Piking at the Palace

Piking at the Palace - A Rough Guide,  is my most recent article I have posted on the www.thebivvy.co.uk.  I intend to post articles on a regular basis on the thebivvy every month covering all aspects of fishing, including red letter days and informative articles.  I hope you enjoy reading them.  Please follow the link below to read my most recent entry.

One of many lure caught Blenheim Pike

Piking at the Palace - A Rough Guide

Chevin Hell

When I look back through my old fishy pics theres one species that the photos doesn't do justice to and that's the Chub.  When I was younger I fished for chub almost exclusively for years and loved every minute of it, cutting my teeth on a tributary of the Wye, learning watercraft skills and various techniques to land a big Chevin.  I caught hundreds of them, highlighting in the landing of two 5lbers in the same season. 

This doesn't sound too ground breaking in the days of 7lb+ Chub regularly making the angling press, however from a small river 15 - 20 years ago it has always been one of my best PBs to date.  Unfortunately for me the age of the digital camera was a far distant invention and although my East German Praktica served me well over the years, self takes were a lottery and often resulted in out of focus shots, especially if I commandeered a dog walker to take the photo!

This was something I intended to put right over the last 12 months and I had hoped to have several decent Chub pics to share on my blog gallery, however this has not happened so far, as I  have struggled on every Chub session over the last year and today was no exception.

Hoping the Chub will feed as the light fades!

I started on a tributary of the Wye (Monnow) and fished several "chubby" looking runs and glides armed with bread mash as feed with breadflake and luncheon meat for hookbaits.  It was a very cold morning, although I felt I was fishing well, I couldn't muster a bite.  I decided to drive to a section of the Wye and dropped in on a few slack areas of the river, I used luncheon meat on the hook in the hope of a bonus Barbel, however it was not to be and I couldn't understand why.  Throughout the day I had fished swims that had a track record for Chub in the past, a good Chub pic is still eluding me.

On a more positive note, I recently won a competition on Twitter by Gadda Baits.  My prize was a selection of Pike baits from their range, and when I arrived home they were waiting for me in a well insulated box.  I have to say the baits were all still frozen solid and looked in perfect condition.  My bait freezer is looking healthy again and I can not wait to get out on the bank and use them for my planned winter Pike trips.  Anyone serious about Predator fishing check them out (Gadda Baits) they have a great range and a fantastic service.

Just a very small selection of my Gadda Baits prize

On the subject of Pike, If any fisherman are contemplating a trip to Blenheim Palace after an Esox then you might find my "Rough Guide" to Blenheim useful.  After fishing the lake for over 10 years Im putting a few pointers down on paper and it will be published on www.thebivvy.co.uk forum towards the end of January and will include photos.  To any anglers fishing such a big lake for the first time afloat, I hope it might help you get on some Pike.  If your lucky some bonus Perch.

Lunch Hour Lure Fishing

With the Wye well within its banks for the first time in weeks and fining down nicely I decided I would have a short session after Pike in my lunch hour.  I would of preferred to use deadbaits since the Wye still had a tinge of colour in it, however I had to be mobile in case I had a phone call and had to return to work quickly.

I took my lunch early so I could fish in the morning rather than the middle of the day and I as I pulled up in the car park, I was full of hope of winkling out a pike. 

Contemplating a move

As I walked towards the first swim, a winter flock of long-tailed tits darted from tree to tree picking grubs off the branches as they went.  The field was still saturated which made it awkward to walk on without having my feet slip from beneath me, however I soon made it to the river.  The swim which was caked in mud about 3 inches deep, deposited when the water was well over the bank.  This soft mud held a myriad of animal tracks including Mink, Moorhen, Rat and Duck.  I soon made my own human tracks as I approached the river. 

Some of you may recall in a previous post I had splashed out on a new Pike net from HarrisSportsmail before Christmas, the mesh was rubber coated making it easier to untangle hooks.  As I placed the net on the ground, something did not look right!  On closer inspection there appeared to be a massive hole in the bottom of the mesh!  The net had been kept in the out house since it was last used, I must have gained a lodger that has been seeking refuge as the weather got cooler - Damn Mice!

Traps have now been laid - Humane ones of course!

Any Pike I hooked today would have to be chinned out, not ideal but not impossible.  I cast the lure into the Wye much to the dislike of a Little Grebe which scooted out from under a near tree then skimmed along the surface until it was further downstream.

I fished a slacker area of the river also pulling the shads along the edge of a crease in the hope of a take.  I tried a few different lures and shads and fished a couple of likely looking swims, however it wasnt to be and it was soon time to get back to work. When we are fishing an hour seems like 5 minutes!  So no fish on my first session of the new year, however its always nice to be back on the bank even for a short session.  Ill try and get in a few more "opportunist" trips during the coming months, as you never know, it only takes a minute to hook a PB. 

Id like to take the opportunity to wish the followers and readers of my blog a Happy New Year and I hope you achieve your fishing goals whatever they might be,  Ill be back out on the bank soon as my New Years Resolution is to make more fishing time for myself.  Tight Lines