Pike Fishing, Barden Lake, Tonbridge

It's the wiggle, and the glitteryness!!

Barden Lake, Tonbridge, Kent. TN9 1. UK

"I know your here!"

As it's coming to the end of the pike season, It was time to have a last session at my nemesis pike venue. I know that it's full of pike, I've seen 2 x 30lb+ caught with my own eyes, frustratingly listened  to stories of carp anglers catching dozens on lures to pass the time. And this is where I learnt to fish, my training/stomping ground. As a small boy I would use a small dart float casting into the natural holes in the weeds to catch roach, tench, rudd and perch, I know this water like the back of my hand. Or do I?? I've only caught maybe 7 pike over 20 years from this venue, the biggest was 19lb,and not one on lures, but considering that I've fished it at least 10 times per year, I cant help but wonder if my faith in this venue is ill placed.

Fresh oily herring

I set off early with my girlfriend Sarah, my new fishing partner. and arrived just before dawn, I had only done this a few times before here, but the thought, that maybe the pike would be more confident feeding closer to the bank in the morning before all the walkers, children, dogs, and bikes stampede the path that goes around the lake, and believe me, it can get very busy and noisy! I had just bought 2 x 9" Shakespere ugly stik lite spinning rods which Sarah was dying to try out, as she likes the more active huntsman type fishing, I decided to try two static dead bait rods and let her spin, covering a few options to increasing the chances of a fish or two.

Running ledger pike rig

We set up in the dark, I picked our first swim as I knew there was a very large deep hole about 10m out, the first thing I done was ground baited the front and back ledge of the hole with some predator ground bait, which I added lots of small pieces of chopped up herring and mackerel, this again was something I hadn't tried before, using groundbait for pike and committing myself to a swim, I normally fish mobile for pike, but this hadn't bought me much luck here before. Using my trusted Fox warrior 2.5lb carp rods and Shimano ST 6000RA bait runners with 15lb mono line, I set up two running ledger rods, with 18" homemade 20lb traces with size 6 barbless hooks, I used a syringe to put air into two 8" fresh herrings to pop the baits up in the water to keep them from being hidden on the bottom in the weeds. Again this was something new for me at this venue, but made perfect sense. The baits were in, and the sun started to rise, I watched for signs of shoal fish breaking on the surface but strangely didn't see any.

Spoon of the day!

Sarah started spinning with a mixed selection of lures, casting in and around my swim, and off my bite alarm sounded!! A run, and a big one!!! on the rod on the far ledge, I picked the rod up, felt the tension and struck, I always strike quite early with pike as I'd rather loose a few than deep hook them. The line went slack???? what? I reeled in, I could feel the small bomb bouncing through the weed as it headed straight at me, about 10m to my left and close to the bank. At first I thought Sarah had caught my line spinning but she was to my right. I kept reeling in, and at about 3m from the bank the bomb meet the trace and bait, but no fish!?! the fish had picked the bait up and swam straight to the bank! when I struck, I moved the bomb but just took up slack!, this was a time when my early strike policy worked against me. but it was action and 100% more than I had all season here. So I decided to stick with the ledgered deadbait plan. and joined Sarah in spinning to keep me busy.

Pike 1

Pike 2

The sun briefly came out for the first time, and bang Sarah was in! she hooked and landed a pike, only a jack, but a pike! it was taken on a 3" silver spoon. Whilst I opted for deep and medium diving plugs of around 6" looking for a bigger fish, in fact any fish. The sun went away as quickly as it appeared. The bite alarms were silent for the rest of the day, except for the few times I recast. The sun reappeared and bang again Sarah was into another jack pike on the same spoon, As I unhooked the fish she said to me, "You know its the wiggle and the glitteryness of the sun that does it!" And you know what! she's right of coarse. Because what worked for her in four hours, hadn't ever worked for me as I've never caught a pike in over 400 hours during 20 years of lure fishing this lake, But that's fishing!!! She done well, and I'm not to proud to admit that I had been watching and copying her wiggle technique. At least I know there are still pike here, because I was really beginning to doubt it! And no doubt I'll be back next season looking for that 30lber.

"Could this be why I don't catch to many pike?"

Beach Casting, The Point, Dungeness

Extreme fishing

The Point, Dungeness, Kent. UK

Dungeness power station at night

I recently got the bug to catch my first cod as you do, so where else was I going to go? Dungeness! I had roped my girlfriend Sarah and good friend Simon to come along with me. This might not have been much of a task, except it was 22mph winds, 2 degrees Celsius and meant fishing into the night! and on top of that we all had the extra cost of buying a rod each for the session, but then again maybe it was all about the cod!?!

Squid stuffed with lug worm

 First stop was Micks tackle in Hythe, where we bought 3 cheap
beach casters, two boxes of squid, 3 score of frozen lug, our aim was to fish whole squid, stuffed with lug. big bait for big fish! The lady in the shop was extremely helpful and gave us good advise, even thought I got the impression she thought the three of us were completely bonkers and didn't have a clue, maybe she wasn't far wrong either!!

