Using the streetlights opposite to watch my surface fished bread at night when a big pair of rubber lips came up and fish on. A great fight in the darkness - a seriously powerful fish...
On the bank we noticed it had no pelvic fins, a massive tail and a long streamlined body, built for power, and looked a lot bigger than it’s 14lb 9oz weight - what a beauty - I do like a mutant!
Mornings and evenings
-
Good old Lucie, our Parson Jack Russell terrier gets walked twice a
day come hail rain or shine and we're lucky enough to have permission from
a...
One Final Roll of the Dice.
-
The pull of the Wye has had me travelling the 310 mile round trip to fish
conditions that most would avoid, oddly I seem to love it! ( tongue in
chee...
A funny ole time
-
March is a funny ole time for a Piker, you never know what you’re going to
get with the weather and consequently the fish are often not playing then
game...
March 16, 2024
-
With my Bowfin spot finally open for the year, I was excited to give it a
shot, and check out the water levels, and what the recent rains may have
affec...
Windmill Fishery Open
-
Another busy week, four days working in Munich and then Friday at
Cheltenham races, five second places and no winners hmmm. I was pleased to
see Kevin ...
A surreal weekend
-
With Bev's operation being imminent, I decided that we needed to get away
for the weekend in order to avoid the situation of dwelling upon the
impending...
Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.85 (Canal Zander)
-
Although I moan a lot about fishing canals, (I moan about lots of things to
be honest), well I am 52 years old in November it goes with the territory I
s...
Setting the Tone
-
Date fished 14/3/2024
8am until 2pm
A week in Dorset to visit my mum followed by a weekend in London meant I
was 'free' for the last day of the river seaso...
Last whimper.
-
Tuesday was Fens day, to act as ghillie for the master printmaker John
Richardson, he of Two Terriers fame. I got as far as Fakenham before it
became evi...
Serendipity
-
Those useless feckers at the Met Office had on Sunday told us we'd seen the
last of the rain , so don't worry folks, it's going to be a dry week.
By Mond...
Wykeham lakes Scarborough
-
I have just read that the above fishery is going under new management ,
Great news its somewhere that I have fished in the past but my recent
enquiry a...
08/03/2024 - That's more like it!
-
With plenty of flexi in the bank I booked Tuesday off with a view to
venturing a bit further afield in search of a 2lb grayling.
The only potential fly in...
IF CARLSBERG BREWED BEAUTY
-
There are so many horrors in the world right now that I badly need some
mental medication and one way of recovering is to remember some of the
inspiring...
An Evening Out
-
I can rarely be bothered to attend birding-related 'events', so Friday
evening was rather out of character. However, the title - *In Conversation
with Ma...
Mine Shafts, Floods and The Harwood Arms
-
Happy New Year everybody,
Covid for Christmas, which is not what we asked for and resulted in a funny
forty eight hours of sleep, sweating and unusual d...
Het lange wachten
-
Wat was het een natte winter. Er is afgelopen maanden meer regen gevallen
als normaal in een heel jaar. De visserij was dan ook slow en taai. Een
trip op...
Winter woes.
-
Well, the weather over the past couple of months has pretty much brought my
species hunting for the year to a shuddering halt. I have made a couple of
at...
Carp, Ciaran, and Catastrophe
-
During the last visit to the surgeon he seemed impressed and decided that a
replacement shoulder could go on the back burner for a while. I even
bragged ...
Specimen roach quest
-
I had never managed a really big roach. Like many, I had caught some nice
ones over the years but a 2 pounder had never graced my net albeit I had
never ...
Sussex Diary: 16 September 2023
-
*A diary of my visits to my club's section of river, somewhere in deepest,
darkest Sussex.*
Last month I received an email from Kyle, a fellow South Afri...
Fall Fishing for Common Carp
-
Here are some recent catches from Friday and Saturday's efforts.Friday's
carp were caught from an extremely weedy lake and Saturday's fish were from
an urb...
I,m back
-
As a lot of you will be aware, i had my van stolen back in mid july, with
over £4000 worth of tackle in the back, i got up on that sunday morning ,
looked ...
Differing days on the Wye
-
*June 26th & 27th 2023*
• River Wye at Ashford on the water EA measuring gauge at .29 water
crystal clear
• Weather partly sunny short shower late after...
The first post of 2023......
-
I have not fished many matches this year hence the lack of activity on this
Blog.
I did fish a match on the Gloucester Canal back in early January but I ...
2023 - A few trips so far
-
After a fairly significant break from angling, I’m glad to say the bug is
well and truly back. For now, it’s just great to be getting out and going
for it,...
AWOL Again
-
I won't dwell too much on the last 6 months of angljng inactivity. Fishing
has been sparse. Life's responsibilities, challenges and niggles all too
often...
-
* HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS *
im very much still alive and ultra busy with flies so heres a couple of
videos from the last few months , please feel free to su...
Prime Suspect
-
He was a naturally scruffy and imperfect little soul. Black and grey hair
matted and his shins often coated in spare gravy 'for later'. The dandruff
fell...
A few hours..
-
As close friends know & anyone who follows Bedale & Beyond on social
media, I have been out the game for the last 7 weeks with a torn ligament
in my kne...
Grindr
-
Variety is indeed the spice of life and my lack of update here is
principally due to the fact I've been doing the same thing over and over
again for some...
A couple after the heat
-
* 23/07/22*
Straight to the river after my last shift of a 60hr week, half a can of
Redbull on the way, the other half for the drive home. I was parked u...
Welcome back to sunny Thailand
-
Welcome to our latest Exotic Fishing Thailand newsletter. I would like to
wish everyone good health in these unusual times. It's been a while since
our la...
