Trent Piker

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Not a sniff of any Pike today but I did have this old beauty of a Perch, caught on a big spinnerbait given to me by Alex Makk. Cheers Alex!

NO BLOODY PIKE FISHING!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:49:00 +0000

Rant mode on... I find it very disappointing that here we are in the 21st century with all the modern baits, tackle and knowledge that we have, and a lot of angling clubs still have outdated silly prehistoric rules that patronise their members, and the attitude of some club bailiffs... pfft, power trip angry little Hitler types especially if you're not one of the lakes regular bivvied up Carp lads.

This week I fancied a wander around a lovely big natural gravel pit, it's out of the way and perfect for a bit of peaceful fishing in tranquillity with nature. I'd been there about an hour and had already caught a couple of Jacks and had another couple come off but wasn't worried, just happy to be out fishing on my own in the middle of nowhere not bothering anyone, then I noticed a new bailiff approaching from behind. "Morning" I said with a smile "How are you doing?" only to be greeted with "NO BLOODY PIKE FISHING UNTIL OCTOBER!" ...oh, not a very good first impression and my first impression of this chap was tosser. He asked if I was a member and seemed very disappointed when I eventually found my 'full member' card and even more annoyed when he asked to see a rod licence and I showed him a printed email receipt from earlier that morning. Ok so I was bending the club rules by flicking out a small lure before October but it's only a bit of fishing! Not the crime of the century. It seems that some clubs want to make things difficult for its members especially if they're not static carpers or barbel lads.

Other silly rules from my local fishing clubs include: No bite alarms??? What century are we in! But the one that rattles me most is the 'no artificial lures or spinners' rule because lures and spinners are apparently damaging to the birds/water foul. Well in all my years of fishing I've had more water foul incidents whilst Carp fishing than I've ever had while lure fishing. Whilst Carping I've lost count of the times I've seen ducks diving under picking up boilies and even baited hooks! I've lost count of the number of times I've seen them swim through lines and sometimes even get tangled, not the ducks fault, we're in their habitat. But not once have any of my 'artificial lures or spinners' ever come close to bothering any water foul.

Most anglers who have paid out for club membership and licence fees are adult enough to be responsible for their own fishing without being treated like idiots by outdated club rules and little Hitler type committee members who are still living in Izaak Walton’s era... *deep breath ... Calm down... Rant over.

After a bit of a lay off from fishing I'm glad to say I'm now back and enjoying chucking out a few lures for the Pike (where allowed.) Although I've only been catching Jacks it's good to be out with renewed enthusiasm again. I've been out throwing lures this week, had a few Jacks and a surprise little Zander.

My Lost Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:36:00 +0000

I was up in my loft recently looking for some documents and I discovered some of my long lost fishing photos! So here's a few of them scanned, cleaned and cropped :)

Trent Stunner

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:06:00 +0000

Back for a few hours on The Trent again today and had this stunner follow my lure from the depths and gently take it at my feet before going mental. Also had a smaller one to finish off an enjoyable day.

Pity I had to walk 8 miles home because of a puncture on my bike!

Finally, Back to the Fishing

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:34:00 +0000

Finally! Today I had a visit to The Trent with my lure rod, due to various reasons it was the first time I've been out fishing in almost 4 months!!! and I really quite enjoyed it. The Trent was running low and very clear, not good conditions for pike fishing but I had a wander around and eventually just as I was thinking about wrapping up had this lovely hard fighting pike take my lure. I think I'll have to make more of an effort to get out more often now I have a taste for it again.

Trent Pike

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:15:00 +0000

I had this pretty little one from The Trent today. The river is very clear at the moment and I saw the fish shoot out from a weed bed and grab my lure as I twitched it over the top.

Better Luck Next Time

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:13:00 +0000

Myself and Alex Makk went down to the local canal for a few hours yesterday leapfrogging along the towpath throwing lures into any pikey looking areas. Unfortunately, no fish were landed but it was still a good day out with some laughs along the way!

I had a PB Jumper which put up a great fight...

...and Alex had a small telly type thing???

Better luck next time... HA!

A Bit of Luck!

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Fri, 13 May 2011 21:16:00 +0000

I've been out doing quite a few short sessions chucking my lures into various waters lately and have been catching a few pike here and there but they've all been small ones, although I've been grateful to be catching a few there hasn't been any 10lb+ fish worth blogging about, so I was very pleased to catch this chunky beauty today, my best fish in a while! I didn't think I was going to land her because I could see the lure only just knicked in the mouth, looked like it was ready to pull out at any moment with the slightest head shake but it just held firm and dropped out in the net! ...It's about time I had a bit of luck!

What a Terrible Season That Was!

