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).

Yet more pike

The past week of exceptionally warm weather should have been ideal for end of season coarse fishing. However, early morning frosts here in Dorset never encourage the fish to bite. I did manage to make a couple of forays to get me out of the house. The first was an early morning session after the elusive early season bass with my pals Bill and Mike. We were all spinning and none of us caught anything so it was more or less as expected.

A day or two after the bass trip I had an hour in the afternoon at the river. I hoped to catch a dace for bait but again I failed - I've no idea where they are hiding at the moment. I did manage to land one hard-fighting grayling of over a pound, so at least it was something. After half-an-hour of trotting maggots I realised bait was not on the agenda so I resorted to wobbling a sardine hooked through the lips with a 6/0 circle hook. I left the split cork on the line to avoid the bait sinking completely and simply twitched the rod every few seconds to impart a spot of movement.

Within a minute of starting there was a swirl and the float shot away. I tightened after a few seconds and I was in. The fish fought hard and took a fair bit of line but it was not quite a double so I simply took a couple of pictures as I played it and unhooked it in the margin, the hook was neatly in the edge of the upper jaw. As I removed the hook I noticed a fish leech on the anal fin so I took a picture of it.

After releasing the pike I moved on to the next pool downstream and fished with my second (and last) sardine. Again it was only minutes before there was a massive swirl as the bait was engulfed. This was clearly a bigger fish so I tightened at once and once more it was nicely hooked. This fish was more difficult to land and made a couple of lunges towards an overhanging alder bush before I could bring it to the net. I took a picture of it in the net and estimated that it was a near twenty before releasing it to swim off. I had no more baits so I packed in and went to take some garden rubbish to the local tip.

Just to finish off; my grandson Josh has just been fishing for the first time with his local Cub pack. It sounds as though they had a wonderful time on the Canning River and he caught a fine blue crab. Anyway, I've added a couple of pictures.

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

Bill tries for bass at sunrise.

Not what I was after but a decent grayling.

My first and smaller pike surges away.

Tired and ready to be released.

A fish leech Piscicola on the pike's fin.

The seconds and largest of my two pike.

In the net and ready to be freed.

Josh hard at it - first time fishing.

A fine blue crab.

Presumably the party catch?