I had to nip to Beccles for a doctor’s appointment so it seemed like a good idea to do a bit of piking while I was there. It was a mild morning, a bit windy but quite bright so the lures should get seen with a bit of luck. The water was up quite high too so I could use a greater range, the bottom being 6-8ft or so down for much of the route I’d be taking normally with weed down their too so the extra foot or two clearance would help. The only thing I didn’t like was the speed of the water; the river was in ebb and was moving through at a steady rate.
I still had a pair of Magnums on from the other day so I started off with them, launching off the pontoon where some guys had set up for a spot of deadbaiting. I headed straight off through the town, running downriver with strokes every now and then to keep my track but there was nothing doing. I passed under the bridge and changed to a redhead J13 by the boatyard and cast it out.
There was a fella in a boat just down from there on the corner and as I approached the J13 rod walloped down; I grabbed the rod and felt a couple of lunges before the line went slack. Damn, not good. Reeling in I noticed that the hooks had dulled from rust since I’d last used this one. My own fault I’d lost what felt like a reasonable fish. Still, maybe one of the multitude of pikers in the area might get it a bit later.
I passed the bypass bridge and then turned, heading back up once more a lot slower, against the wind and flow now. The advantage here was a lot more movement in the lures. Passing under the bridge again the constricted flow was surprisingly fast, somewhere in the region of 3mph I’d guess. It was no real surprise that the fish weren’t too active!
I passed the launch point, the guys on the bank reporting no fish, and carried on upstream. Then Marty called to see if I fancied a boat trip tomorrow but with too much on I had to decline. As we nattered I saw a swirl in the water ahead and aimed and passed over the spot; the J13 rod banged down again and, hanging up I pulled into the fish. More lunges, really strong ones that turned the boat around quickly and I passed the line over the bow to keep it from tangling the other. This really was a decent fish. But I didn’t see that one either. Those hooks would need sharpening, that’s for sure.
I carried on up towards Barsham and, with the takes having both been on a redhead I swapped Firetiger J13 on the other rod for a redhead sliver and cast it out. I made around fifty yards and then the rod banged down again. This time the fish stayed on and after a spirited scrap I picked a 2lber out of the water. Something to photograph at last. I unhooked it and popped it back in, watching it shoot off swiftly.
I continued past the pump house and then decided I wasn’t feeling all that interested and turned for home, the water running too quick for effective trolling as the lures weren’t moving much at the speed I was doing, even on the drift it was too quick. I followed a kingfisher for some of the way, sighting the fleeting blues as it took wing then chose another bankside tree to shelter until I once more came close.
The guys at the launch were packing up as I arrived and had blanked so perhaps I had a lucky time of it after all, even if my main success had come on a dull and pointless lure…
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