Hopes and Targets for 2012

So far it looks as though this winter won’t be as bad as the previous two (I hope I’m not tempting fate!). Catching fish in January was not possible in the last two winters, lets hope the mild weather continues.
Once the Spring arrives I intend to become a “Rixton Regular” targeting the Tench, Bream and of course the Pike. Reading the last two years catch reports in “Franks Column“, the end of March seems to be when Rixton comes alive again!
Once April arrives I’ll give the successful “walk trolling” method another try on the Bridgewater Canal for the Pike, .
I hoping once the New season on the rivers opens, to get back to fishing rivers, it’s something I’ve neglected for a few years now, Trotting a float was something I used to enjoy when I lived in Stockport, fishing the River Tame.
A few hours after work on The Bollin at Bowden is something I can do, and I intend too.
I’d like to fish The Wide Hole on the Macclesfield Canal once again, I’ve had some wonderful sessions there in previous years, but I haven’t fished it for several years. The Pike in the Wide Hole were plentiful and very good sport, The Wide Hole also contains a good head of Bream.
After seeing some of the Pictures, and talking to some of the anglers who have caught the Pike in the Mersey, I’m certainly going to give the Mersey a try, not only for the Pike but all the rest of the course fish that must be in the river, I think Ledgering will be the method, I think my John Wilson Quiver Tip Rod will be my weapon of choice!
I’ll try to get a few sessions on Cicily Mill, how can you describe the “mill” it’s beautiful, and it has the advantage of having two feet of water and four feet of fish! What a place.
Most of my fishing will be within 15 miles of home, I don’t like driving home after fishing, but I have a thought, of getting a couple of weekends away, in my folding camper, staying on campsites that either have lakes on site, or boarder a river. To me I can’t think of a more perfect weekend!
To all the followers of my blog and to the occasional visitors I hope you have a wonderful 2012.

Best Wishes Lawrence Pearson.

Blank Session on the Bridgewater

It had to happen sooner or later, I had a blank on the Bridgewater Canal.

I was Dead Baiting for Pike at Lloyds Bridge, using tactics that had been successful previously, but today I caught nothing.

I tried using the Blood Red Pike Attractant but that didn't bring any bites.

I saw some Pike attacks but they weren't having Dead Baits at all. I tried wobbling the baits over the areas where the attacks were taking place but with no luck!

It was an unusual day for December, Overcast and cloudy with a light wind but it was warm for this time of year.

I did see a couple of Pike today, another angler turned up, he also put a Dead Bait Rod up, plus he had a lure rod with him, it was lures that proved the successful method today, he had a couple of small Pike (see photo below).

Both Pike were taken on a Rubber Roach imitation pattern.

I used my Shakespeare box with the wheels,using the adaption I made yesterday, it made transporting my gear much easier.

Change of Plan Regarding Trolley, Bought some Blood Red Attractant for Pike

I thought hard about a trolley for my Shakespeare Box, as I already have an Octoplus Leveling kit and a set of wheels for it, I worked out a method of using it without having to take the legs off before attaching the wheels (which is a pain), I've done that now and it works well, I'll give it a try tomorrow.
I went to Leigh Bait and Tackle this morning as well as North West Angling Centre, to buy a few bits and pieces, I bought a bottle of Blood Red Pike Attractant, so I'm going to give that a try tomorrow and see what happens.
I also bought an Octoplus Umbrella Arm to fit on my box.

Going to buy a Trolley Tomorrow, then have a last session of the year on Saturday on the Bridgewater Canal

I'm fed up of lugging my Shakespeare Seat Box on my back, so I'm going out tomorrow to buy a trolley, going to Leigh Bait and Tackle and North West Angling Centre to see what they have.
On Saturday (just seen the weather forecast and Saturday looks the best day of the weekend) going up to Lloyds Bridge on the Bridgewater Canal to see If I can land a last Pike of the year! I still have some bait, seems a pity to waste it!

