Jack, Sprat, Deja Vu

Another day of Piking was in order and this time I felt confident enough to kick it off at the often fickle Ryton Pool. An hour or so of wandering round the whole pool and moving baits through various swims and the confidence had ebbed away! Time for plan B and a trip to the more reliable Avon at Alveston.

The Avon wasn't any easier though and a full circuit up and downstream over the usual banker swims saw me staring a blank in the face. When I'd almost given up all hope I saw something move just in front of me - a Pike showing an interest in my wobbled Sprat. It wouldn't take it though.

Confident that I might be in the right area after all, I then decided to sit it out and changed to a more static float set up - partly for a change of presentation and partly for a much needed hot beverage break. No sooner was I pouring my coffee into the cup and the float was edging away across the river. I put the flask down and struck into the fish with an air of anticipation.

It wasn't a bad fish either, certainly looking long enough to be nudging double figures I would think. Unfortunately I never got to find out though, as the fish managed to slip the hooks during the fight. I was a bit gutted though, as I'd had it pretty much over the net at one point and managed to screw it up. The main failure being that I hadn't fully extended the net pole and had to bring the fish closer in than normal. With a fully exended pole, I'd have almost certainly landed it. My own stupid fault though.

The one good thing to come out of losing the fish was that it made me more determined to put something on the bank. I went back to the wobbling approach and went off on another circuit of the usual pegs. I connected with a small Jack in the next peg down and got exactly the same result - although this time I didn't have a sniff of landing it when it ejected the hooks. Ever more determined I pressed on.

Eventually I landed a fish down on trusty peg 9, scene of last week's only fish. It was a Jack which I thought was suspiciously similar to last week's fish and was caught in the same part of the peg. A quick check of the last week's photo when I got home confirmed it was the same fish.

Peg 7 was the next target and that also produced another Jack for me. A slightly smaller fish taken close in just off the platform. I love the thrill of the take when you see a Pike appear from nowhere, almost under your feet and grab the bait with sheer ferocity and power.

Nothing else materialised on the run back up through the other pegs.

A pleasant day and a few more fish showing than last week - even if a couple were slippery customers! I'm still very much a novice at this Pike game, but I'm gaining in confidence now and quite enjoying it during these cooler months.