Tackle,
Tactics and Experience
Lakeland
Holiday 1999
A
few months ago Seb Shelton
suggested that we had a week's fishing in the Lake District at
Esthwaite, commencing on Saturday 23rd November. I was all in favour so
Seb began organising accommodation and booking a boat.
As
the time drew nearer we
changed our plans so that we only had 2 days booked on Esthwaite and
chances to fish other waters. We collected as much information as
possible from contacts who knew the places, special thanks due here to
Keith Minchin for detailed maps, and Ralston McPherson. We also
obtained a rather good book by Chris Sodo, giving all the information
need by any angler visiting the area.
After
an uneventful journey
north we dropped the non-fishing stuff off at the digs and arrived at
Esthwaite a few minutes before the manager. We were not the first
there, a boat was out, trolling deads and casting lures. They came back
to the landing stage as we were loading the boat and they reported one
pike of 14lb to a lure. We had our own electric motor but didn't want
to flatten the battery so negotiated to hire a battery for the weekend.
The
fishing was hard, we found
and tried all the spots that had been recommended to us. I blanked, Seb
had 2 small pike on jerkbaits as well as two takes on different lures
that had tangled on the cast and were coming in sideways.
After a day of pleasant conditions with a light
breeze we were
subjected to a spectacularly heavy downpour shortly before we packed
up, accompanied by thunder and lightning. It went so dark I thought
nightfall was coming an hour early because we were further north! I
cannot remember being out in such heavy rain before. In less than half
an hour just about everything got wet.
Seb's
lure-drying rack.
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Sunday
dawned with grey skies
and a steady northerly breeze, it began to rain not long after we
started fishing, this upset the outboard and flattened the battery,
though limping back to the landing stage at very slow speed I actually
had a fish, all of 4lb perhaps, dragging a SuperTrap along the bottom.
We had more trouble with the new battery and ended up changing boats
and using an outboard supplied by the fishery.
We
never had another take all
day, and we tried very hard. As far as we know over the weekend only
the 3 small fish we had and the one we were told about on arrival were
caught, these between perhaps 5 or 6 boats out each day. We needed a
change.
On
Monday we went to Grasmere,
rowing only, but supposed to be a productive water. The wind was coming
in from the north but was surprisingly mild with a few light showers
early on. The stunning scenery from this relatively small lake nestling
between the mountains was a constant distraction from the fishing, we
had caught the trees in all their autumn glory, beeches, sycamores,
oaks and birches added their reds, yellows and browns to the rust of
the bracken-covered slopes.
Back
to the fishing, we had been
told that we ought to enjoy plenty of action on a fair day at Grasmere,
but I'm not sure if our informant had fished it in October.
We
began anchored off the shore
just as the lake bed dropped from a gentle slope to deeper water, on my
first cast back into the shallower water I had a take on a Shallow
Raider, ripped hard, but it didn't stick, a few minutes later I had a
pike follow the same lure very quickly, nearly into the boat, but I was
not concentrating properly so I never saw it coming, probably looking
at the trees. A while later Seb caught the first fish on his Flipper
and I struggled on as he had 3 more, all between 4 and 7lb. I was
running through the lure box and wondering when I would get a fish. We
had moved to the other side of the lake before I was into a nice fish,
first cast with a Cherry Bomb, it was nearly 12lb.
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Lakeland
double
A
couple of minutes later and I
was in again, having cast while Seb was pulling on the oars to move the
boat. This was viewed as cheating by Seb, but I didn't see it that way
as I netted a near "15". Seb had two more smaller fish as well. I
suggested that he should change lures, he'd had 6 small fish on the
Flipper but I thought the better fish wanted the Cherry Bomb. He was
reluctant to change because he had caught more fish and felt it was
only a matter of time before he contacted a bigger one. |
I had another fish, a couple of ounces short of
10lb and reiterated
that I thought Seb should change lures. Seb only had a black Cherry
Bomb and it did not seem quite right so he tried one of my spare
shad-patterned ones. It was not long before he had his double, at 12lbs
odd. I had one more fish of about 8lbs late on and we went back to
Hawkshead a lot happier than on the previous two days.
The Cherry
Bomb doing the business
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I
think Seb had 6 fish on the
Flipper with none above 7lb and his '12' on the Cherry Bomb, and I
ended up with 4 all above 8lb. An important lesson, proving a point
I've made before:- on a good quality water if you are only catching
small fish then you must be fishing for them! Change tactics for better
fish.
