First pike session of the season

I had planned an eel session on Thursday night which didn't happen, then on Friday evening I decided not go as the weather looked a bit grim. Saturday night the kids were staying at their grandparents so we went to Sunderland dogs and somehow I managed to pick fluke 6 out of the 10 winners !

I decided to skip a Sunday morning sleep in and have my first pike session of the season. I picked a section of river that can only be accessed by a longish (30 minute) walk, hoping to have the stretch to myself. I was pleased when I arrived at the stretch as it was empty, and looked as if it hadn't been fished in a while. I setup 2 rods, a float ledger in the margin and a running lead mid river.

Initially it was overcast and even though the river was in desperate need of some water I was confident that I would catch. After an hour the sun had broken through the clouds and with the polaroids on I could see the majority of the river bed, my confidence was starting to fade until I had a tentative take on the mid-river rod. The arm dropped but the line remained still, I held the line and I could feel the odd tap, I waited for a more positive knock and struck into thin air ! Half of the sardine had been taken, most probably by a chub.

Only interest of the session - probably a chub

I stuck it out until lunch but I didn't get any more interest. This stretch definitely needs more water in but I'll be returning in the coming weeks/months hopefully when the river is carrying some more water and I'll get a better result. With the possibility of a new job, which will see my fishing time massively reduced, I'm hoping to fit a few more pike sessions in before my start date towards the end of the month.