Piking Again

I met a very old friend of mine today in search of some pike on the river Swale, I think it must be nearly 20 years since we fished together and I was looking forward to seeing what the day would bring. We worked our way along the Cundall Hall stretch using deadbaits on sliding float rigs and wobling deadbaits. The idea was to spend no more than half an hour in each swim before moving on. My old pal Jay was first away with a jack around 5 or 6lb on a Sardine followed by my own float bobbing away to signal the arrival of a 6 or 7lb jack. Job done. The river was carrying a lot of colour and was 2 or 3 feet up and pushing through. We ended up using 2 oz leads on the float rigs to keep the baits in position. It was a refreshing change to be carrying only the bare essentials and keeping mobile. I had dusted of my old Conoflex glass 2lb carp rod and was reminded what a lovely smooth through action that it gives. We both fished hard but had to settle for a single fish each. The stretch is great value for money at £5 per day and can potentially give great sport for pike, chub and barbel.