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).

More pike.

Where are all the big pike? Usually by this time of year I am catching a reasonable proportion of double figure pike with a sprinkling of twenty-odd pounders. Of course I tend to stick to my local rivers and never chase round to the well known 'hot spots' so if the big fish aren't there I won't catch them. However, it is unusual for things to be so slow.

There seem to be decent numbers of medium sized fish, to low double figures, but even these are not going mad. This is surprising in view of the excellent fishing conditions - low, clear water and high temperatures for the time of year.

I've tried all the usual tactics, livebaits, dead baits (wobbled, float fished and paternostered) and lures and they are all catching fish but nothing seems to be really productive. I've been twice recently. The first time I went on my own and tried floated and paternostered baits. Both methods produced a fish or two but again nothing monstrous.

Then, the other day my pal Ben and I went for an hour or two. We caught a few smallish baits and opted to try different approaches. Ben used a bait under a float and I tried a big, home made, soft plastic lure.

Within seconds of starting Ben was into a fish and we both thought that this was a sign of things to come - no such luck! It was probably an hour or more before I had a take on the lure and landed a slightly bigger pike then that was it! I'm sure things will pick up sometime soon if I keep at it.

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

One on the float.

A feisty fish on the float during my first session.

Beaten.

It's had enough.

In the net.

Not a bad pike.

Paternostered.

Another one, this time on a paternostered bait.

Ben's fish.

This one took before I'd had one cast with the lure.

Nice fish.

Taken on my soft plastic - a good fish but not a monster.

Weedless!

this thing hasn't got the action of my 'Slandra' but the pike seem to like it.

Me!

Ben took my picture this time.