John Bailey – The Kingfisher Diaries
March 2nd 2010
A Very Special Twenty-Six!
Something of a coincidence. A twenty-six pound pike for JG on the 26th February. A special fish on a day of horrendous conditions. But, if you're properly togged up, weather like this can make a serious capture even more uplifting.
JG deserved this fish. He did his homework. He did a lot of plumbing the day before to get an exact idea of the contours. He found a ledge eighty yards out where the depth fell from five to ten feet and it was here that he positioned his dead half herrings. Getting them that distance into the gale wasn't easy but he did it. Just existing in the wind, rain and falling temperatures was difficult, never mind concentrating on the job in hand.
His reward, as you can see, was an absolute beauty. This is one of the nicest Wensum valley pike I've seen in a long time and just to photograph it was a privilege.
I think the upshot of this single capture is that it's too easy to become stereotyped. Had John not have known the exact depths of the bay he was fishing, he probably wouldn't have caught that pike. If he'd shirked the elements, he wouldn't have caught that pike. If his gear hadn't been absolutely up to the mark (a Prowla rod by the way) he wouldn't have caught that pike.
The carp men out there know what I mean when I say big fish mean a hell of a lot to guys like JG. There really is no substitute for size in the piking world.
As a point of sad interest, the smaller fish John also caught during the day frequently bore the marks of otter attacks. It's a mercy that the big girl hasn't already been lost. How come farmers can cull badgers and I hear they're culling wild boar down in the Forest of Dean. Badgers and boar cause damage and something can be done about it. Otters cause extraordinary damage and yet they are sacrosanct. All three animals are indigenous and yet the Tarka effect is unchallengeable, it seems.
Can I, once again, recommend everyone to buy the March issue of Coarse Fisherman and read the excellent piece by Tony Miles? You won't read a better summary of the horrible truth that awaits us.