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:40:00 +0000

What a terrible season that was! As you can see by the lack of posts here I haven't had much to blog about during the 2010/11 season. I've not spent much time on The Trent, instead I've been trying to crack a new water but so far I've had far too many blanks there, only interrupted by Jacks, Perch and the odd fish probably not scraping double figures, but the reason I kept going back was because last year I saw the biggest Pike I've ever seen follow my lure into the margin only to turn away into the depths at the last moment and it's that image of the massive fish that has kept me going back for another try. I'll still be back next season to grab the odd quick session because it's quite local to me and I've met some great anglers fishing there but maybe think about a change of tactics next Autumn/Winter, although I also want to spend much more time back on The Trent next season as that's where I enjoy my fishing the most.

I've had a change of venue recently and gone back to an old faithful gravel pit/pond that I used to fish a lot. Just had a few small ones up to now, covered in horrible leaches, but it makes a nice change to be back there again, I'd forgotten how much I enjoy the place.

We've recently had a few sunny days and that got me thinking about summer fishing, so I got my fishing box out from the shed to see if the batteries in my alarms needed replacing etc, and as I lifted the lid I saw two beady eyes looking back at me! uuurgh! I don't know how it had got in there because the lid on the seat-box was closed tight but it must have been in there all winter, chewing the buttons of my alarms the little $#!!7.

Back into the Swing of Things

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:51:00 +0000

No fishing or anything much else has been happening for a while around here due to the Arctic weather we've been shivering through which has frozen all the still waters rock solid for weeks on end, although The Trent has still been flowing and has been fishable, it hasn't seemed very inviting recently and with me also having a bad dose of the flu I've not been fit or felt like I've wanted to venture out far to try and catch a pike.

Not that the temperature has risen above zero and the lakes and ponds are finally thawing, I went out today for my first lure session of the year, it seemed like ages since I was last out and was soon back into the swing of things chucking out a selection of lures into the part frozen pond. After struggling for a take and thinking a blank was on the cards I hit into the first fish of the year, a very welcome lively Jack of about 4lb which was returned straight away to the icy water, no pics. I was glad to be off the mark especially as no one else on the pond had had a sniff of a fish today.

Looking forward to plenty more fishing over the next few weeks!

My Local Pond Frozen Solid

Autumn Pike and Passers-By

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:35:00 +0000

I was out again today in the Autumn sun for a few hours with the new lure rod+reel and just had the one small fish to save the day from a blank, but I'm not complaining, just pleased to be catching again even though they're not the big ones, after struggling through the last few months anything is welcome and I'm now feeling confident again!

I'm always happy to have a chat to passers-by and dog walkers who stop and ask if I've caught anything, but today it must have been the weirdos day out. I had them all today including one chap who was... "Looking for some company" ??? HA!

I must attract 'em ;)

Christened

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:33:00 +0000

I recently ordered myself a new rod and reel set up for lure fishing. A six and a half foot Daiwa Beefstick rod and an Okuma bait caster reel. After a few practice casts in the back garden I went out today to a local still water to try them out as The Trent is in full flow at the moment, the highest it's been for a long time.

The fishing started off without any interest at all in my lures from the pike but I didn't mind as I was just trying to get the hang of casting a bit of a distance without the reel tangling into a birds nest! After a while my casting eventually did improve and I was quite enjoying using the bait caster when I felt a knock on the lure, my shad came back without its tail... Well it was a start. I eventually hit into a pike and wondered how my new gear would cope but it felt good, the rod was soft enough to cope when the fish lunged for snags and the reel gave line nice and smoothly when the fish took off but they also had the power to beef the fish under control. Fish in the net and rod+reel christened!

Not long after I was into another one, this second fish was very similar to the first but it decided to do some acrobatics on the unhooking mat and made its own way back to the water before it could have its photo taken! HA!

Can't see me going back to a fixed spool bail arm reel for chucking lures, can't wait to get out again soon.

Summer Update

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 06:28:00 +0000

Not much to report lately. I was planning on having a go at catching a few other types of fish this season but whenever I get the chance for a bit of fishing I can't seem to resist trying for the pike! I've been having quiet a few short sessions with the lure rod but the fishing has been very difficult over the past few weeks with just a few Jacks and perch landed, although I have had a few follows from bigger fish they don't seem very aggressive and turn away at the last moment, very frustrating. There's loads of fry and small fish in the river at the moment so no shortage of food for them, maybe need a bit of a frost to get them angry! but I'll still be out when I can get a few hours spare, flicking the lures around, you never know your luck (won't catch anything sitting at home) and it's nice to be out wandering along the river even if the fish aren't interested.

Whilst out on my travels over the last few weeks I've been annoyed to find baited fyke or eel nets hidden in the deeper water of The Trent, one with a 2lb eel trapped inside, now back in the river where it belongs. Please keep your eyes open for anything dodgy looking when out fishing such as green string trailing down into the water leading to the sunken nets. Eel stocks are at an all time low and eels are currently under threat from disease, parasitical infestation, poor water quality and not least commercial fishing. It beggars belief that in this day and age the need to catch eels for the pot still exists.

I have also recently started to find fixed hand lines along The Trent so keep a look out for any braid tied to posts or around rocks leading down into the water, give it a pull up and take them home, this type of fishing is unacceptable and illegal in this country!

I hope to report back soon with better results!

