Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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).

The River.

Nigel and I went to the river for a spell of pike fishing the other day. It was a beautiful afternoon, warm, sunny and just like the summer - amazing for this time of the year. We managed to catch a few baits - but it was quite hard work and when we started piking it was no more lively. We tried several likely spots before Nigel had a decent bite and was into a reasonable fish. The pike put up a good show and took a little while to slide into the net. As usual it was neatly hooked on the circle hook so we removed the hook easily and after one or two pictures - back it went. By now we were perspiring a bit and both of us took our jackets off.

A little while later I managed to land a smaller pike, again nicely hooked round the maxillary bone. After releasing the second pike we fished on for a little while but no further bites were forthcoming so we went back to the car and picked up the float gear and maggots. The idea was to try and tempt a grayling - just for a change. We tried a wide range of fishy looking glides and runs all to no avail. Neither of us could buy a bite even from a dace. I wandered off downstream in search of a fish but after a while I decided to go back up and see how my pal was getting on. At first I couldn't find him and I was beginning to wonder how we could have crossed paths without seeing each other (or whether he'd managed to quietly fall in and drown) then I heard a shout. Clearly Nigel was into a fish and was screened from my view by the head high nettles and even taller reeds along the river bank. I hurried towards the call to find him standing in the river with the rod well bent as a big grayling struggled to make good its escape. Nige's centrepin was buzzing and spinning like a dervish as the grayling battled in the strong flow. I grabbed the net and paddled as far into the water as I dared in my wellies. I had my camera in one hand as I waded and managed to take a couple of pictures of my pal in action. It must have been five minutes before I trapped the fish in the meshes and struggled ashore through the mud. We weighed it at two-and-a-quarter pounds - not a monster but a beautiful fish. A good end to a fairly quiet day.

The only down side to the episode was when I discovered that I'd somehow managed to delete the pictures of the grayling from my file on the computer. Ah well! You can't have everything..

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

Nigel's pike.

Good hooking.

Pleasure!