SUNDAY 25th NOVEMBER 2012

WEATHER - Gale force winds with Rain, clearing late Pm. Temp +5c

With the weekends weather forecast predicted to be gale force winds and raining, i visited the boat on Friday afternoon to gather a few livebaits which i then stored in keep net at the mooring. By Saturday afternoon i fully expected to be going to the boat to release the baits and come home but i held off hoping for a change in the weather next day.
On Sunday the wind was still blowing a gale and i seriously considered calling it off.Neil had woke up to no electric and things blowing all over his garden, so decided to give it a miss. My son Dean however, coming on his first trip of 2012 agreed to give it a try,i told him we would probably be fishing from the mooring rather than going out afloat.
When we turned up at the boat, it was clear we were going nowhere. It was bobbing about like a cork and the trees nearby were bent over at Forty Five degrees. We decided to tie the boat to the staging to stop it banging about and fish one rod each out of the back. It always sounds worse when your outside on mornings like this, but this was as bad as ive fished in for quite a while.
Once we had the boat secured and the back cover opened, it all seemed much cosier, like fishing out of a floating bivi.
We both started on float ledgered dead baits and then got comfortable, out of the rain and wind with the kettle on straight away. By now it was about 7am but still very dull and miserable.
We fished on like this until 9am then Dean switched over to a paternostered Live Perch. We are on our second coffee of the day when Deans float moves around a meter against the tow. It then buries and he is into his first Pike of the season. A bit rusty from several months of not fishing, the Pike which he eventually boats goes 8lb 4oz. Not bad way to get off the mark. 

I

First blood to Dean

I resist the temptation to change my rig over to a livebait, but at half Ten im flicking out a small live Roach into my side of the Dyke. Its a full Thirty seconds before my float shoots off, im thinking ive got the depth wrong until the rod hoops over. I'm soon un hooking a 5lb Jack.

The interesting thing about this fish, its one im sure ive had before while fishing in this dyke. It has a distinctive "Glass" eye (looks like cataract trouble) and battle scars on its side. Looking back through my diary, im sure i caught it last year. Its nickname will now be "Glass eye" and its soon back into the dyke and away. In the picture you can clearly see, unlike this Pike, its Frosted eye and scars.

  Glass eye makes an appearance

I re bait with a similar sized Roach and re position back up the dyke. Almost Two hours passes without anything when suddenly my float "Jumps" up out of the water followed by a striking Pike. No need to strike or anything here, i just pick up the rod and its game on. This fish instantly feels better and even manages a couple of decent runs against the clutch of my 6500 reel. Dean does the business with the net and it goes 8lb 5oz.
I'm straight back into the same area within Five minutes and am surprised to see my float sliding off again straight away. Again the fish powers off and gives a lovely account of itself. This one looks a double and after quickly un hooking, indeed it goes 11lb 6oz.

 11lb 6oz

Dean is next to get a take, again his float just moves off against the slight flow in the dyke. He hits it straight away and he too is giving line to another hard fighting fish. With a couple of scares near the back of the boat, these fish seem to know exactly where the engines are, i slip the net under what looks another decent fish. His one weighs exactly 9lbs and ends up being the last fish of the day. By now, 1:45pm the wind has dropped almost completely and the sun is making a late appearance. We are both pleased with the Five fish we've had today. It just proves the old saying 
"you wont catch Pike staying at home".
I could quite have easily had a lay in today and not fished but im glad we did in the end...

My swim at the end of the Session

  

SUNDAY 18th November 2012

Weather : -1c Start clearing skies later max 6c, No wind.

Me and brother Neil are loading the boat in a nice White frost this morning and extra care is needed with the mooring very slippery. We had planned on catching a few live baits before leaving but that was put on hold as its normally a long process when the water is this cold. We decide to try for some at our first swim. We leave the mooring in the dark with full navigation lights on and set off through the freezing mist. Its actually light enough to see our way down the river with no lights on as its a big full moon. 
The journey goes quickly and we are soon tying up near the Playhouse swim. Fish are topping everywhere so as soon as we both have Two dead baits out i set up a bomb rod to catch some bait fish. I reach for the bait box but as i open it, realise Ive made a schoolboy error. The bait box with the nice Red maggots in is obviously still at home on the garage floor ! 
Dead baits it is then.
I convince both Neil and myself that the dead baits will be better anyway in the coloured river. 
Our baits have been in since 7am and its just about 7:30 when my half Mackerel tail float quivers, stands up and slides off. A lift into what feels like a fairly small fish and soon hand out a 3-4lb Jack.
We then fish until 9am without any further activity so we make a move to a swim around 200 mts upstream in the shaddows of Coslany Bridge.
 This is almost as far as you can travel upstream without fishing in New Mills Yard and we tie up on the far bank in the deepest water. We position our baits in all the likely looking spots, bottom of the shelf, far shelf and front and back margins on our side of the river.

The river narrows up here and we have trouble holding our baits in the much heavier flow. We end up having to the two far side baits up on the top of the shelf and lift all the braid off the water. This works a treat, but the Pike were having none of it. Lots more rubbish is being pushed through here too so after about 40 minutes we move again. This time we moor up just past the playhouse at another bridge, Blackfriars. The rods are soon out again and we settle down with a nice hot drink. Neil's ledgered Smelt is soon picked up and an identical Pike-let to the one i had earlier is boated and released.
It seems like its another false start here, no more interest in the following 90 minutes. Its worth fishing this swim just for the view.

With the skies clearing as forecast we decide on one last move to the turning basin area where will we will have our lunch and fish out the rest of the day.
As we arrive in the basin there are at least five or six anglers fishing from the bank outside all the riverside pubs and restaurants. We moor up as far away from them as we can, on the far bank and quickly get our baits out.
Lunch comes and goes, the Sausage sandwiches go down a treat as always.
The Pike don't seem to be interested at all today. From where we are moored we can count at least 16 floats, including our 4, scattered all over the basin and not one of them shows any interest at all. You can almost count all the floats in the  picture below.

With time ticking away and fast approaching 2pm we decide to pack up and head back. Another day that promised so much has ended up being another Sun bathing session! 
We both agree that we will give the basin a wide berth until the sleet and snow turns up and the bank activity slows up a bit.