Royal Piking

Blenheim Palace has produced some special days for Dad and myself, it is the venue both our personal best pike have come from with the Old Mans being a fish of over 28lb.  We have fished it regular over the last 15 years, however due to family commitments we have not visited the water for about 2 years.  This was a couple of days fishing I was looking forward to.

As always we had booked into a B&B and arrived the night before the first days fishing.  We collected the keys to the room and made out way up the stairs to our room!  I'm surprised they did not provide a Sherpa to carry our gear, talk about in the rafters, I was half expecting oxygen masks in the room when we arrived, it was a lot of narrow stairs!  After our recovery we were soon in the local and enjoying a couple of cold beers.

The morning was cold and frosty as we loaded the rods into the van then made our way into the estate park that Capability Brown designed in the 18th century.  The Palace is steeped in history including being the birth place of Sir Winston Churchill.  The gardens are magnificent and you experience a taste as you walk from the car park to the boat house and pass the impressive fountains.

There were only 2 other boats on the lake when we arrived and chose boat number 17 for no particular reason.  Our tactics were deadbaiting and lure fishing so hopefully covering most situations.  It was great to be afloat again on this magnificent venue and we gently rowed to our first swim an overhanging tree just down from the boat house.  Our tactics would be to cast our deadbaits towards any bankside features for patrolling pike and then chuck the lure 360 degrees searching for pike, it is a tactic that has provided us with many memorable days at Blenheim.  

The fishing over the last few years, according to other fishing blogs and forums has notquite lived up to its reputation and that is another reason why we have not rushed back, however if you want to find out how a venue is fishing then it is always best to check it out for yourself for peace of mind.

It certainly was a slow start, we searched each area thoroughly with the lures and our floats on the deadbait rods remained motionless after fishing four different swims.  We tried a deeper area of the lake and again after sending our lures to various parts of the lake, stopped for a bit of  lunch.  Whilst eating a sandwich I noticed a red kite circling above, I reached for the camera, I managed alot of photos of the blue sky, not realising how much of a challenge photographing a circling bird of prey would be from a rocking boat! 

We then witnessed the kite fold in its wings and steadily swoop in between the trees onto the ground, a quick rip of its beak it was soon back in the air with a small mammal in its talons, which it proceeded to eat on the wing before the resident gulls mobbed it to no avail.  Its these experiences that I appreciate when out angling, its nature in full effect.

We rowed towards the Grand Bridge where the water is a lot shallower around 3-4 feet hoping the pike might be feeding or preparing to spawn.  The deadbait was cast towards the structure of the bridge which shadowed us in all its splendour.  The old saying "location, location, location" rang true as within 3 minutes of the bait settling it was taken, the float sailed away and I struck into what was obviously a jack pike, however on a slow day all pike are welcome.

The pike took a Gadda Baits Bluey with the head cut off for maximum attraction.  We fished on for another hour in this spot hoping that more pike would fall to our tactics however they did not so we decided to row back towards the boat house stopping every 50 yards to cast our lures.

It seemed as if the recent reports and forums were correct and perhaps Blenheim has seen better days with regards to its predator fishing.  Over 2 days fishing between us we would normally land a double or two or at least several jacks.  We discussed this over a few pints that night and decided we would fish the "arm" tomorrow, an area of about 5-6 feet of water, a place where the pike retreat to spawn.

The next morning, carrying slightly fuzzy heads, we had renewed confidence as I took to the oars and headed directly for the arm, passing the deep water we had fished the previous day.  We were in our third spot of the day half way up the arm when the Old Man had a merciless take on his shad.  A spirited pike of similar size to the one I caught, had brutally swallowed the lure which was deep in its throat. 

This is why it is important when piking to have the correct equipment, long nose pliers, long handled cutters and long traces even when lure fishing.  The pike was unhooked and returned quickly to the water.
As the fishing was slow going I had plenty of time to photograph the bird life that thrives on the palace grounds, which gave me a break from chucking the lures about.

Blenheim Palace will always hold a special place in my angling memories and we will return in the Autumn to have another go for the resident pike however as with many venues perhaps the best days are behind it, for now.  When you visit you will notice the dozens of cormorants that litter the trees over looking the lake, I would not be surprised if a lot of the prey fish have been decimated leaving the pike little to feed on, only time will tell.  

I would encourage anyone to visit this spectacular venue and have a go for the pike, bream or tench, the scenery is stunning, the wildlife abundant and more often than not the sun shines, tight lines.