Time for another bash at the pike! A different river system this time but the same modus operandi – on yer bike and hit the forest tracks.
The forest didn’t make it easy for me. Once off the track, I found myself navigating a boggy path littered with decaying timber and pools of peaty water. Moss and lichen clung to every available surface, giving the place a green, soggy beauty.
Eventually, I emerged at the riverbank. Some was iced over, but I found a promising spot under the trees. Despite unbroken bright sunshine, it was still freezing – perhaps not ideal conditions when your feet are ankle deep in peat bog!
I lobbed out a couple of mackerel deadbaits and got myself sorted. The river was shallow, and the current gentle enough that a small drilled bullet held the line nicely.
My first run came in less than an hour – and went in less than 10 seconds 🙁 My braid caught on something sharp underwater and promptly parted… Probably one of the many granite boulders that litter the riverbed, but hardly a good start.
Success
Thankfully, the second run brought better luck. I struck into a spirited pike, which put up a decent fight. Safely landed and unhooked, it measured 79cm—not a monster, but a respectable catch from this peaty little river.
Not long after I followed up with a smaller 69cm beast but then lost the next pike, probably to the same snag that cost me that first fish. This specimen chucked the hooks but left my gear firmly stuck, so perhaps an old tree trunk rather than a boulder – but definitely a snag to be avoided in future!
The day’s biggest pike came in at 80cm, though it surrendered without much of a struggle. A nicely conditioned fish, but not exactly lively.
I missed the next run altogether but followed up soon after with my smallest fish of the day – perhaps 1 1/2lbs at best.
As the sun dipped below the tree line, I had one final chance. A pike made a determined run and I set the hooks well – or so I thought. After a few determined runs my mackerel was spat back out 🙁
With the light fading and a long journey back to the car ahead of me, I decided to call it a day. Four pike in less than five hours wasn’t a bad haul at all. Even with the snags and the ones that got away, it was a session full of action, beautiful scenery, and a few lessons for next time. Not a bad way to spend a cold, sunny day by the river!
