Alarm was set for 4.15am and despite being absolutely flooded with man flu I made the 50 mile drive up over the Brecons to try once more for a big old croc! With it being a Sunday I knew the venue would be far busier than a weekday and on arrival there were already guys getting their kit out ready to launch.
I raced around to grab a boat and get out ahead of the crowds. The boat was festooned with enough kit for 10 anglers and off I trekked across the pool to my favourite spot. As it got light my first rods went into the lake with fresh bait dropped into 21-23 feet of water as this was the depth I have been catching recently up there.
It seemed like everyone had the same idea as they all headed within yards of my floats!
Typical, 550 plus acres of water and they've got to sit almost on top of you!
Anyway, that aside I was happy with my rig placement and sat enjoying the sounds of the wildlife awaiting my first bite of the day. It came around 8.25am and the float slipped away only to bob straight back up and no follow up???? I was a bit baffled but put on a fresh bait to the same spot in hope of a repeat.
As it happed just a few minutes later it was again sailing away only for the same bloody thing to happen again! Now I was not only annoyed but bloody puzzled too!
Ok, possibly just a fluke but a change of rig was in order and I went down two hook sizes and shortened the trace.
As I was doing this the rod to my right went and I had.....you guessed it.....another missed take! I don't think I've ever missed more than one bite in a day but 3 was taking the piss!
All the rods came in with new rigs on and as the wind had picked up considerable I needed to move as it was blowing straight in my face and making float placement very difficult as the floats were drawing towards me and the boat.
This meant the bow was now facing the wind as it should be. Within seconds of casting I was away on the first rod....All I knew about it was the sound of my drag zipping from the reel.
I struck into a good solid resistance this time and felt much happier I'd clearly made the right decision moving.
The fish gave a rather lively fight, throwing itself clear of the water numerous times before giving up and slipping over the net cord. Thank god for that, a nice double.
The fish was a complete knob head in the sling and the trebles got hooked up in the rubber mesh of the adjacent net. I sorted the fish and sent him packing back to his home. I was just trying to remove said hooks from the net when I heard another drag zipping off!
My next chance came about an hour later and I actually got to see this bite. A nice typical bobbing motion before it slid under and I struck into a nice cleanly hooked mid double. I was now starting to feel a little less hard done by from the first 3 loses.
By the way, if any of you regularly boat fish for pike then I can highly recommend the Korum Boat Sling. It's an absolute godsend.
A great design sling which has adjustable arms that go across the boat and leave the fish safely off the deck of the boat and away from harm.
After the fish went back I tried 3 or 4 other favourite areas but as the wind grew I felt my chances slip away for another one.
Still, can't complain with four lovely doubles finding the boat again. Great fishing as ever.
Tight lines guys
Keith x
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