PB smashed at Chew , twice .

Jolly Piscator · #1 03-08-2011, 10:02 PM

Got a message from Lee (Lman) a couple of weeks ago asking if I wanted to join him for a days pike fishing from a boat at Chew Valley Lake. No brainer , that one , especially having seen photos of the whopping 34 LBer he had out of there last time.
After much anticipation Monday the 7th finally arrived . I love fishing on Mondays , somehow the experience is always enhanced by the rebellious feeling that I should really be at work . ( yeah , sticking it to the man !)
We arrived on a bright morning to a millpool calm lake , managing to get to the lodge in time for a slap up breakfast before getting our boat . Standing back in bemused wonder as many of the other anglers did something akin to a Le Mans start.
We decided to start in the deeper water near the lodge then work our way round some of the shallows . This was the first time I'd fished from a boat in freshwater & I loved the way you can cover so much water without having to pack anything away let alone carry it .
We fished one deadbait rod and one spinning rod each . Using a slidin float set up was very useful in showing the exact depth each time we moved . The deep water produce nothing , so we worked our way round the shallows on the western end of the lake , thinking that the recent easterly wind may have sent the bait fish that way , we probably moved every 45 minutes or so .

The morning slipped by without a hint of a fish and at about 1:30 I had drifted into a bit of a daze while casting & retrieving , then my lure was hit with a bang suddenly bringing me to . A short scrap later and my biggest ever fish was in the net . At 15 lb 1 oz easily past the 12 lb plateau I'd reached with four different fish .

An hour and a half later in only about 5' of water my lure was hit again , harder . This felt like an even bigger fish , I couldn't believe my luck . She put up a great fight & was soon expertly netted & unhooked by Lee . A real beauty , weighing in at 19 lb 8oz .

PB smashed for a second time .
I was floating on a cloud & the rest of the day passed without a touch . Nothing on the bait rods all day & both fish taken on a 4" rapala X-rap , a lure I'd persisted with partly due to having read Mr J 's report on his 38 lb pike .
Sadly Lee didn't get a bite ( might not invite me next time ; ) ) hopefully he'll make up for it from the bank this weekend .
Me , still smiling & replaying it in my head .