Pike Fishing Bridgewater Canal 28 December 2011

Arrived at Lloyds Bridge after an interesting journey, I got stuck behind a foreign lorry which had been following instructions from a Sat Nav, and turned in to a very narrow country lane, which, as it needed to reverse out of the narrow lane caused chaos and delayed me by twenty minutes.
Once I got to my peg it became clear today wasn’t going to be easy, due to the weather conditions, it was very bright , very cold and very very windy.
I fished hard on the bottom, to start with I used Smelt as bait. I fished as close to the moored boats as possible. It was a good hour and a half till my first run arrived, the float started to dance across the surface, I gave it the standard 5 seconds then struck, the Pike was on for a few seconds then it spat the bait out, frustrating, but that’s Pike fishing, I re-cast to the same spot hoping the fish was still there but it didn’t take it again.
The Smelt was well and truly chewed up so I changed to a Sprat.
Twenty minutes later the float began it’s dance across the canal , this time I managed to hook the fish properly and after a short fight I slipped the net under a Pike of 3 to 4 pounds. This was followed by one more Pike, a slightly smaller specimen of 2 to 3 pounds.

All three of Pike, the two I landed and the one that got away were hooked in a two hour period between 12 and 2 pm, I beginning to wonder if the theory of Pike have a defined feeding time is a fact. Over the years I’ve caught Pike the afternoon has always been my most productive time.
I saw more people along the bank of the Bridgewater Canal than I’ve ever seen before, there was so many dog walkers and cyclists, must all have been trying to work off the Christmas excess!

Short Session on the Bridgewater Canal Tomorrow

I'm having a short Pike session on the Bridgewater Canal tomorrow at Lloyds Bridge.
I'll fish close to the moored boats. I'll fish hard on the bottom as I did last time, I'l be using Smelt and Sprats as bait.
It's not a brilliant weather forecast, high winds are forecast, I'll give it a try see how I get on!

Changed the Quiver Tip on My New Telescopic Feeder Rod

My new Browning Ambition Tele Feeder Rod came with a spare Quiver tip which is a softer tip than the one fitted to the rod. I wanted the softer tip so I decided to change it, which wasn't too difficult, First I heated up the tip ring using a candle, on the tip that was fitted to the rod and slid off the Tip ring, then slid off the remaining rings, which were the sliding type. After extending the rod I unscrewed the end cap on the Handle, tipped the rod up and the tip slid out. Then I took the unglued tip ring off the spare Tip and slid off the sliding rings,the slid the tip through the end of the Handle until it popped out of the top section, then pushed on the sliding rings and fitted the tip ring using Hot Melt Glue, then re screwed the cap to the end of the Handle, Job done, writing it down sounds complicated, but it isn't!

New Rod

After saying in my previous post, I won't be buying any new Tackle this year, I go and buy a new rod

I bought myself a Telecsopic Feeder rod, something I've been looking for, for a long time. I bought a Browning Ambition Telescopic Feeder Rod.

I bought the rod from Cheshire Fishing Smashing place, not only does it have a very good tackle shop, there are several lakes available to fish, both course and Trout lakes, set in the heart of the beautiful Cheshire countryside.

