The Flying Tench

I really meant 'What's the salmon fishing like? Do they get more than we do here?' I heard somewhere that in Iceland they get far more.

And (Atlantic)Salmon. It amazes me that someone will go on a week's fishing holiday and be thrilled with one salmon. What's it like in Canada?

Have you ever thought what it must feel like to be a pike? I sometimes try to think myself into other people to try to understand their point of view, like someone who annoys me (hard) a woman (harder) a caveman (even harder) my dog (harder still) but a pike! Imagine it! You've got no arms or legs, all yo've got to do anything with including fighting is a MASSIVE mouth. All your thought, all your energy, everything is channelled into that massive mouth - and like as not you'll turn on the bloke next to you and MUNCH! Wow! I'm starting to feel aggressive as I write! Incidently, why do pike need so much food? Lions don't need to eat their own weight in a week. Humans certainly don't. Or maybe when you eat someone you own size that lasts you for WEEKS? Any theories?

Chris, I had done so, and have just done so again. It all looks terribly familiar, but I can't think where - though maybe one or two were Colthrop? But that wouldn't necessarily be where the video was taken, and I wouldn't describe Newbury as Upper Kennet, nor expect to get big brownies. I'm still puzzled!

All from a 'chalk stream tributary of the upper Kennet'. Hmm. I shouldn't have though even the Lambourn has many carp. Any theories? Those roach look mouth watering, but it's hard to be sure how big they are.

Great fishing! And interesting to see the effect of the bait changes.

Congratulations on catching the grayling record when only 18!

I thought you might be interested to know that I once caught a British Record! Though it's not as good as it sounds. On 17 June 1996 I was fishing in a small lake near me when I caught a small black fish of about 3 oz which I didn't recognise. When I got home I checked a book and discovered it was a Bullhead Catfish, and the record was only 2oz, so mine was probably a record, unless a bigger one had been caught in the year or so since the book was published - I wasn't on the web then. However I didn't claim it as a record for 3 reasons: 1. It was a pathetically small fish. I notice that a proper one was caught in 2001 weighing 1lb 3oz. I guess someone must have claimed the 2oz one, though? 2. I hadn't had it witnessed etc. 3. I'm ashamed to see I was fishing illegally. 'It wasn't deliberate, honest your Lordship', but, well, everyone told me you could fish there. Admittedly there were 'no fishing' signs all round the lake, but I'd walked all the way there and............... Bit of a problem when you're a vicar. Lucky it wasn't a record roach! I'd have been asking theological questions for ever and a day about why.....

quote: Originally posted by Steve Burke: Has anyone seen any of these copies in the 90mm/35gm size? Peter? I phoned N&S Tackle and they no longer have Atoms, and I'm probably dim but I find the prospect of registering on one of the Danish sites daunting. For example, I wouldn't know what colour i was ordering! I'd be interested in hearing how to order copies even in the 25 gm size. The Mean Ripple looks a bit like an Atom, but it's only 20gms.

Steve, I can't find Abu Atoms anywhere on the Net. It would seem they've been discontinued. I guess Abu Tobys would be the nearest thing?

Steve, thanks for all your answers, but you still haven't cleared up one point. Do you agree with the majoity view (I think) on this forum that for deadbaiting for pike LOW pressure is best, or do you hold a contrary view that rising pressure is best for all types of pike fishing?

