Date fished 3/11/2024
8am until 12.30pm
You may remember, I asked the kids what they wanted to try and catch this year. Rupe said a pike and Martha said a chub, (she has since changed this to a river carp!!) . I wondered if I could sort both together? Well, I could try.
Earlier in the week, I went to Tight Lines North East and bought some dead baits. It's been a while since I did this style of fishing. I remember why now. It can be frustrating, but rewarding!
We set off early with pain au chocolate, wrapped in tin foil. They were eaten well before we left Hexham. We had two rods, one for pike and one for chub. The usual tactics.
Martha wore waders, but hadn't checked if they fitted. She had tried the boot on but not pulled up the legs. She waddled all the way to the river moaning!
We started at the washing machine peg. I was hoping for a chub here but thought a pike may be on the cards too. We lacked stealth, the kids creating the actual noise of a washing machine!
It just turned into a place for selfies. We moved on upstream and found the perfect swim. We waited and only got snagged. I remembered the pit falls of pike fishing.
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| You can see Rupes float, waiting for a bite |
We moved on and found another perfect swim. No bushes, no cover. Just a slack on our bank in an otherwise expanse of flowing river. It was 10.40am, we cast in and gave ourselves until 11am.
I had explained to Rupe about reeling in slowly when we are moving on as this can still produce a bite. At 11am he started to reel, the bait came inches to the bank and rose in the clear water. We both saw the pike follow and lunge at his bait. It grabbed it and he held on. He played it like a pro and we were soon netting (a bit downstream) his first pike. Very proud dad. At 8lb 7oz it was a great first fish.
