Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

Information Page

For anyone unfamiliar with the site always check the FISHING ARCHIVE and TACK-TICS pages. They now extend back as a record of four years of fishing and I keep adding to them so it's always worth looking at the latest entries. The Fishing Archive is effectively my diary and will take me some time to bring up to date but often several pages are added in the space of a week.

25 February 2005.

Back to the cold.

Back from Tobago and the 30+ temperatures to a week of freezing arctic winds - Brrrrrr! At last I steeled myself for a spot of fishing. I decided to try spinning for pike in the local river and to give the rubber lure mentioned the other week another go.

I waited until mid day to give the weak winter sun a chance to up the temperature from freezing. To be honest I was not too hopeful because I always think that, in this cold weather, the pike may be reluctant to move for a lure unless it is put right on their nose. After all, why should they expend energy unless there is a certain reward. The first thing I saw was a group of wonderful scarlet cup fungi, even in the cold I could not resist a picture.

Sure enough for half-an-hour I struggled. The lure wiggled nicely through three or four excellent pools but there was no respnse. I was beginning to lose interest (and to lose the feeling in my fingers) when suddenly a fish of about eight pounds nipped out from under the bank and grabbed the lure. I was so surprised that I forgot to react and the pike let go again. It showed no further interest despite me spending a whole five minutes on it.

Encouraged I fished on for a little while before crossing over to the south bank. I retrieved the lure through the largest pool on the stretch and just as it came past a little peninsula of reeds, a pike grabbed it and this time was hooked. The fish put up a spirited show for such cold conditions. It was nicely hooked round the maxilla and when I took hold of the hook it just dropped out.

I fished on for a further ten minutes then, as my stomach began to rumble I packed in and went home.

Cup fungi.

The rubber eel strikes again.

Still going.

Quieter.

Another look.

Safe on the moist bank.