Child’s Play…29/08/2011

Well I’ve got up and been battered by wind and waves. I’ve cycled uphill to Pakefield and back. I’ve made a packed lunch. I’ve driven to Norwich. I’ve walked a mile each way to take the children to the Castle Museum. I’m cycling up to Pakefield again before my bath. What shall I do in the meantime?

Well, I have promised Jonas a bit of kayak fishing. Jonas is my daughter’s dearest friend. He’s two days younger, that’s how we all met. Jonas also has a Kea and Jonas is quite skilful when it comes to paddling. It’s windy though, I’m not taking him after Smuts. Pike will do, Eloise can come too.

6pm and we arrive at Beccles to meet him. A rod with a Big S is rammed into a scupper hole, same for Eloise. A quick lesson on how to use the multiplier and we’re off up river (against the current) to a spot that usually holds a fair stock of jacks. Nothing. I’ve got a J13 on my Scarborough too, ready for donating to Jonas first, Eloise second. It’s their fishing.







We head all the way back down to the bypass bridge. Nothing. Then most of the way back when my Spinning rod starts bucking. I pull it out of the flush mount, wind in the slack on my KP and call Jonas over. We swap rods.





The best picture I got :(



Aside from a few KP-related issues which those who’ve used them will be aware of he had no trouble in bringing in a 5-6lb pike, with a grin, only for me to drop the fish as it thrashed out of my grasp while chinning it in; shaking the hooks loose as it did so. Sorry Jonas, no close look or trophy shot :( He did it though and what a fish!)

300 yards later and the rod goes again. I call Eloise over but let it go slack and she is left with a lure on the end of the rod. Not going well really :(

Nearly back at the launch spot, another 500 yards on and Eloise calls out ‘I think I’ve got a bite daddy!’ She starts this sentence as I see a huge splash as the pike that’s hit the Big S has come out of the water and thumped back down again – surface take as she presumably stopped. Sadly I can see the lure sitting on the water; missed. That would have been a great ending, especially hooking it on her own lure.

We headed back in. They’d paddled a couple of miles, half of that against current and we didn’t have the pics for our fishermen’s tales of the ones that got away but we had a hell of an evening all the same. A great end to the weekend.