My Fishing Year 2011, Highlights & Lowlights

Looking at the weather it looks as though my fishing year is at an end, so now looks like the appropriate time to publish my review of the highlights and low lights of my fishing year, so here goes.
The year started off with the worst winter in living memory, most of my local fisheries were frozen over for weeks and weeks.
I also had a broken hand at the beginning of the year, so that prevented me from having any time on the bank.
By the time the weather improved and my hand repaired, we were into the early spring.
In April, Richard had his best ever Pike. Trolling lures along the Bridgewater Canal, he had a beauty on a Big “S” plug.
I began to fish Rixton regularly, working out where and how to fish this wonderful piece of water.
I had some nice Tench and my best ever Bream. Working out how to mix Groundbait properly, has helped my feeder fishing tremendously.
Turning up at Rixton at 06.00 on the morning of the Royal wedding and finding every Peg taken, must be one of the low lights of the year.
At the beginning of the year I’d hoped to get some time on the rivers close to where I live, but the summer was so wet and miserable, I tended to stick to waters that were not going to affected so much by the amount of rain we were having.
The summer was a washout for me fishing wise, a combination of bad weather and other things going on, prevented me from getting out.
Although I didn’t get out much during the summer and Autumn, that didn’t mean I stopped thinking about my fishing, I’d been thinking about Rixton, more importantly, Rixton Pike, I’d seen plenty of evidence of Pike in Rixton earlier in the spring, I witnessed numerous Pike strikes at prey fish when, I’d been Tench and Bream fishing.
I’d never seen another Angler fishing for the Rixton Pike, so I came up with a plan to try to target them come the Autumn.
Come early November I put my plan into action, it turned out a partial success, I had four visits targeting the Pike, being successful on three out of the four visits, I say “partial success“, because I only caught one fish each time I caught.
Most of my Pike fishing over the years has been a very simple Float Fished method, setting my float to about 3feet in depth and hoping for a bite. In November I attended a “Pike Teach in” for Warrington Anglers members, run by the Pike Angling Club, I picked up some useful tips on different rigs, so I’ll be giving those a try in the coming year.
The rumours of Pike in the Mersey, are actually fact, not just rumours, I’ve seen the pictures, so that will be one of my targets for the coming fishing year. I will find fishing a big river daunting as I do prefer smaller more intimate rivers but If I do manage to connect with a big Pike it will be worth it!
For me one of the saddest things this year was the closure of Bennett’s of Sheffield, which, in my opinion was the finest On-Line fishing shop, a sign of the times I’m afraid!
In the coming year I hope to get on to some of my local Rivers, the Bollin at Bowden is a beautiful little river, not much more than a stream, but if it has improved, in the same way lots of other rivers in the North West have improved, it will be a gem. I used to fish the Bollin a few years ago but I’ve neglected it in recent years, but this coming year I intend to correct this oversight. There’s a beautiful swim which is an ideal trotting swim, I will get into my chest waders and trot a stick float, once again, this another area of my fishing I’ve neglected.
I don’t think I’ll be buying any major items of fishing tackle during this next year, I think I own all I could possibly need, having said that, I do find it hard to walk past a Tackle shop and not get the urge to go in and buy myself something!
A finally, a big thank you to all the people who have helped and encouraged me this year, also a big thank you to all the people who follow this blog, it is encouraging to look at the stats and see all the different parts of the world where people are viewing from. So far I’ve had over 2300 visits to my Blog
Good luck to everyone who reads this. If you’re an Angler, I hope this coming year, fishing wise, is better than the last.
Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

Take a Look at The Mersey This Weekend

The weather looks as though it going too be to cold for me to fish this weekend, so I think I'll start planning next years fishing. I'm going to take a look at the Mersey at Woolston weir, have a look at the pegs that I've been told are there and try to workout the methods I'll use come next year.

Bridgewater Canal Lloyd's Bridge

Today must have been the worst conditions I've fished in for years, High winds, driving rain and very cold.
I fished at the moored boats at Lloyd's Bridge,fished two rods hard on the bottom, one with Sprat, as bait, the other with Smelt as bait.
Just as I arrived the rain started, it was coming down horizontal, been driven on by a driving wind, which made casting interesting.
After an hour the float of the rod with Sprat as bait began dancing across the surface, as I was fishing over depth the float didn't go under, but moved across the surface, this rod was my fathers Fox boat rod, which to be honest, the handle is a little short and not really suited to casting dead baits from the bank.
I managed to land a little Pike of about 3lbs.
That was the end of the catching for today, I moved around to quite a few different swims but no runs materialised.
The conditions were very much against me today, so I think landing one Pike was a good result considering!
No photo's today as I was so cold I was shivering when I took the pictures of the pike and photos I have are very blured!

These are the boats I fished close too.

Bridgewater Canal Tomorrow

I was going to give the Mersey a try tomorrow but I've had a change of mind, so it's the Bridgewater Canal to try for the Pike.
Going to start at Lloyds Bridge, fishing hard on the bottom, close to the boats. I'll spend half an hour in each swim and see how it goes.
Going to fish two rods, dug out my Fathers 10ft6 Fox Rod, first time that's been used in a few years!

