I love pike matches, not!

[Peter Waller]

Anglers Mail recently held a pike match. The results were published in this week's AM. Nice happy picture of the winner, I'm sure he deserved his success.

 

But wait a minute, lets look closely. No unhooking mat, the fish's tail-end laying on spiky, coarse grass, the sort that descales a fish. Hey, looks like lots of slime on his jacket. And doesn't the fish look well supported? What's that in the background? A keepnet hung up to dry? Surely not used for a makeshift pike tube, or was the pike suspended vertically in the water until a steward arrived to weigh a fish?

 

What, me neurotic? Naaaa, just don't like pike matches!

[RobStubbs]

Peter,

You should have seen our local news a couple of days back. A pike match at Gt Linford (may have been the same one). Nice picture of people fishing but then some bloke weighing a pike with the fish hanging from the scales by the gill cover.

 

Rob.

[Peter Waller]

Hi Rob, won't be able to sleep tonight now :mad: Perhaps you still have the picture, the PAC would love a copy for their magazines rogues gallery. So many match pike anglers seem to live on a different planet and in a different centuary

[Gray-Catchpole]

i have just showed kerry the pic in AM, i didnt say a word to her, and she said what the hell does he think he is doing holding that fish like that , doesnt he know how delicate these fish are, i hope he didnt put that in the keep net"