Catching some for Dad
-
The handle's a bit wonky but the dusty old Mitchell Match is still silky
smooth. The finger-dab bail arm flicks open as I do an air cast in my late
fath...
A Redtail Adventure.
-
Having travelled to both Guyana and Suriname in South America on several
occasions I had decided that it was becoming much the same and I would no
longer ...
Top water fun.
-
With the summer just about here and the plethora of lure matches drying up
I can feel the weed festooned lakes calling me. Soon I will able to think
of no...
A Pikers Autumn Morning Canal Session...
-
A warm welcome to this week blog i hope i find well and your nets wet.
Autumn has certainly arrived here in the UK and with it has come the
blustery winds ...
New Target
-
So it has been like for ever since I posted anything up on the blog, well
sometime absence makes the heart grow fonder.
To be honest the fishing and the ...
Swansong
-
Opening day of the 2018 trout fishing season and a first blog post in
almost 18 months. It is also the last, a swansong of sorts as I admit
defeat and unde...
Unfinished Business — The Width of a Circle
-
I assure you, the picture above is no joke. That is a real hook — the
'Mustad 39937NP-DT Giant Demon Perfect Circle Hook' — and one that will set
the big g...
New Rods – Making Moves
-
I expect most keen coarse anglers own a rod or two dedicated to fairly
specialist tasks – perhaps a crisp, fast action float rod, designed solely
with long...
"Just one more"
-
I know a place not far away, where I can have this solitude. I can wander
the fields, unhindered, locate barbel easily and catch a few of them with a
cer...
Boddington Bobbers Vlog
-
I know what you are thinking "he'll use any excuse to purchase Boddingtons"
and that might be quite true as I am rather partial to a drop or two, the
fac...
Canal Tench - Something Green, Somewhere New
-
In spite of living within relatively close proximity to the Grand Western
Canal for a decade now, there are still parts of it that I have not fished
proper...
All change for 2017!
-
Greetings to all blog readers! It's not often I write in this location any
more, but if you're one of my old followers on this platform, or have just
di...
March Madness
-
I feel that I really should fill in some gaps after my self imposed
absence. I had a difficult start to 2016 because of a severe chest
infection which re...
Ouch.....
-
Popped down to the river for a couple of hours last Saturday morning and
conditions were pretty un-inspiring as they have been in general this
season. To ...
-
*Riverpiker has moved!Be sure to check out the new home, riverpiker.com for
all your pikey related stuff. Lure fishing videos, articles and the shop.*
Rio
-
Watching the Olympics reminded me of the blog that never got typed up.
Three years since I tackled the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in Rio de Janeiro.
I wa...
Transition time
-
Warming surf temps mean bait fish and things that eat bait fish are showing
up.
This 40Lb + Cownosed Ray gave a good pull. I flipped her over for a quic...
2016 Diary - The End
-
*Date:* Sunday 13th March 2016
*Venue:* River Tone, Somerset
It might not be final day until tomorrow, but today was my last chance to
cast a line on runni...
Popped up herring tail does the business again
-
Dawn was breaking when I arrived and a pike swirled on the surface in front
of the first swim I stopped at. A wind was blowing across the lake and this
w...
All Change.
-
When September mornings arrive who's mind doesn't inexplicably turn to
autumn perch, barbel, chub, roach, and dace to come?
Summer is waxing and Autumn is...
Blimey I’ve not posted here for a while!
-
I’ve been fishing a fair bit, but in my opinion badly. Blanking for tench,
carp barbel and big bream seem to have taken up most of my summer. It’s
been h...
Check it..
-
I post a bit on face book these days and have a "This Angling Life" face
book page. It's far easier to use than blogger especially on a mobile or
tablet...
Early morning double
-
My last session was again on the wonderful Wye, I arrived just before dawn
with a plan of fishing as the first rays of light for the day were popping
over ...
Mayfly Reflection
-
There hasn't been much time for fishing recently - my degree has taken
priority over the last year and subsequently hobbies have taken a back
seat. I did h...
Suspenders!
-
Now that the rivers are forbidden, we have to turn our attentions to lakes,
pools and canals. There's a very small pool 5 minutes drive away which,
despite...
How to combine two hobbies
-
Here is how to combine two hobbies - I created a drying machine for my tube
flies out of the LEGO Technic blocks. The machine is remotely controlled,
it ha...
"Lean fourteen" to avoid a blank.
-
After catching my very respectable 24.5lb pike yesterday in trying
conditions...i knew my window of opportunity was diminishing by the hour
(as is on the W...
Another Deer hair diver.
-
A different color setup,
The black gives a good contrast against the light colors.
A good silhouette for Northern Pike to follow and als...
Tuesday 19th February 2013
-
Weather -3c Start Brightening up later
I've managed to temp my son Dean out today for a rare midweek trip.
As usual we start the day with a full cooked brea...
04/03 Trent
-
Recovery day following mates stag weekend...played 9 holes of golf then off
to the river. Was looking forward to a good days fishing with the weather a
bit...
Peter Green PAC Lifetime Achievement Award
-
The PAC would like to congratulate Peter Green on his Lifetime achievement
award, which was awarded for his commitment and dedication to the PAC.
Peter h...
Barbel on the float!
-
I was intending on posting sooner than this, however after a
few disappointing sessions this has led to me have little enthusiasm for
blogging.
A day trot...
I bet that was a fight and a half - well done
ReplyDeleteCheers. After a great fight it was at the net before deciding to power back to the middle of the pond and make me do it all over again - brilliant!
DeleteMutant indeed, lovely colours mate.
ReplyDeleteCheers for convincing me to fish there - and for the photo!
Delete