River Mersey Pike

After talking to the owners of Cheshire Angling and one of the chaps at the "Pike Teach in" on Sunday, I'm thinking of having a try on the Mersey at Woolston Weir for the Pike. Speaking to chap at the "Pike Teach in", he was saying you only have to fish close to the bank, fishing hard on the bottom.
One problem I have is that I'm not a fan of "big rivers", the Mersey is a big river! so I'll have to try and adapt to it.
If the weather is not to bad on Saturday I'll have a walk down with a rod and give it a try, maybe have a chat with any other Anglers on the bank.

Pike Teach In and Rixton

Very cold and a strong wind today.
Started of at the Pike Teach In on the Bridgewater Canal, the weather was awful, strong wind and brief heavy showers, stayed for an hour, picked up some tips on tactics.
Went on to Rixton Clay Pits where, if anything the wind was worse, the trees were bent double, at least the rain showers had passed.
Started off fishing the same peg as last week. Fished a float fished Smelt,after an hour my bait was taken, after a brief fight I landed a Pike of 3lb.

After another hour in the same peg I moved to next peg along which gave a little more shelter from the wind. This peg will be very nice to fish next spring, with plenty features to fish too.
Thats four weekends on the run I've managed a session, it cant last much longer, if I can get out next weekend it will be on Saturday as I'm working next Sunday.
This was the first time this year I wore my Thermal Boots, I'm so glad I did, my feet were the only part of me that stayed warm.

Cheshire Angling

Just been to Cheshire Angling, what a smashing shop,very nice owners. The tackle I wanted was quite a lot cheaper than in the other two local fishing tackle shops,I'll be going there again. Got lots of useful information, the owner was telling me about the Pike Fishing in the River Mersey at Woolston Weir, might give it a try in the near future.

Pike "Teach In" On The Bridgewater Canal

The Pike Teach in is on this Sunday, Just had a reply from my enquiry to the website forum.
So it's the Bridgewater for me this Sunday.

Don't think the Pike Teach In, is Happening, so it's Rixton Again this Weekend

Just looked on the Warrington web site under Franks Column, there's no mention of the Pike Teach In on the Bridgewater Canal this Sunday, so it's back to Rixton Clay Pits for another try for the Pike!

Bought More Bait and Replaced a Lost Float

Called in Baileys on the way home tonight, bought some smelt and a new Pike Flaot.
Looking forward to the "Pike Teach In" this weekend on the Bridgewater Canal.
I'll try and get a couple of hours "in" after the "Teach In", as I'll be on the Bridgewater, I think I'll have a try at Lloyds Bridge close to the moored boats

Cleaning My Gear After Rixton Yesterday

Just spent an Hour cleaning my tackle and Boots after my adventures at Rixton Clay Pits yesterday.
I fished one of the "unmade" pegs, I, and all my gear got covered in mud. It's a smashing fishery, but all it takes is a little rain,because it was a Clay Pit, the mud is Clay based and it's messy!
Here's a photo of my boots, to show how muddy it gets!

My box, my rod and Landing Net were just as muddy.

Sucess At Rixton

Caught another Pike at Rixton today. I was on the next peg down from where I usually fish.
I used Float Fished Smelt as bait.

It was a cold day. I intended to use a roving approach, but once I settled into the peg I caught on I didn't fancy moving.
The peg I fished was very muddy, so all my gear is covered in mud, I'll have to clean it up tomorrow.
The fish I caught weighed between 3&4lbs, it has beautiful markings on it's tail and fins.
Lost another bloody float, got to improve my Casting!
The Clay Pits are looking beautiful at the moment.

Apart from 3 other anglers I had the place to myself.Thats three good wekends on the run I managed to get out for a few hours, which is great for November,it can't last much longer!

Bought My Bait and Made Some Traces So I'm Ready For Tomorrow

Picked up some Sprats and some Smelt plus some bullet weights on the way home from work. I've Made a couple of Traces, so I'm ready for tomorrow.
I'm going to try the "roving approach", I'll spend half an hour in each swim, then move on. See how this tactic works.

