Annnnnnd We're Off. Nearly

I returned to my favourite carping hole in the ground to kick off the new season. It was bright but sunny day and whilst have a look around to find a peg I ran in to a couple of the lads. Charlie had managed a lovely fully scaled mirror at just over 20lb so my confidence was reasonably high. Settling into a quiet sheltered corner I looked around and accepted that it was a.freezing cold and b.the water was heavily coloured after the winter rains and my confidence started to slide. 5 hours later I was still fishless and the cold had arrived with the dark and I decided to call it a day. Not a successful start to the season on the carp front but a thoroughly enjoyable one. During the winter the lake has been restocked with bream, roach, tench and carp. Whilst I welcome the silvers and definitely look forward to catching some of the tench I'm a little worried about more than doubling the head of carp. Time will tell.

New Season

Its been a busy winter with everything except fishing on the cards. Here's hoping for a successful season in front of us.

Over Already

Due to a family problem I didn't make it on to the bank this weekend, the river season ends in a few days so in effect my season ended a few weeks ago. Its been an eventful 12 months but I certainly didn't crack the pike fishing. Maybe next season will bring me some better luck but for the time being I'm looking forward to getting back amongst the carp on my mid week evenings.

Early One Morning

I'm not a morning person, I never have been, but every now and again I get rewarded for my effort. The thing about owning a dog is that you usually don't get an option to stay in bed.

A Week On

Well its been a week since Jay and me took on the pike on the lower River Tees and its taken this long for the fires of disappointment from that session. I thought we had all bases covered but apparently we didn't. We started on the stretch where I was continually snagged up before dropping downstream to a more silty area. There is a large drop off about a rod length out into 10 feet of water and we positioned the baits at the bottom of the slope. We didn't have a single touch all day. There is one more weekend left of the season and I think I'll be back for a final throw of the dice but its fair to say that over the course of the last 2 years that stretch of river has left me with my spirits thoroughly blunted.

Saying of the Day 1

Always remember that there's a thin line between between fishing and sitting by the river looking like an idiot.

Sunday Is Coming

Morrison's came up trumps today and I managed to get get the sardines I needed to finish off my bait collection for Sunday. Yesterday I bought some frozen roach and smelts, not cheap at around £4 to £5 pounds a pack, the sardines on the other hand cost me around £3 for a dozen perfectly sized baits. Jay sent me a copy of a photo from the rough area that we're heading to, a lovely 19lb 5oz long lean river pike. The fish are there we just have to work out location, baits and tactics (yes only those minor points) to build up some consistency and some confidence.