Ah, some science (!), leading to some questions from me: 1) What is anticyclonic gloom? Sounds a bit Sherlock Holmes-ish doesn't it! 2) 'High pressure .... fish up in the water'. I can see the reason for that - a bit, since a sharp rise in pressure could lead to the pressure being what they've been used to if they move a foot or two higher - though not, say, 10 feet higher, in the water. That in turn could explain (a bit)why high pressure is better for lure fishing than static deadbaiting. But what's your take on that, Steve? Others seem fairly unanimous that it's true, but in your October thread 'Get piking this weekend' you seemed to imply a sustained rise (or fall, for that matter) in pressure was good for piking in general, not just for lure fishing. 3)Any suggestion of a good spoon for perch? 4) Steve, or anyone else. Getting back to the main subject of this thread, where do I start with plastics? All I have at the moment is some Mean Grubz, which haven't done me any good so far. Presumably they're for perch. I've tried them a bit, found no luck, put on a Mepps no 3 and immediately bingo. I see in the Harris catalogue there's a thing called a Mepps Spinflex which looks suspiciously like a Mepps with a Grubz stuck on the back. Maybe I should combine them? For pike my local tackle shop has various packs of shads which are cheap, about £5 for 4, but a bit small, maybe 3-4 inches. Bull-dawgs are big, but expensive, and they're described as a jerk bait, so I guess they'd be a bit heavy for a standard, medium weight, 9 foot spinning rod? I guess I need something in between? Thanks in advance for your help.

Ah, that explains a lot. Thanks

Leeds, now that reminds me. I once met an angler on the Wey, in Woking, who told me that he so loved nature and his surroundings that he never even bothered to put a bait on the hook! Now, was he a true angler?

The last sprats I bought were only 3 inches, but that's partly because they didn't have any tails, which also meant they had a lousy wobbling action!

Thanks everyone for your advice, specially Argyll for taking the trouble to go and measure your baits! Going back to the title of the thread, I think the balance of opinion is that sprats (3 inches?) are too small for wobbling for big pike, though of course they'll score occasionally - which still leaves me with a question about why the books talk about 'wobbling a sprat'! But thanks for the advice everyone, and successful wobbling!

Hopefully you're smiling when you say that, Ratty. Yours and others' comments were all helpful, Steve's was just the last post before my reply.

OK, very interesting point Argyll about putting a lot of scent into the water with wobbling. I guess that argues a bit for staying put, though I take Fenboy's point about moving also. On the size of bait question I'm not quite sure where you stand. You make the point above that your 9 recent 20s were all on small/medium baits/lures, but in the thread started recently by Newt on soft rubber lures I think you said bigger lures would mean bigger fish - apologies if it was someone else! I take PW's point that lures can annoy a pike into taking, and I've had a decent pike on a small lure, but never on a small wobbled bait. Out of interest, how many of the 20s were on small wobbled baits, and how small?

Mr Crabtree not only smoked a pipe, he could catch a pike, talk and smoke simultaneously! That's why he is THE complete angler. I bet you can't do that Fenboy. Mind you, even I am surprised that he always wore a tie to go fishing - just shows how society has changed. But what about his son, Peter, who had the advantage of being taught to angle by the maestro. Does he live? Does he fish? It so happens he does! I looked up my local telephone directory, and he lives in Thatcham, near me, in the same road as one of the angling shops! I nearly rang him up to ask if he was THE P Crabtree, but decided the poor man must get fed up with angling nutters like me taking the ****...............

The title of the thread is 'Pike Patrol Routes' - last post 20 Nov. Leon's arguments are based on all sorts of research that has been carried out on the size of prey for different predators. I find the arguments convincing, and my limited experience ties in with what Leon is saying - but I hear what you're saying about your (much wider) experience being the other way. Maybe it varies from water to water?

But, surely the scent trail will work for a static, but not for a wobbled bait, won't it? I'm only a beginner, but I'll check the title of the post where Leon argues that for moving baits big pike prefer biggies. I'll post again.

Maybe we should ask who is NOT a true angler - IMHO a friend of mine who is planning to catch the neighbour's goldfish secretly over the garden fence!

Thanks, Steve, helpful article.

Ratty, I think maybe I had read an article by Mick Brown saying that, and it was in the back of my mind. But my question is a practical one: what do you do on a cold day to catch pike? They're less likely to chase lures, the scent of deads won't travel so far, pike are less likely to be moving around. If you know pike are in the swim you can use the MB approach. Otherwise it seems to me you've got a difficult task. I guess all you can do is keep moving, and probably stick to swims you know well and believe to hold fish?