New Gear Arrived Today

My new stove arrived from Go Outdoors today good service I only ordered It on Saturday, also bought three Drennen Pike floats, cheaper than the Fox ones I bought on Friday.
Orderd my New Landing Net today gone for the Fox Speedflow Compact, bought it from Dave's of Middlewich. Should arrive by the middle of December, not in stock at the moment.

Pike Fishing Canals

Just been reading the Warrington Anglers Forum on Pike Fishing the Bridgewater Canal,the general feeling is, in the winter, the Pike 'lay up' under the boats, so a tight cast to the boats is essential, as close as two feet from the boats is recomended.
There are lots of comments on how good Agden, on the Bridgewater Canal is. My only problem with fishing at Agden is, you're very exposed to the wind, it gets very cold, but it might be worth a try.

Pike Teach 'In' on the Bridgewater Canal

Theres a Pike 'teach in' on the Bridgewater Canal on Sunday 27 November, I'll go to that, might pick up some hints on Pike Fishing Canals, went to one years ago at Moore Quarry, found it useful. The session is run by the Pike Angling Club.

New Landing Net Speedflow Compact

Have seen this Landing Net it's a Fox Speedflow Compact, not sure how much it is but it's a Fox Product so it wont be cheap

Roving Approach

Been thinking about yesterday at Rixton, I think one of the mistakes I made was staying in the one peg too long. I think I should have moved on after half an hour or so. I think thats what I'll do next time. I will cover more water and more likley Pike holding spots.
I'll have make sure my gear is as light as posible and I'll carry only what I need to keep the weight down as much as posible.

Predator Plus

Put a post on the Maggotdrowners Forum, regarding Attractants, mixed replies, but a couple of the replys mentioned Predator Plus.

I think you inject the Predator Plus into the Baits before freezing, and a quick brush on the outside before casting would'nt do any harm. I'll give it a try, see how I get on!

Different Tactics

As the weather gets colder, things will slow down, so I'm going to try using an attractant. before I cast the baits in, I'm going to paint them with a Salmon oil, this should put a smell in to the water and with luck bring the Pike "in"

Failed at Rixton

Failed Today At Rixton. The Conditions were very bright and clear with hardly any breeze. Used the same tactics as last week, fishing the same peg.
I had one take, close in. I saw a Pike strike, so I cast at it, the take was instant, I gave it my standard 5 seconds, picked the rod up to strike, but the fish had let go! That was the end of the action.
The worste part of the day was loosing two floats, at nearly £3.00 ago thats a bit expensive!
Thinking about why I didn't catch, the Bait I was using wasn't the best quality, and the weather conditions weren't brilliant for Pike fishing. The main reason I think why I didn't catch was I wasn't wearing my lucky cap!
The day wasnt totally wasted, as the fishing was, at best slow, I decided to try some of the special effects on my camera on my phone see below.

Price of Tackle

Just bought one Float and a pack of No8 Trebbles, came to just under £7.00. I must be behind to times with the cost of things.

Going to Rixton Again this Saturday To Try For The Pike

Going to give it another go at Rixton this Saturday, Going to try for the Pike Again.
Just set up a My small Shakespeare seat box as a Pike Dead Bait Box. Found my old Alvey centre Pin Real I used to use for Pike Fishing, not used it for years, might give it a try this weekend.
I need a couple more Pike Floats, I'll call in at Baileys on the way on Saturday.

My Plan for Pike at Rixton Worked

My plan for Pike from Rixton from earlier this year was put into practice this afternoon.
I used Float fished Sprats (bought from Warrington Market yeaterday, £1.00 for half a pound). I fished close in to the margins, after a couple of hours my float started to run across the water, I gave it 5 seconds then struck and I was "on".
It's been ages since I float fished Dead Baits and seeing the float slide away was as big a thrill as it always was.
The pike weighed aproximatley 5 lb, it was as long as the baby changing mat I was using as an unhooking mat.
There was hardley any other anglers on the Clay Pits today, it was a beautiful bright still day, not the best conditions for Pike, but half the pleasure of a session is just "being there" and it could'nt have been better.

