Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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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).

Mixed fortunes.

One more attempt to catch dace on float fished maggots was a failure. The places I tried seemd to be devoid of the little silver creatures. Usually I can catch at least a few but recently they have been notable by their absence. After half-an-hour of feeding and fishing I did get one bite and I thought for a while that I was into a modest seatrout. However, to my surprise the fish turned out to be a very large salmon smolt which I quickly returned to its native element after taking its photograph.

Having failed to catch any potential pike baits I was quite pleased to have an email from my pal Richard suggesting that we should have a couple of hours after perch. We started fairly early in the morning and there was a bit of a frost (unusual this winter). As we walked to the river bank it was getting light and the mist was rising from the water. I was trying a small jig baited with a couple of worms and Richard after starting with a plastic shad switched to a small silver spinner.

Apart from one tiny pull on my jig we had nothing for a while and then, as we began to fish a reed fringed stretch Richard was in. His little rod bent well over and by the time I had laid down my rod and picked up the camera he was already lifting out a reasonable pike. Well done Richard! He returned his fish and we fished on for a while. Richard switched lures again this time to a twin tailed, green, soft plastic jig. It wasn't long before his new lure was snatched but the fish escaped. On the way back downstream he tried again in the same spot and this time he landed another pike (the one he'd missed) not quite as big as his first. We packed in and went for breakfast well satisfied at having caught something. Also, it was a lovely morning!

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

Smolt.

Presumably this is a two year old smolt - what a beautiful fish.

Got it.

Richard reaches down among the reeds to land his first pike of the session.

Pike.

Ready to be returned - excellent!