A Summer Jack

Fyke Nets Pulled Out From The Trent

A Fixed Hand-Line Removed From The Trent

Throwing Lures

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:35:00 +0000

No record breakers today but an enjoyable few hours throwing lures into The Trent. Saved from a blank by this lovely little pike, and a few kamikaze perch.

All Change This Season

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:18:00 +0000

The fishing so far this season has been difficult. Not because of the lack of decent fish but because of people making things awkward. A big stretch of my favourite part of The Trent and some big gravel pits have been taken over by another angling club and the price of the permit has shot up from £16 to £100 so I won't be fishing those parts this year which is a shame because I had spent time getting to know the waters, the depths, snags, fishy areas etc, also there's an industrial area next to another part of The Trent where I've been parking my car for over 20 years now it has suddenly got notices up on every lamp post with threats of wheel clamping and towing! New signs have also gone up on another area of The Trent which used to be day ticket and is now members only and gate locks changed, so I need to explore some new areas, which might not be a bad thing.

Anyway enough of the moaning, I was finally out today for the first time in ages and had three lively pike including a really ugly fish with a duck-billed mouth!

Looking Forward to the New Season

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:11:00 +0000

Not much to report lately. I've hardly done any fishing since the river season finished in March, just a couple of short sessions ledgering on local still waters and also a couple of morning sessions with lures. I've not got as much enthusiasm with still waters as I have with the river but I'll hopefully get out for a few more trips when the weather eventually warms up! I'm looking forward to the new season on The Trent and planning on targeting a few other species this year besides pike.

It Gets Better

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:44:00 +0000

I was back on the local ponds again this morning and had another lovely fish, this one went to over 14lbs. Looks like I'm finally having some better luck! :-)

Stillwater Pike

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:56:00 +0000

Well... the river is now closed for the next three months so today I had a walk around some local ponds and had this chunky pike going to over 10lbs, seems to have a strange back end?

Click the pic for full size

Last of the Season

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:17:00 +0000

The river season comes to an end this weekend so today I grabbed the chance of a last few hours on The Trent before it closes for 3 months. Conditions were very good but I lost 2 fish before finally getting one in the net, followed by another similar one soon after. Things went quiet so I decided to move to another spot and after a while I had something better putting a good bend in the rod! After a few powerful runs I was pleased to finally slip the net under a great looking fish. When I got home and looked at the photos I realised that this was the same fish I'd caught 2 days earlier, about a mile further along the river!

Click the pics for full size

A Better Day

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:23:00 +0000

Two nice looking fish from The Trent today :-) The biggest going to 13lb and was caught on the first cast of the day!

Click the pics for full size

A Trent Pike!

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:50:00 +0000

Another quick couple of hours back on The Trent again and I was fortunate enough to catch a nice looking Pike today!

Click the pic for full size

Something Different

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:33:00 +0000

I didn't fancy my chances of catching today. The Trent was very high and a Tetley brown color but I had a couple of hours free so I had a wander down with my lure rod, you never know!
I don't know where the Pike have disappeared to lately but they weren't interested again today, nothing until this lovely Chub grabbed my lure as I pulled it through a likely looking slack area. I thought at first I had a Jack on but was surprised and didn't complain when I saw the silvery bronze scales of a Chub hit the surface to save me from a blank.

Click the pic for full size

A Hard Earned Jack

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:59:00 +0000

I was out on The Trent again today after another tough blank session on Sunday. The river was in a much better condition today, good color, nice and calm with a steady flow but the fishing was very hard with just this lively little Jack being landed. The Trent Pike don't seem very interested in playing ball. It's been a long hard winter for fishing on The Trent with everyone else I know also finding it hard. Things have to improve soon... ??? HA!
Click the pic for full size

Things Might Be Starting To Improve!

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:20:00 +0000

First time out fishing today in a while and I fancied a few hours on The Trent but I wasn't sure if it had settled down enough yet after the recent long spell of bad weather, so I went to an area that had some gravel pits adjacent to it so I could drop onto those if the river was too high. I parked up and got my gear out and noticed a pike angler already set up on one of the pits, so I gave him a nod and stopped for a chat. He said he'd already had a couple of Jacks on ledgered dead baits... so hopefully things might be starting to improve. I gave it a good hour on the river, the level and color looked good but there was just a little bit too much flow to fish comfortably. Someone had been down recently and had a chuck around because there were quite a few snagged lures in the overhanging trees and bushes. I tried a few slacker areas but didn't feel very confident so I headed over for a walk around the gravel pits with my lures and I ended the morning with 4 nice Jacks, the biggest was probably around the 7lb mark. No record breakers, but it was nice to be out again getting a bit of a bend in the rod. Things might be starting to improve!

Snow, Ice and now the Flood

noreply@blogger.com (Trent Piker) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:52:00 +0000

Not much fishing for me lately due to the bad weather. Just the odd hour here and there with not much to show for it. All my local stillwaters were still frozen at the weekend and The Trent is very high and fast. Hope things settle down and get back to normal soon!