Sorry about the quality of the Pictures they were taken on my Mobile Phone and the Light was poor

At Last, A Couple of Hours on Rixton Tomorrow!

Off to Rixton tomorrow, cant remember the last time I got out. I'm going to have ago for the Pike. I've never seen any big Pike in Rixton, but I've seen, and even caught one of the Jack's.
It'l be nice just to get out and wet a line. I'll not be out long 3 or 4 hous should be enough this time of year, the old bones feel the cold these days!

Ground Bait from Aldi

Just been shopping with my wife to Aldi whilst in the shop I noticed they were selling Ground Bait.

At under 3 quid I thought I'd buy a couple. I'll report back how I got on with it and if it improved my catches!

Hoping to get to the Wide Hole on Tuesday

I'm hoping to go to the Wide Hole on Tuesday, It,s been years since I fished here. When I lived in Stockport I fished here more than anywhere else, it's where I caught my first pike and a few years later my biggest Pike of 16lbs.

The wide Hole is a part of the Macclesfield Canal. It's actually the none towpath side of the canal, the none towpath side of the canal subsided due to miming and flooded an adjoining field, it's only about 3 feet deep, but it's full of fish, with a good number of pike and large numbers of Bream.

If I can't get to the Wide Hole it'll be Rixton again!

Failed on the Bridgewater

Nothing happening on the Bridgewater this afternoon. The canal was full of crap, every time a boat went past all sorts of rubbish was churned up, the Spoons and Lures were constantly covered in crap, I think I'll give the Bridgewater a miss until the boat traffic has died off when the Autumn comes.

New Stove

My brother gave a Coleman single burner stove, it's the most compact stove I've seen,it boils my kettle in just over 1 minute, it's incredible.

The best things about it are, the cartridge is resealable so you take the burner off the cartridge, then put the cartridge inside the kettle,also the arms fold together and then the burner goes inside a pouch that came with the stove, it's incredible! it saves me a lot of room in my rucksack.

Good Session at Rixton

Had an afternoon and evening session at Rixton today.
Very slow to begin with, in fact it took over an hour for thr first bite to arrive.
I was using my feeder rod with a hair rig set up alternating between Fishmeal pellets and Sweetcorn. I began to catch small Skimmers, each one I caught was bigger than the previous one.
At 7.00pm the Quiver tip flew round, I thought I was into a Tench, although the fish felt heavy it did'nt put up much of a fight, when I got the fish to the net I was amazed to see the biggest Bream I've ever caught, it weighed over 4lbs (see the photo's below) I put the kettle in the photo to give some scale

I must be honest I was targeting the Tench, I could see plenty of Tench bubbles they never took any of my baits.

Rixton was looking good this evening,I was amazed to find I had the place to myself.

Might have a Pike session on the Bridgewater tomorrow.

Rixton Tomorrow

Going for an afternoon and evening session at Rixton tomorrow,the weather looks not too bad,the family are off to the cinema so I should have a good 7 hours targeting the Tench.

Rixton Pike

During my in forced absence from fishing I've been thinking about the Pike in Rixton, I've never heard any reports about them, but I'm sure there is a head of Pike in Rixton. I caught a small Jack Pike a few years ago, I pulled a wobbled dead bait along the margins and it was soon snapped up.
Earlier this year I saw lots of evidence of Pike attacking shoals of fry. I think in the the future I'm going to have a sustained effort and try to see just whats in the Claypits.

It's been a Long Time

It's been ages since I last went fishing, I'm hoping towards the end of August, I'll be able to start again,probably the bank holiday week will see me back at Rixton. I also have five days leave left to take before the end of September,so I'll be using those as Fishing days!

Gave Rixton a Miss

The weather was so bad today I gave Rixton a miss,we had rain and wind all day,all being well I'll give it a try next weekend

Ground Bait

I was watching Thinking Tackle on Monday, they were preparing a ground bait using Tinned Tuna, Chili Powder, Trout Pellets, Salt and a Ground bait mix then putting it in P.V.A. bags they claimed it was great attractor, I'm going to give it ago when I next go out

14 May 2011

14 May will be my next session I think I might go to Cicley Mill for the first time this year, I'd like to hook a Crusion, they're a beautiful fish, and for their size give a real good fight. A nice Tench would be welcome!

