Monday saw me true to my word with bag-seat on my back trudging up to peg 11 in the top field through the rain sodden muddy slope, that even the sheep were having difficulty with, leading to peg 11, the last on my list for the right hand bank. I decided to set up just the waggler along with the pike rod, with the sardine being cast about 15m out in front of me but a couple of metres to the right. The waggler was about the same distance but directly in front. Two balls of groundbait thrown out and wheat loose fed over the top.

The view from peg 11 in warmer times! Starting on double maggot I began getting the the odd small roach before it went quiet and the sardine attracted the interest of a 7-14 pike.

I had not taken the big net due to the walk but instead made use of a 28″ net as seen in picture. On returning the pike and casting out a new sardine I changed to double wheat and began getting slightly better stamp of roach and rudd. I had planned to fish to about 1pm but at 12 I hooked another pike weighing exactly 9-0, returned it caught two more roach then the pike rod went again and THE SAME pike of 9-0 was in my net once more. It had a distinctive scar on it’s back so it was clear it was the same fish. Either it was ultra hungry or catching and releasing does nothing to put a fish off from feeding! Not the best picture but I wanted to get it back in to the water quickly following it’s extended exertions!

At this point I thought enough was enough and packed up with 11 roach and 4 rudd weighing 2-06 and the 3 (or is it 2?) pike.

Next day I returned this time to peg 10. The temperature was right down to zero so I only cupped in one ball of groundbait with a few grains of corn and wheat. Setting up with 0.10mm Shogun hooklength to an 18 and double maggot I began getting small roach, a change to wheat for once made no difference. A lull signaled the arrival of pike in the area and sure enough the sardine was taken by a jack of 4-10. A few more roach and another lull but this time the pole float lifted and a strike met with a solid object that did not move at first- the typical sign of a pike on the pole. Playing it as carefully as I could I managed to coax it to top 2 distance when the hook pulled! A few more roach and rudd then the same lift, strike and solid resistance signaled another pike. This time after a few minutes or so I managed to put the net under a pike of 9-08.

That was the last of the main action with my 20 roach and 4 rudd weighing 1-08.

The weather at the end of the week went very wet and when I ventured to the Pondtail on the Saturday to try out my new 7m carbon whip from China I found it in flood with the lake more like a river with a huge washing machine style eddy. I gave it an hour and sneaked a solitary gudgeon before the water began coming up through the platform! At this point I left!

Undeterred I returned on the Monday and fished 10-1 to peg 10 armed with the whip and pike rod and fished 10-1 . Fishing a Chinese float I began on double maggot and with the water almost tea coloured I began to get some small skimmers and roach on the whip. A lull announced a pike of 10-2 taking a fancy to the sardine! The whip handled well but it is different in action from European versions, and relies upon it bending through to the handle rather than any elastication, and I will do a separate write up about the whip. Best fish on the whip was a skimmer of 1-06, with 15 roach and 12 other skimmer for a 3-08 total.

Next day sees me back at peg 10, kitted out more conventionally! The day started with a run on the sardine that produced a pike of 8-14, the only run of the day. On the pole fishing as per usual but this time starting with 3 balls of firm groundbait to counteract the tow on the still tea coloured water I was plagued at first by mini roach and rudd on the maggot before hitting a better fish that turned out to be another surprise perch of 1-08 a pb for Bowood. I also had my usual run ins with pike on the pole, hooking two but losing both, one with the hook pulling the other bitten through. The 18 roach and 2 skimmers weighed 0-12!

Sunday sees me at Peatmoor for the annual Pike Cup, the weather was not kind with 5 hours of rain sitting on a rain puddled platform and my one and only run was from a pike of about 7lb that threw the hooks after a minute or so!(NOT HAPPY).

Still Christmas is around the corner!