The first of many

Upon arrival, it was clear how windy it was! I though what the hell am I doing!, but we had come a long way, and spent too much money to let the weather stop us. On the plus side the sun was out, and with a hour till sunset, with high tide an hour after that, and we planned to fish up to two hours of the ebb tide, so it was only going to be a short session anyway. We took the shortish walk along to the point which I worked out from the road and light house positions on google maps, I was  accurate and we ended up straight where I wanted to fish, then to amazement, 1, 3, 6, 12, 20 30+ rod rips appeared from behind the last high tide shingle bank, It was busy! As we reached the top of the bank all I could see anglers one after the other, each about 8 meters apart! I was surprised knowing what the weather was like, I'd never seen anything of this magnitude sea fishing before, but then I realised they were here for the good fishing and cod, and my plan didn't feel so mad after all, all these people wouldn't be wrong? luckily we found a space large enough for us to fish about 30meters down the beach.

Pulley pennel

It was pulley pennels rigs all round, size 3/0 hooks, with 6oz grip leads, I had made up all the rigs the night before and was keen to see how they actually fished. Whole squid stuffed with lug was the bait,  and we set about fishing. strangely as we were setting up everyone to the left and right started packing up, giving me a false sense that we were fishing the wrong time, but no, it was just getting dark and late, a few remained into the night with us, but we now had lots of beach to ourselves! And alot more bait as the other anglers were kindly giving us their unused bait as they walked past.

whiting with weed anyone?

It wasn't long before the first fish were caught, whiting followed whiting followed whiting, you get the drift? they were small, and I was surprised that we were hooking them on the size baits and hooks we were using, even a few times catching two at the same time one hooked on each hook of the pennel rig, but it was fun! and the anticipation of that big cod was too much! The pulleys rigs worked well, very few tangles in the rough weather, and using tapered leaders 15lb to 80lb for the first time meant we didn't lose any tackle at all. Although I think we would of been fine using straight ledger rigs rather than pulley rigs, I was unaware of the bottom at this time, It was very snag free, shingle/sand even 80 yards out, as far as I could tell.

Dungenes power stations at night

Before we knew it, It was time to pack up, we had nearly 35 whiting between us, and about to keep as they were big enough or were deep hooked and died. I had spent most my time baiting up hooks and unhooking fish for the three of us, a very busy little session! the whiting were prolific, and we had nothing else but, unfortunately no cod, but you know what? that's my excuse to go again! It was my first time to Dungeness, and it lived up to its reputation. it was beautiful! looking out from the point was a panoramic view of the sea, and I swear you can see the curvature of the earth, the warm glow of light rising into the air from the power stations to the right, and standing magnificently behind the point, the light house, and like a guardian, occasionally sounding its horn, just to let us know he was there. I cant wait to return!

Pan fried whiting fillets, yummy!

Boat Fishing, Charter Boat Blue Fin, Shoreham by Sea

Have I got sea legs?

Shoreham by Sea, West Sussex, UK

Charter boat - Blue Fin

I had a few days off during the week and after phoning an old friend and keen fisherman Craig, we had decided that we wanted to do something a bit different, boat fishing!?!. This terrified me at first, due to the fact that every boat trip before hand that I had ever been on made me sick, from sailing boats in the great barrier reef, ice breakers in Iceland and fishing boats in Greece, they had all made me vomit and very ill. But the lure of catching bigger fish, and different species that I couldn't catch off the beach, and my sheer passion for fishing was why this was a too exciting opportunity to miss. And it was a great chance to bag my first cod!

Ginger, good for sea sickness

In preparation for the sea sickness, I got a bit of help from google! I had purchased some sea sickness tablets, several roots of ginger, porridge and ginger biscuits. I had taken two tablets the night before, with two to take in the morning, from the ginger I made a tea, I drank one cup the night before and left the rest for the morning of the trip, I had the porridge for breakfast as I thought this would be easy to vomit, and took the biscuits to eat during the trip. Now this may seem a bit extreme, but if it helped then it would be worth it! and if it did then I would have to do it every boat trip

Blue Fin, charter boat, Shoreham by Sea

We had booked the charter boat Blue Fin from Shoreham by Sea harbour, and was required to be abroad at 7.30am. Once there we meet the captain Mark and the 5 other fisherman It was at this point I realised how out of place I looked and felt, not knowing anything about boat fishing, and for the first time fishing, all I could do was watch and listen as I didn't have an opinion of my own. We had hired the rods, tackle and bait from the skipper, and was pleasantly surprise at the quality of the gear, a 7' boat rod with a multiplier reel, the bait was whole baby cuttlefish and a few boxes of squid.

