch big Pike, but it would be nice to have something a little versatile that could throw a smaller lure should if I fancy a spin for trout, perch or even a spot of harbour fishing, Rex Hunt syle, while on holiday. The rods that I have found so far include:

The G.Loomis Mag Bass

The Greys Prodigy Jerk Bait GPK 050

The Greys G100 Spin GHR 030

David Lumb Power Plus-X

Fox Predator Piker Jerkbait

I think I need a bit of experienced advice for this decision, so right now I’m off to check out the Pike Forums to see if there are any helpful souls in there who can put me on the right line. And hopefully, in the not too distant future, I’ll be armed with my own Pike outfit and posting pictures of some monster fish!