Pit Fighters

In the midst of the hectic business of earning a living (if only it was as simple as just going fishing!), I start to really treasure my fishing trips. Piking pole Seb Nowosiad is always good company for the longer haul- always well prepared with lures and baits, plus a nip of brandy to stave off the cold. He's also got perhaps the itchiest feet of anybody I've ever fished with- no bad thing when you have many acres of cold gravel pit to search.

We had perhaps the best start possible with bites from the off and Seb's usual battle cry of "fishhh-oooonnnn!" connecting with several beautifully conditioned pike in the space of a mad half hour. To our relief, these previously hard to contact predators seemed to have moved into shallower water. Seb had the greater numbers to his trademark jigs, whilst I picked out the slightly larger pike using sink & draw tactics- this one probably not far off double figures.

Night fishing for pike is not something you read much about, but we were also keen to give this a try. Hunkering down in a likely, craggy corner we set up baits for the night. With deep hooking a risk when you may have to scramble out of a tent to make contact we went for big baits, whole sea fish, to ensure nothing would be swallowed too quickly. The plan worked, if not emphatically, then at least to the tune of another three fish to the nine pound mark.

It got pretty cold in the night and the rain was utterly relentless. Hence a bright sunny morning and a fried breakfast were heaven sent! Never have black pudding, bacon and strong coffee tasted so damned fine. So- an adventure of hard fighting pike, good banter and high calorie foods. In fact all we were really lacking was a great big beast of a pit pike. But you can't have everything eh?
On a more serious note, I'm also drumming up further info and momentum against the current hydro power proposals, which could see already threatened fish populations nationwide in serious danger. Anyone with a spare five minutes could do a lot worse than give the EA an earful on this- or indeed email the minister for rural affairs who recently apologised publicly for massively unpopular deforestation plans. Don't let them do the same to our rivers! Emails should go to: caroline@carolinespelman.com

We want a careful approach and proper consultation- not botched schemes, rushed through for the sake of targets and easy cash for landowners.