Pike Fishing- Fen Drains & Rivers

Sunset. Again.	My first 30 on a whole herring from a Fen Drain. I couldn't weigh it properly cos the Avons only went up to 32lbs. So I call it 32lb 8oz, although at 471/2" long is suspect it could have been quite a bit more! Still, I'll never know...	Freezing! The only indication of a run on a 'feedered sardine was a nodding rod tip- 'cos the line was frozen to the rings! A first light 26lb 5oz...and it was the only run of the day.	Drain 21 pounder taken right on darkness- often the killing time.
Unfortunately my friend Joe here doesn't fish anymore since photography takes up much of his spare time now. But he had some really nice drain fish like this 20 when he was at it.	And this 23 too...	Steve and a drain 20 on a wild, wild winter's day.	Right on darkness again...
Steve & yours with a nice brace of upper doubles on a "big south-westerly day". Perfect conditions and if I remember rightly the 10 doubles we had between us that day seemed to endorse the point.	Pretty one caught at night, but can't remember what it weighed though.	The red plastic teaser still in place after capture.	A lovely clear, crisp autumnal morning and this low 20 did the honours and swam off with the bait.
Spectacular Fenland Sunset.	Sunset... blah blah etc.	No Pike today- ice still cracks around the reeds as the light fails.	Part of a brace of 20's taken on a freezing cold day down the Fens.
The other half of the brace- 24lbs	Even the tinyest drains can hold some terrific pike fishing	Sash & a Fenland 22 pounder.	23lb 10oz Fenland fish- part of a brace of 20's taken on deadbaits. I also lost another biggie late in the day which would have made a terrific hat-trick. C'est la vie... A recapture of the 24lb fish to the left.
22lb 11oz and the other half of the brace.	A nice fen double for Dennis Moules of Cambridge- a day when he had 3 doubles and a 20... and I had one jack. Must have been doing something wrong!	Returning a 19 pounder to Popham's Eau on a recce trip.	Carl and a gorgeous Fenland 25 plusser, and an old friend, being an end-of-season recapture of the 24 pounder shown above.
And a 21 from a tiny drain no wider than 20 feet.	Followed minutes later by a 19 pounder. Like I say, even the tiniest of waters can hold some pretty large Pike.	26lb 4oz North Level pike... taken 15 minutes after Steve had given up for the day and headed off home again...	A River Glen 20 to finish the day.
And then on the following trip the next weekend this 21 pounder turned up on a wobbled deadbait just before packing up for home.	27 and a half on smelt, and an end of season re-capture of the 26lb 4oz previous.	And back she goes to fight another day. Awesome.	A gaggle of ramblers scares a gaggle of geese off into the sunset.
The sun breaks through- just.	A cracking Ouse pike of 25lb 10oz taken on headless sardine fished in the margins.	I think 'shit!' just about sums it up! For a while I actually had an 8lb jack on the other hook while it thrashed about until the trace snapped. Not good. Ended up pulling it out with the pliers- and squealing like a pig too!	19lb 6oz as ice cracked in the margins and covered the areas of the flood plain under water. Worth some cold hands.
Another rainy day leapfrogging along the Ouse turned up this 19 pounder to a floatfished herring head tight to the bank. Strangely the heads (along with Sardine with the head ripped off) outfished everything else... even the herring tails, for some reason	A stonking 27 pound Ouse pike, taken on the favourite margin fished headless sardine again. And Steve had just packed in a left for home! When his mobile rang he was almost home... 'How big...?' was all he said when he answered!	Yet another 19 pounder from the Ouse. After a blank morning I decided to walk as far as I could into the 'wilderness' of the Fens. Luckily I fell on 'em, and caught this one straight away...	....and just minutes later this 23lb 9oz fish turned up. Another 6 doubles turned up that afternoon. Very much a top day!
Moon over the Fens.	All set up and ready for action at first light on the Ouse.	Gorgeous 'pikey' sunset over the Fens. And not a soul in sight... just perfect.	Not perhaps everybody's cup of tea, but to me a day's piking in the middle of nowhere with not a soul in sight- yup, paradise. Well, kind of.
Dust storm of peat picked up by dry, gale force winds. Awesome fishing conditions.	Fun Lovin' Criminal...	Criminals...	A dark, wet daytime success down the Ouse.