18th November Bristol Avon

Today I was fishing with Alan who wanted to learn to catch some pike from the Bristol Avon.

The method for the day was to be a sink and draw method with a smelt as bait. The method is really good for attracting larger than average pike, say rather than lure fishing. Why this should be I’m unsure. The only benefit I can see is that should a pike come after the dead bait you can stop it and let it settle to the bottom and then twitch it a little and this normally induces a take.

We met at 7.30am to a most wonderful sunrise with the temperature at 12c, which is unseasonably warm. We still haven’t seen a frost down this way yet.

We walked to the bottom end of the fishery where we were to start and make our way back to the car.

As a start I cast out to show Alan how the technique works and well I never a pike took the bait. Quickly handing the rod back to him we waited just a short time as the float disappeared and he struck into the pike. Well not quite, the rig came back minus the smelt.

As we walked back up the river casting in a few spots, we disturbed a pike laying in shallow water, I didn’t see it but Alan thought it was about 7lbs. As we covered another swim a few fish jumped from the river about 100 yds further up obviously being chased by a pike. The spot was duly noted ready for when we had finished where we were currently fishing.

On arriving at the spot and practically the first cast a pike came and grabbed the bait. It looked to be reasonably small, so we gave it a few seconds to run off with it. Alan struck this time hooking the fish. He played it for a good time before the thing got off, good job it was only a small one.

On went another smelt and within a few casts Alan had another take from what looked like a slightly better fish. Again we didn’t wait too long before striking as I don’t like deeply hooked pike. This time the pike pulled back a bit and swam up and down the swim a little before it came to the net.

It wasn’t a huge pike but at 7lbs 4oz Alan was pretty pleased with the outcome.

Alan and his 7lb 4oz pike

This was good going 3 takes in the first hour. The sky had been grey and with a few spots of rain in the air perfect for this style of fishing.

However soon the sun came out which made the fishing very pleasant, but the pike didn’t want to come out to play again on that stretch, or the next stretch we fished or even in a banker stretch. Although the river is not in it’s normal winter trim yet and some of the pike have not been moved to their winter quarters. It started to get so bad we started to take a few photo’s on the wildlife about.

Shaggy Ink Cap about 1ft high

I was not best pleased with the pike not behaving themselves.

Our last stretch was one where we had the last hour of daylight which again is normally a great time and the pike get active.

Alan fished a lovely near side glide which was slightly deeper than the rest and caught a small one of about a couple of pounds or so. As we moved downstream covering the different swims we found our self in one area that looked very perfect.

As Alan retrieved his bait a pike came out and followed it for a short while. He stop retrieving and let the bait sink to river bed where we could just make out the silver colour of the smelt. We could see a large black shape come close and Alan expertly just twitched the bait and suddenly the silver smelt had vanished. Again Alan waited for a short while before striking. This looked a much bigger fish and was pulling Alan’s line upstream and downstream. It was a long lean fish and pretty angry. I readied myself and slide down the bank ready for netting it. It made one last last lunge towards a far bank branch and before Alan could do too much had become snagged.

Eventually the hooks must have been transferred into the branch as when I pulled hard the hooks straightened and everything came back. Alan was gutted at losing the pike. But as I said at least you know where the pike lives and you can come back again and catch it.

The day was drawing to a close, both of us were pretty well knackered with all the walking we had done.

So with 2 pike landed and 3 lost it’s not the best return, but at least there are no blanks. We both agreed to meet again after we have had the first real flush through of the river and I would show him another productive stretch of river.

Low water for late November these reeds should have been washed away by now