On
Tuesday we were going to
venture out onto Windermere. It's a big place, where big ferries plying
up and down the lake with waterskiing powerboats belting around give
plenty of cause for concern. The place is never still, waves from boats
constantly break on the shore and you need to keep your wits about you
in a small boat, the most innocuous-looking ferry sends out the highest
waves while most waterskiing boats do not move that much water and a
hundred yards away the wash has largely subsided.
We
were very careful at first
while we built confidence in the boat, but after a couple of hours we
were happy to start exploring properly. We had listened to advice about
fishing on Windermere which recommended fishing the drop-offs from
about 10ft into 35ft of water. The boat was, I think, 16ft long and we
mounted the depth sounder at the back, the anchor was at the front and
as the boat swung at anchor we saw the drop-offs clearly defined on the
screen, with startling variations in depth just within the length of
the boat. I had a nasty fright just off White Cross bay when Seb neatly
removed my hat with an enthusiastic cast, no harm done, apart from
wetting my hat, but it did make me a tad wary for a while!
We
tried trolling but neither of
us like the method so we did not persevere for too long. We mooched
around the northern end of the lake and ended up in High Wray bay where
Seb actually had a take! The fish was not hooked but by now we both
were!
The
weather forecast for
Wednesday was for a fresh south-westerly and local advice was to stay
off Windermere, considering our inexperience and the nature of the
boat, so we returned to Grasmere.
The surrounding mountains prevent a westerly wind
from getting at the
lake directly, but it funnels round the valleys and seems to come from
every direction at once, constantly spinning the boat around. The
rippled surface of the lake was punctuated by smooth spots as the wind
met in the middle and stilled the water.
The weather
can change very quickly
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We
struggled, I had 2 small fish
on the Cherry Bomb while Seb blanked. It was a dour day and
disappointing after Monday's sport. I was suffering from a sore
shoulder so I could not help very much with the rowing.
The
weather forecast for
Thursday and Friday indicated that we would be alright on Windermere.
Seb had rang Keith Minchin, who has fished Windermere many times, to
settle a few questions that had arisen after our first day on the big
lake, the answers gave us confidence in our approach so we had high
hopes as we headed for the western shore.
Again
we struggled, I actually
saw a smallish pike strike at the surface in one bay but despite our
confidence and determination we could find no takers. We had decided
that Seb would stick with recommended methods, like the Bulldog,
Flippers and Spinnerbaits, while I would go through a selection of
other lures including the Countdown Depth Raider (arm-aching!),
Lureland Spitfire, Cherry Bomb, Jigs, Spoons, and other sinking lures.
We were both fishing with 2 rods, allowing one lure to sink while
retrieving and recasting the other, this sometimes got a bit confusing
when I couldn't remember what lure I had on the end of which rod! We
hoped in this way to find some fish. Again we were fishing the
drop-offs into over 30ft of water, staying for no more than 15 minutes
in each spot. Some of the swims we tried looked very good, a weedy
shelf perhaps 12ft deep then a sharp drop, just right, we thought. It
was a very pleasant day with warm sunshine and a gentle south-westerly.
Finally
our efforts were
rewarded, Seb had a fish on a spinnerbait, did he yell! No monster at
about 6lb but extremely welcome, this fish came to a cast back across
the weed shelf in a bay. We never got a photo of that fish, it dropped
the hook in the net then dropped through a tear in the mesh as I was
reaching for the camera! Next cast (I think) he had a take on a flipper
from the deeper water, the fish wasn't hooked and did not show again.
As the day came to an end we reluctantly headed for the home shore,
keen to return. On this trip back across the lake we saw 220ft showing
on the depth finder!
Our
final morning and the lake
was fog-bound. We would have to wait before we could safely cross the
lake. Our initial plans had only included one day on Windermere, so the
old 2hp outboard I had borrowed seemed adequate. Now it let us down, it
would not start. We needed a new spark plug. We wasted some time making
our mind up that we had to have a motor before Seb set off to find a
chandler's. He was gone for an hour, with the new plug fitted we were
away first pull, and headed for the spot where Seb had caught his fish
on Thursday. We were surprised to find two anglers piking in the bay
right where we wanted to be. We got as close as we reasonably could but
we raised no fish. We wanted to look in the southern basin of the lake
so we trolled down the western bank to the islands, cast around there,
pottered through the speed limit area and noticed the water was
noticeably more coloured. In the northern basin we could see the bottom
10ft down and a bright coloured lure at 13ft, the southern basin near
the ferry crossing had about half this clarity. There was not a breath
of wind, it was cold and the light was poor with the fog always
threatening to return, not good piking conditions to my mind.
