Chew Valley lake is turning into a bit of a bogey venue for me when it comes to pike fishing.
On my second trip I had a real monster, but since then I have faired badly; and I think I have blanked the last 3 times I have pike fished there. Admittedly, the weather has played its part (well a fisherman has got to blame something for not catching !).
Of the last 3 pike trips, I’ve had…
Gale force winds…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdFgIPmljE4
Snow…
And today, a bit of everything thrown in for good measure – freezing cold, really strong winds and driving rain !
The boat was pitching and tossing all over the place – quite uncomfortable – and occasional waves were breaking over the bow whilst anchored. The usual contingent of Brummie Pike Anglers Club members were present. I applied to fish chew almost a year ago – I asked for as many days as possible – I didn’t mind when…. I got one day ! They are supposed to put the names in a hat and draw them randomly – strange then, that every time I go, I see the same Brummie faces – I suspect it’s who you know.
I did get the chance to try out a little docking station for my GPS, compass and RAM camcorder/camera mount…
It worked really well – I have mapped most of the interesting features of Chew Valley lake using my side imaging sonar. So now, I can just use the GPS to go to likely looking hotspots (I use that term in the loosest sense, given my recent track record !).
I used a direct leger with one rod and used float leger on the other (fixed spool) rod. The float leger was good because the boat was moving around a lot – but I never felt in direct contact with the baits. I did notice that a lot of people were using mud weights to stop the boat moving around (small buckets filled with concerete and attached to the boat via a rope). I will have to try this next time.
Although the fishing was rubbish, the weather calmed down in the hour just before it got dark, and the sunset was amazing. I took a couple of pictures (which have not been digitally enhanced in any way), but even they do not do it justice; its very difficult to convey the sheer beauty of the lake, even at this time of year, there is always something to see. It is a very special place…
