I thoroughly enjoyed the session, and especially early on, it was action all the way with small roach.
Then it went quiet and the flashing of a pike revealed why.
It’s why I didn’t use brown crumb on this occasion, just loose fed maggots, as the disturbance attracts predators more quickly.
If they’re there, they’ll come anyway, but at least you can get more pike-free minutes that way.
The arrival of the predator definitely affected the catch rate from then on, although I did manage more fish so it wasn’t as if they dried up completely.