The
motor was playing up again,
this time with intermittent fuel starvation so we struggled to get back
up the lake, we found a few tasty spots on the way which gave us hopes
of a late fish, but it was not to be. We reluctantly headed back to
shore as the light faded. And so ended a most exciting and educational
week's fishing, you don't need to catch monsters to enjoy yourself.
The
Lessons
We
learnt such a lot during our
week that it is difficult to know where to begin, but if you fancy a
trip to the Lake District here are some points to consider.
Contact
Chris Sodo and try and get the latest local information, speak to other
anglers who have succeeded on the lakes.
I
honestly think that the lakes
are not that hot for lure fishing by October, most fish are caught in
the spring from April onwards into the summer, although what the boat
traffic must be like in August I shudder to think . The weather is very
changeable, take enough clothes and expect a different season every
day. Attitude is important, it almost certainly won't be easy but you
have to be prepared for that and fish hard all the time. We both felt
that if you could have a first trip in the company of an experienced
Lakes angler you would save yourself a lot of learning time.
Esthwaite
was very expensive, at
�53 a day for a boat and electric outboard. The staff were
helpful and
keen for us to catch some fish, and they do value their pike. We talked
to a lot of regulars who say the piking is relatively poor at the
moment, a lot of the very big fish have died and new ones are growing
through and this season has started slowly with few fish showing. The
boat price reflects the management's desire to restrict the piking and
protect the pike in order to preserve the revenue. If I was to fish
Esthwaite again I would do it differently, I would decide where I was
going to fish, probably off Stricklands, and stick it out all day,
fishing the big drop-off.
Grasmere
was fun, very beautiful
if you don't mind rowing. I don't think there are any monsters in there
but it is a prolific water. It was light relief but not really worth a
massive effort when Windermere is nearby.
Windermere
is awesome and
totally gripping. So different and exciting for someone like me who has
fished rivers and gravel pits. But it is big, the fish have to be found
and they do not give themselves up easily. Even anglers who fish it
regularly admit to plenty of blanks.
I
was certainly not that
well-prepared for it, I had relatively few of the lures that would
really be of any use in there, crankbaits and minnows are of very
limited use. Fast-sinking lures rule, jerkbaits, soft plastics,
spinnerbaits and big spoons are the most useful lures. Apparently, big
fish do come from the weedy bays in spring and summer, so some shallow
working lures are important then.
Mobility
is everything, you need
a good, safe boat and an outboard that can get you from one favoured
spot to the next in quick time. The amount of fast traffic on the lake
makes you feel very puny and vulnerable in a small boat crossing the
middle of the lake. A depth sounder is essential, with the transducer
mounted at the front of the boat. You need anchors at both ends to set
the boat exactly right. Taking things a stage further an electric
outboard and a drogue will allow precise control for drifting. If you
could set up the main outboard to charge the battery then so much the
better. You have to register a boat for use on Windermere, this is not
expensive and gives everybody protection against idiots. When you first
see the traffic on Windermere you might wonder at the possibility of
actually fishing it, but you will soon get used to it. If you do well
on your first visits you will be in a very small minority, most people
take a few trips to come to terms with locating the pike on this big
water.
On
our return trip we called in
to see David Lumb, we described our experiences and he confirmed that
we were doing more or less the right things in the right places. He did
mention that he thought Windermere was not an easy water and that
despite its size the pike have seen a lot of lures over the last few
years, which is having a bearing on current results.
It
was memorable week, getting
an insight into a type of lure fishing that was unfamiliar to me. All
praise to Seb for his organisation and research that enabled us to be
as well-prepared as anyone could be on their first trip to the lakes.
The fact that we survived a week afloat together without any minor
dispute developing into a major problem is remarkable. We had discussed
the possibility of not getting on and decided we would sort things out
as they arose. Nothing arose, and on the road home we agreed that we
would happily have fished the next day together, which is a real
tribute to how much fun we had. I can't wait to get back up there.
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