Slow Session At Rixton

It was very slow at Rixton today, I can think of all sorts of reasons why,the wind, the amount of bait that went in over the extended Bank Holiday weekend, I think I had a Pike in the swim,maybe the fish were spawning. What ever the reason it was a slow session, I hooked four skimmers and landed two. It could have been worse.
I used a Hair Rigged 8mm fishmeal pellet on my Quiver Tip Rod. I fished my favourite peg the small one third down from the car park
Sandra came with me and took the Photos and shot the Video
See the Video and Photograph below.

Another try at Rixton Tomorrow

With luck it should be less windy and be quiet at Rixton tomorrow, I'm taking Sandra with me, a good way of finishing off my leave as it's back to work on Wednesday. This will be my last trip out until 14 May.

Rixton What a Waste of Time

Arrived at Rixton at 6am noticed loads of cars parked outside,that should have warned me of what lay ahead, got onto the little used peg I've used before (this was the last one available). I had a small skimmer on my first cast,using a 6mm fishmeal pellet hair rigged. As I was about to cast in again a voice shouted from his hidden bivvie "watch where you're casting I've got two line's out there" right in front of me! what a pain, so that just about finished the fishing for me for the day, I couldn't cast so there was no point in staying.
On a fishery like Rixton it's seems unfair to allow two rods,and whilst I'm at it, how can they allow overnight fishing when there are no toilets, I've seen the results when these overnight fishermen leave and it's not nice,if fact it's unhealthy.
So what a waste of a day. I'll try again on Tuesday when with luck it should be quiet.

Having a Day on Rixton on Friday

I'm having a day on Rixton on Friday, I'm off work so I'll make the most of it, Sandra will be watching the Wedding on T.V. so I'll have the day to myself. Most of the work at home will be finished by then, so with luck, it'll be a Tench day!

Three Lost Lures and Only One Bite on the Bridgewater

Not much luck on the Bridgewater last night, We only had one take, it was a very small Pike, after a couple of seconds it came off. We also lost three Lures. There was a small boat rally on the Church stretch with lots of boats and people about, making lots of noise,playing loud music so the conditions were against us.

Try the Bridgewater Tomorrow Evening

Going to try the Bridgewater again tomorrow evening to see if we can connect with the Pike. There shouldn't be too many people around as the F.A. Cup semi finals are on T.V. I think we'll start with the Big 'S' plug then switch to the Abu Atom Spoon. It'll be nice if we can hit a couple more Pike.

Sucess on the Bridgewater

All four of us went down to the Bridgewater this evening but all the plaudits go to my youngest son, Richard, he landed two Pike, the first a small Jack of about three pounds (see photo). He then went on to land a rather better fish of about Eight pounds (see photo) We also managed to video the larger Pike.

The First fish was caught on an Abu 35gram Atom Spoon in a Pearch patern the second was caught on an old Shakespeare Big 'S' Plug that belonged to my father, he would have been delighted.

Heading Off to the Bridgewater for a Couple of Hours After Tea

Going to finish off my leave with a couple of hours on the Bridgewater after tea. Going to throw a few spoons around to see if we can attract a Pike or Two, you never know what might turn up,I've had sucess at this time of year before so it's worth a try!

First Sesion of the Season On Rixton

Had a good session on Rixton on a beautiful Spring day. Rixton was very busy, most pegs being used. I fished using a Hair Rig using Fishmeal Pellets alternating with Sweetcorn. Took an hour to get going but once I started getting bites they kept coming all day. as this was my first session of the season my reactions were not as fast as they should have been, I landed one Tench and six Skimmers, if I had landed all the bites I would have doubled that number. The weather was stunning and very warm for April, I have sunburned arms. I started off using a bite alarm but moved onto a Quiver Tip, I'm very pleased how the day turned out, considering it was my first session of the season. Apologies for the quality of pictures, I think my camera on my phone was set up wrong. I also noticed an awful lot of fry leaping out of the water, this was happening all day so it looks as if the predators were feeding up after a long winter.

