Sunday 15 January 2012

Penton Hook VIII


Our first trip to Penton Hook of 2012, and myself and Darren were there in time to watch the sun rise over the island, I regret not taking a photo now. There was a crisp frost and mist rising from the morning water, and it was cold.

Everything looked great until we noticed the speed of flow, the water was only a couple of inches higher than normal but the current must have been nearly twice as fast.

We were both worried about presenting baits in this fast flowing water but it wasn't long before I heard Darren shout he was in. I ran for net duties but the pike had come off. He described the pike as 'a lump', when a carp angler says lump you know it was a big fish!

Next up I had a run but failed to connect to the fish before Darren lost a second fish. All this action had taken place in ten minutes and all on ledgered roach deadbait. Then we were out of dead roach.


We fished on with sprats and plugs and tried a few swims before Dan eventually turned up at midday, only four-and-a-half hours late! He had brought sausage sandwiches, but the brown sauce had only made it half way here before falling out of his bag and smashing - cr*p!

Sausage sandwiches were consumed before we all set about trying to find a pike. It wasn't until 2.30 when I had another run and landed a 8lb 9oz pike on ledgered sprat. As it turned out, the only pike of the trip, Brian 'Jammy Bugger' Roberts strikes again!

The pike was one we'd seen before, the instantly recognisable one that had been hit by a larger pike in November. It had healed well and was an ounce heavier this time so it's doing fine.


We fished into a very cold dusk before calling it a day. Time had flown by, and to be honest I think we could have done better - we should have explored some more swims. I'm thinking of putting a self-imposted time limit on each swim next time. And this is the third recapture in 18 pike, have we just found a small pool of pike? Time to move? Probably.

But we will be back to the island soon, there is lots of water still to explore and hopefully a lump or two still to grace the landing net...

17 comments:

  1. Hi guys, good to hear you caught, i was the guy who turned up at the island and fished a few swims down from you at about 3pm and fished until dark. I thought it was you but i wasn't 100%.

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    1. Hi Anonymous, did you catch? Apart from the fast flow it looked perfect, I really thought we would bag-up. A bit disappointed with four runs... Always great to catch but I think it's time for a tactics rethink... See you bank-side.

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    2. unfortunatly no i didnt catch although got a nibble, bait came back with teeth marks, i struggled with the flow, not even a 3oz lead would hold bottom, i cast to a spot and got dragged 10 meters down stream. any tips? cheers j

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    3. I was leaving a big bow in the line so the lead stayed put. But it sucks for run indication.

      I'm not sure if I was doing it when you walked past (and I'm sure you thought I was mad if you saw) but I also tried propping the rod up in a tree to get as much line out of the water as possible. It worked, but I did look like a wally!

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    4. no i dont think you were, its my first time fishing the island properly for pike so i dont really know much about any spots or features but from reading previous blog entries on here i am going to try the far bank features. just out of curiosity, is it usually that fast the flow or can you put the rod low on a rest with a tight line?

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    5. I've only fished there 8 times so I haven't really got to grips with it yet. All the pike we've had have been from following the greebs.

      It was the fastest I've seen it, normally it's a 2oz lead and a fairly tight line - but even then the runs are very shy - but the fight in that fast water is fantastic.

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    6. I bet, I can't Imagine a 17lb 'er in that kind of flow! Have you tried the other side of the island or just that stretch?

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    7. We've tried right round the island, the deep side is the bit that fascinates me - it's more tricky because the birds don't give away the location of the bait fish - but in my mind that's where the big ones will come from. Dan's obsession with a Penton Hook barbel tends to keep us in the fast water... But I think I'll head to deeper water next time.

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    8. have you been plumbing the depth to find deep spots or features or just judging by each cast

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    9. Just count the lead down, found two really deep holes that scream pike... No, not telling!

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    10. haha, i wouldn't ask

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  2. Tell Dan to buy HP in the plastic bottles lol

    S.

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    1. Time for a trip to Wetherspoons for a quick pint and to clean them out of brown sauce packets!!

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  3. Unlucky not to catch more, {I would have been happy if Dan had caught the brown sauce haha} But to catch a pike and recognise it and know its healed well is a great bonus,
    Well done guys,
    ,,,Paddy,,,

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    1. Nice to see that pike is recovering - especially as it was my fault she got bit.

      Not sure if it was unlucky not to catch more, it was unlucky not to land more of the runs, but I think there are more pike to find.

      I think a tactical rethink and a lot more exploring is needed. Probably not going to fish the 'hot' swims for a while - I'll claim I'm searching for a twenty, but really I'm looking for a new pike population.

      I'm sounding like a right miserable git, I was delighted with the pike, just a bit annoyed with my own fishing.

      (I like the new comment system on here though).

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  4. Great read Brian. The sausages looked worth the trip alone !!!

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    1. Cheers David. Sausage sandwiches have become part of the tradition on Penton Hook piking now, and long may it remain! Wetherspoons has been raided and we're stocked up on brown sauce for the next trip!!!

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