Last and first!

Last day of the river season and my first ever session on one of the Fenland drains. The Bishop and Matt were the accompanying gruseome twosome!

My first ever Fenland pike @ 11lb 12 oz. Great stuff!

I had not expected the drain to be as beautiful as it actually was....quite a few trees and bushes along the far bank and a half decent selection of birds - three goosanders, kingfishers whizzing around like pschedelic exocet missiles, green woodpecker and around twenty overflying whooper's. Not bad birding...now what about the fishing?

Matt had a jack early on. We moved swims a couple of times and then what had been a nice gentle flow right to left suddenly changed into something all together more substantial and left to right. The weight on my float was no longer enough to hold bottom so I added three swan shot but still could not hold on.

I moved swim again and took The Bishop's earlier advice of fishing close in. The flow was slower in the margins and I can just hold still. On goes a new lamprey and I cast out.  My float swept along in the current eventually settles just four feet from the near bank and less than twelve feet from where I'm sat.....I wanted to be close in but not almost on dry land!

As I contemplate casting again....bob - bob -bob and the float slides away. Jumping up,  I tighten into the fish and with help from The Bishop and his net soon have an 11lb 14oz fish on the bank. My first Fenland pike! I have now caught just ten pike and amazingly five of them are doubles!! Well chuffed....