Exchange Visit: Part 1
June 1st 1999
Dave's Account
A few weeks ago Seb Shelton asked via email whether I would be going to the PAC lure match at Ardingly in July, I replied that it was too far for me to travel there and back in one day, I would have to stay somewhere overnight. Seb offered to put me up but then I found out I would not be able to get time off from work that weekend so I couldn't make it. Then Seb suggested I went down to London anyway and fished one of his local waters, I said that I would repay his hositality with a trip on the Severn later in the year.
So after an uneventful trip from Worcester I met him at 7.00am at a filling station and then followed him to his water. We loaded up the punt and we were off, to start fishing near some weeds in a bay that the wind was blowing into. The weather was pleasant, light broken cloud and a light breeze from the east, but perhaps not great for pike, and the water coloured, with the brightest lures visible about a foot beneath the surface.
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"O.K. Seb, where's the hotspot?".
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We saw no sign of pike activity and we went through a variety of lures and presentations until Seb was suddenly in, a good fish, ready to net but the tail hook of the Bomber 17A was only nicked in the front of the pike's jaw and a final headshake saw it escape before we could get the net to it. I thought it was a low double, and although disappointed not to get a photo, it was encouragement.
But it was a false dawn, another hour or so saw no more action. We moved a couple of times around the bay then rested while the kettle boiled and we had a drink. Seb showed me a few Loz Harrop lures that I had not seen and immediately after he nailed a little jack from alongside the weeds just to prove the point. Yippee, at least the boat was not blanking, I think Seb was a little embarassed at my demanding a photo of his prize.
The next move was into deeper water, I had brought a fishfinder and Seb was eagerly observing the display. There are always tales of "deep holes" in the middle of lakes and as usual the display showed none, in fact the bottom was almost featureless with only the gentlest of slopes, fish signals were very patchy with occasional groups of mixed sizes and large barren areas. The lake contains carp, bream and tench to good sizes, so there was no point in getting too excited about the big signals.
It had the makings of a hard day, it was now bright and sunny and the breeze was no stronger, we were both trying different techniques looking for a reaction, and finding none. I have a "grand theory of lure fishing for pike" based loosely on the idea that there is a correct presentation for every day, I was regaling poor Seb with my reasoning but the pike were having none of it.
By about midday we still had only the one fish to show for our efforts. We moved to the edge of another bay, no fishing allowed here, but we could cast into it. Naturally, since it was out of bounds, it looked great. With weed beds and fallen trees it screamed topwaters. I actually managed to prove that when a big cast with a Hi Fin Skywalker stick bait resulted in an immediate take and a four pounder in the boat. I was extremely pleased not to be blanking. Almost immediately I get another, a bit smaller, on a home made topwater lure.
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At last, a pike on my home made "Meadow Beaver" topwater.
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We stuck it out thinking we would get some more but that was it. It was in this swim that Seb had the most horrible birdsnest he has ever experienced and lost thirty yards of line. Very calm under fire, is Seb, he hardly swore at all and I was so impressed I hardly took the mickey at all.
Another series of moves saw us in one of the lake's known hot swims. After an hour I was hinting that we should move again when I got a tap on a home-made "pig" jerkbait, probably a perch, we thought. But a minute later Seb's lure is firmly chomped by a good fish that really scrapped under the boat hooping his rod right round, trying to reach the anchor chain. This one was well hooked and safely netted, a really good looking fish that I thought would be an upper double, we were both amazed when the scales only showed 13lb or so, it must have been hollow. However, it was a very good fish on the day.
We had no more from there or anywhere else despite sticking it out until nearly dark. We had fourteen hours on the water, and not exactly great sport, but we were talking lures all day, which can't be bad. Great fun, thanks Seb, looking forward to the Severn trip.
Seb's Account
"If we blank, at least we'll blank in grand style" Dave had assured me on the phone prior to his visit in early June to my local 60+ acre reservoir. Of course I didn't expect to blank but equally I didn't
expect that we'd have to work quite so hard for 5 takes during what amounted to a 12 hour session afloat. There were times, especially during the heat of the still afternoon, that we were both digging deep into our respective imaginations & lure boxes to find something that we thought might trigger a response. Fortunately neither of us turned out to be easily disheartened by the general lack of pike activity, if anythinhg it kept us thinking & trying harder.
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Seb cleverly using the angle of the sun to disguise his face while I insist on a photo of his jack.
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Dave's reward came when after about 5 hours without so much as a follow his decision to switch to "topwaters" resulted in 2 pike in fairly quick succession.
In my case 2 of my 3 takes (both low doubles) came after we'd spent at least an hour lashing the swims with a variety of lures & had not long before, in both cases, mentioned a change of swim. This certainly surprised both of us as in neither case did it immediately come as a response to a lure change. Had they been present in the swim all the time or were they just passing through?
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Seb's "thirteen", taken on the Loz Harrop Jackal after an hour or more working the same swim.
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This proved to be just one aspect of a "full-on" day of banter between 2 lure nuts, and at the end of it a little bit of each other's lure choice had rubbed off on the other. For my part I came away with a lot more confidence in big topwaters having seen Dave in action with a Giant Jackpot & his very own Meadow Beaver. Also, his belief in the Rapala Super Shad (even though he hadn't caught on it on the day) inspired me to select it in preference to my "banker" lure to take a 13+lb pike the following week when all else had failed.
So, thanks Dave, & I'm looking forward to my trip to your beloved river
Severn in August.