Catching a Pike in Ireland July 2007

This is one of the little Pike I caught in Ireland on the Shannon in July 2007.

Bridgewater Canal Frozen Again

Took a trip down to the Bridgewater Canal today hoping to have a try for the Pike. When we arrived we found the canal was frozen over again, so a wasted trip! See the video below it was shot at Lloyds Bridge about a mile before Lymm.
The Ice was breaking up, so it might be fishable by the weekend.

Have You Ever Seen Smaller Pike!

These must be the smallest Pike I've caught to date! These three Pike were caught in the River Shannor in Ireland, using trolled surface Lures. The biggest one must have weighed at the most one and half pounds. It was a very wet day in July 2007, we were fishing close to Clondra,

County Longford. I caught Five Pike in total, all as big as these, My Brother Adam was in the boat,he did'nt get a bite.

This is Adam with a better Pike, he caught a few months later from the Shannon

Try Again on the Bridgewater for Pike in the next couple of Days, Hand Permitting

Just read Franks Weekly article in the Warrington Guardian, in it, he mentions a member had a cracking session in Lymm and landed some Pike after he saw them scattering scholes of small fish.
I have a theory as why Lymm is such a good area for Pike during the cold months, I reckon as it's a village, and sheltered on both sides of the canal, the water is slightly warmer, and there are lots of moored boats, as it's winter the boats don't move, therefor the warmer water attracts the prey fish and the stationary boats give the Pike a good hiding place. But of course that could be (and probably is) a load of rubbish
The only problem is I've broken my hand again! so I'm not sure if I could cope with a monster (I should be so lucky) I might try over the weekend or early next week, I'll have to see how the hand goes.

My Best Pike day Ever

These photos were taken on 7 June 1999 at the Wide Hole on the Macclesfield Canal. This was my best days Pike fishing.The Pike in these photos was my best Pike to date, it weighed 16Lbs.

Everything I tried on this day worked, I had 7 Pike in total, in 4 hours, if only every Fishing day was like this, but then again if it was this easy, as it was on this day, we'd soon get bored!

If any member of Warrington Anglers is reading this, you must give the Wide Hole a try,it must be one of the best water's on the Warrington Anglers card.

During the summer it's full of Bream,and on one occasion, I witnessed a mass Carp breading, I've never seen anything like it, the water was like a washing machine the Carp were churning it up so much.

There's a good number of Pike, mostly Jacks with the odd double figure one thrown in for good measure!

The best thing about this section of the Canal is, because of the subsidence that caused the Wide Hole there is NO boat disturbance.

Starting Fishing Young

This is a photo of Owen and me on one of Owen's first fishing trips, he's just over 12 months old,the photo was taken at the Wide Hole on the Macclesfield Canal in 1999.

He's had a few Pike since this was taken!

Found Some Old Pike photos From 1999

Just found some old Pike photos taken in 1999. The quality of picture isn't brilliant as I had to scan them first as they were taken in pre Digital Camera days. Most of the were taken at the Wide Hole on the Macclesfield Canal and a couple on the River Tame that runs through Stockport

None of the fish we what you could call large, but they were great fun to catch,as this was at the start of me catching Pike they we all something special to me!

My Favourite On Line Fishing Shop has closed

Bennett's of Sheffield seem to have ceased trading, it's a pity they were a first class supplier. Over the years I've bought lots of equipment from them, their service was always first class, I suppose it's a sign of the times we 'live in'.

Nothing Happening on the Bridgewater Canal

Had a couple of hours on the Bridgewater Canal yesterday casting Spoons for Pike not surprisingly we didn't catch.We saw a Kestrel hunting but very little else. The Countryside is right in the middle of it's winter slumber and so is most of the wildlife.

We saw some nice boats moored up by Lloyd's Bridge. I thinK we'll have to wait till March before things come back to life. It was nice just to be out for a couple of hours, just the two of us.