Running ledger rig

We set off out into the open ocean from Shoreham harbour, the talk on the boat was predominately from Craig, but was interesting listening to all the old fishing tales being told. We ventured out towards a wreck, but due to the sea being very rough, the skipper decided to go to a different location. Once anchored what happened made me laugh out loud, like a frantic spiderman shooting webs all over the place, fishing lines darted all over the place from the back of the boat, all going in different angles, The eagerness of the fishermen to get get the bait in the water was immense and extremely frantic, seven on a small boat all casting at once!. well I wanted too as well, but I was slow out the starting block, and wasn't ready. I looked down and thought where the hell am I going to drop mine without getting caught up!!! I didn't want to be the annoying novice, but after about two minutes everyone had to reel back in because all the lines went under the boat, as it found its resting place in the current. We fished for about an hour, I opted for whole baby cuttlefish whilst other used squid or cuttlefish strips, but no one caught or had a bite, and it wasn't long before we upped the anchor and headed elsewhere.

Baby cuttlefish, inky!

The next place we tried I believed we drifted over flats, I still opted for the whole baby cuttle fish, hoping for a cod! but whilst I had no joy a few had caught some channel whiting and a few dogfish, but I wasn't having much luck, not even a nibble! But at least the skipper kept the teas coming which I drank with my cuttlefish inky black hands, oh yes! now I know why the rubber gloves were on the bait board, and it wasn't for the screamish who didn't want to touch bait.

Pouting anyone?

The bites had dried up, so we set off for our last destination, a couple of rock pinnacles under the sea, it took a few attempts to anchor correctly so we were fishing exactly where the fish were, and credit to the skipper as this detail got us on the fish, Pouting lots of pouting up to 3.5lb, I was still using whole cuttlefish, and was just getting more frustrated as I was getting bites but couldn't hook anything, so I change to small strips of cuttlefish as bait to ensure I had at least one fish to take home, the change of bait worked, I landed four pouting and a 1.5lb whiting literary in the last 30mins of fishing.

Well I didn't catch my first cod! but I did try and used the right bait for them, I had a fantastic time, and for a first I didn't get sick!!! my tablets, ginger tea and biscuits worked!!! now, that's what I will have to do every time I go on a boat from now on, but to be honest, all the time I spent looking out to sea watching my rod tip I felt fine, but I did feel a little queasy when looking at something on the boat, i.e.  putting on bait or talking to other people, maybe that's why I didn't get ill on this trip, either way I will find out next time, I'm sure!!

Pike Fishing, River Rother, Iden Lock

About time Mr Pike!!!

River Rother, Iden lock, East Sussex. UK

roach dead bait

This trip was important to me for many reasons. firstly, a chance to catch a pike, not just any pike but my first of the season. Secondly I would be accompanied by my fishing senior and mentor, Dad. And thirdly the venue held a special place in my heart, because it had produced some prolific pike fishing for us in the past.

We arrived at our mark at 8.00am, although it was early the sun was out with a few clouds and with a gentle breeze was a lot warmer than we expected, The river was pushing through gently and looked perfect, which made a nice change to some previous visits to the river when it was raging like Niagara falls making the 2 hour drive pointless. Ironically we both decided to fish the same way, father like son, each putting out a dead bait on float and lure fishing with a spinner rod. My father opted to use herring and was working the far bank along a reed bed, whilst I was casting with all my might and just about able to reach the mouth of a lock further to the right using float ledgered roach dead bait.

Ledger float rig

An hour had pasted, no runs or takes, but it had become clear that a very large snag in the middle of the river was making lure fishing very difficult, so it was time for a tea and a think. I decided to leave my float out in the mouth of the lock as I thought that many fish would venture into the lock to get out of the main current of the river for a rest. I took the spinning rod about 30m downstream using plugs and spoons. I had about 20 casts and then I notice my float move a meter towards the far bank, I ran! the float then stopped, I continued running and as I watched it started moving the other way, this time with speed, I reached the rod just as the float disappeared under the surface, I immediately struck. 

10lb pike, first of the season

It was fish on! I was concerned about the big snag in the middle of the river, so I played the fish hard trying to keep it up in the water to avoid the snag, and surprisingly it came quite effortless across the river and over the snag, at this point I remember saying to my Dad "its only a small one". But then it surfaced, it was a lot bigger than I thought, not a monster but a very nice surprise! And more importantly my first pike this season and ended a 8 pike session blank.

lure of the day

The next few hour were very quite with no runs for either of us, the river had stopped moving and without the bow in our lines going around the snag we had both caught the snag, but this time we won! with two rods we was able to land it, It was a tree branch! about 11" long and as thick as a human leg, with about 5 other smaller branches coming off it! It was decorated with a assortment of lures and rigs, which my dad helped himself to.

Bonus jack

 I moved over to the other side of the river for a few hours but after being plagued by a mink, that kept taking my popped up roach on a leger, and how I didn't hook the furry bugger is a mystery. I decided to pack up the rods and gear, putting it away in the van. I took a slow walk down the river spinning for pike for the last hour of daylight, which had me hook and land my second pike of the season. a 2 lb jack pike taken on a small silver spinner. Although I've known a lot of pike to come out of this venue, it didn't today, but still produced the goods for me. I couldn't of asked for more, well maybe one for my dad, next time!