I was up even earlier this morning, as I had an hour or so in my home office, before getting in the car and setting off for a local canal at first light.
Sunday mornings are good at the moment because there’s even less traffic than normal, so it’s no problem heading into the Black Country if you want, as opposed to going the other, more rural, way.
I set up next to some brickwork going into the canal – it’s all about features. I know it’s been mild the last couple of days but I was very surprised to find that the water temperature was 10.8C.
I noticed though, a pipe on the far bank with water flowing from it. It’s obviously a warmer source to push the temperature up like that.
That’s where a thermometer is useful, you wouldn’t have known that otherwise, and you’d have put the constant bites down to something else, although location apart from water temperature was still a positive factor.
Then, halfway through my one hour session, the bites dried up. They talk about a game of two halves, in reference to football, this was most certainly a session of the same description.
I was trying to work out why and then I saw it in the water. A pike. Not a big one, just a couple of pounds or so, but big enough to scare the other fish off.
It just hung there in the canal, and that was that, as far as my catching was concerned.
I fished with a Greys G Lite spinning rod (4-8lb) and a Shimano DL2500FA reel.
Maxima Chameleon 4lb line went straight through to a Drennan Super Specialist size 16 hook.
The hook length was created by a 5mm bead and a size 6 shot. The lead was a 1/4 ounce bomb.
I fed brown crumb and mixed maggots and the fish were caught on double red maggot.
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