Frost Bites

It often occurs that you find conditions spot on for photography but not so great for fishing- and vice versa. This was certainly the case for a session on the Somerset Levels Drains; unreal, stark scenery and cool, eerie light. Less inspiring on the pike front however!

We tried hard for bites in some icy, fairly muddy water. Deadbaits should have been the textbook answer, but it was lures that provided the breakthrough as we slowly began to get takes to bright-coloured, lively patterns. Anything that contrasted and showed up well seemed to stand a decent chance of being grabbed.

Ian's first pike, like later samples, was covered in leeches perhaps suggesting that these fish have been dormant for quite a while. But as the frost melted and a milder afternoon ensued we enjoyed a short but sweet window of oppurtunity with several savage takes in little over an hour.
The pike were really engulfing lures- including my bright red Jerkbait, which simply disappeared in a split second swerve and flash of jaws. Having made many fruitless casts my heart jumped a mile at that one; a nice drain pike of 9lb. No others followed for me, but Ian finished with three fiesty snappers, having got his retrieve absolutely bang on for the conditions.