Tales from the Hunter-Gatherer: Part1

Now, who was it who doubted this blogger's hunter-gathering skills?

I took the brave step this morning of returning to the reservoir where I was intending to fish when my car blew up. The weather was dull but mild and warm - a bit like a pint of Watneys Red Barrel, really.

There was a light breeze creating ripples on the surface of the water which was coloured light brown - with the wind in my face the conditions were perfect.

I thought I'd give my recently purchased lures a try out to see which ones work and which ones don't. The failures are destined to be re-listed on EBay in the future.

To the untrained eye, jerkbaiting (fishing with large lures which, by twiching of the rod imparts fishlike actions) looks rather phrenetic and almost violent. Whilst the maggot drowners (coarse fisherman) lie back and wait for the fish to find their baits, the jerkbaiter covers vast areas of water searching for the pike with each successive cast.

Within a couple of casts I'd had several 'follows' from pike - swirls of water emerged around the lure on the surface. Then, I was in! (pikers speak for - "Gosh, I seem to have a fish attached to my lure!"). After a brief battle, watched by two other anglers and a couple of walkers, the fish was in the net. Not a giant in Pike terms - 6lbs - but it was a start. Two casts later and another pike - 5lbs - was in the net. The word 'smug' had just taken on a whole new meaning.

The smaller one is pictured above. I'm very careful with pike - not because I'm scared of their mouthful of barbed inward facing teeth - but because they are very sensitive creatures. I rarely pick them up out of the water or hold them.

The pike were both caught on a Believer, a lure I recently bought on EBay for £2.70 - a bargain! It's chipped paintwork is testament to the damage inflicted in the pursuit.

The great thing about a successful fishing trip is that you immediately forget about all the 'blanking' sessions that you've endured - many hours without so much as a sniff of a bite. Now, I have been bitten by the pike bug and can't wait to return to the water's edge again.

But between now and the next piking trip is work. Ah well, it makes the money that pays for the next consignment of lures...