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Exchange visit: Part 2

August 11th & 12th 1999


Seb's Account

River fishing having been ruled out due to high levels we had to settle for Daves "reserve" venues for my return trip.Although I'd been looking forward to a boat trip on the river Severn the first days alternative sounded attractive enough.Dave told me that this was a fairly new venue for him with bags of potential though he'd had little success there himself yet.

Early evening saw us working our way along the path. Although Dave had located a hotspot earlier he wanted to try & locate other possible holding areas on stretches where most swims had no apparent features. So while he worked with various crank & twitch baits, I decided on my favourite "search" lure - a big Spinnerbait (DL Tackle Marauder) - worked fairly fast to cover the water quickly. After about an hour's "searching" the net result was one small pike on the spinnerbait.

The previously identified hotspot was the only obvious feature along the entire bank. Dave, being the perfect host, put me in the hottest swim, told me where to cast & before you could say "size five willowleaf", I had a pike of 6-7lbs which took on the drop on the first cast. Hot swim indeed Dave!
The next fish came only after we'd rested the area for a while, taking my spinnerbait on the drop during a pause in a maximum speed retrieve to recast the tangled lure. Crafty or what! (No, - fluke actually). Not long after returning this fit low double, with the light fading, we called it a day. Although Dave had only had one take to my 3 banked fish (or: Spinnerbait United 3 - Crankbait City 0), he was chuffed to confirm the area's potential. When the pike pack up on the prey fish shoals later in the year & herd them into this area he's going to bag up big time.
Session 2 the following morning saw us casting from the bank into the clear waters of a large reservoir to the north of Birmingham. Although Dave hadn't rated our chances on the canal very highly, his predictions for this inland sea were confidently in the region of "half a dozen pike each with some into doubles"! Buoyed by his words I started off with gliding jerkbaits hoping for imminent fireworks but all the time remembering the previous weekend,s LAS Lure Challenge at Ardingley Reservoir. Here on another similarly large water with similarly OK weather conditions I'd done better than many to end the day with a single jack of less than 2lbs!

Dave was soon into a Pike of about 5lbs but for once I wan't optomistic & after about 2 hours throwing gliders & big crankbaits we'd had no more fish. By now we'd reached Dave's favourite spot, a bay at one end of the reservoir. Likewise we drew a blank here but as we moved round the bay it began to look more promising. Reefs of subsurface weed, separated by bands of clear water spread out into the reservoir. There had to be pike here but a different approach was required. I jokingly told Dave I had just the lure & an idea to go with it..we both laughed! After 3 hours of working big baits hard with little to show for it, it did sound funny. Still, out went an unchristened AC Plug, twitched on the surface over the weeds, cranked down in the clear spaces & left to sit on the top at the outside of the innermost weed reef about 10 yards out. Dave Lumb would have been proud & (Ooer missis!) so was I when at the end of the third retrieve after the lure had been at rest on the top for about 30 seconds I was intoa fish. A golden olive flash & the AC disappeared into a big toothy gob.

A weight in the region of 23 lbs would have been the fitting end to such presentation but the reality was closer to 7lbs & I was chuffed to bits. Certainly my spirits were lifted but over the next couple of hours or so nothing else worked & after trying a few swims in a smaller adjacent lake we decided on lunch & a return to the scene of the previous evening's sport. (Suckers for punishment or what!)

We not surprisingly headed for the established holding area, this time with Dave in the hot swim. It wasn't long before the attention his slowly worked crankbaits were receiving resulted in a take & a nice pike of about 8lbs came to the net.

This time it was my turn to blank & after a couple of hours, despite looking like a promising evening with plenty of pike activity in the area & a few more takes for Dave, nothing else was caught by either of us. We were however almost humbled when a local teenager who was known to Dave borrowed one of my rods to "see what a Bull Dawg looks like" & promptly had a low double grab it, surface & spit it back at him. An entertaining end to a long day!

Not many fish for the hours spent lureing over the 2 days, but if talking a good presentation & retrieve was all that was needed, we'd have had truckloads of pike. I normally fish alone so to fish alongside another pike lure nut was a real treat. Thanks again Dave.


Dave's Account

August, and amid our busy schedules, we find time to get together for the return visit. The plan was to enjoy an evening on the Avon and the next day on the Severn, alas the weather put paid to that - rain, rain and more rain made both rivers unfishable so we resorted to "plan B", an evening session at one venue, the next day at another, returning to the first venue for the second evening session.

I've just started fishing a new venue, which I won't name, that has considerable promise, but in three trips I had only had one pike and a few missed takes, although on each occasion my fishing partner had caught, including an upper double to Mad Steve. Seb said: "Spinnerbaits, just cover every swim, you're bound to catch", perfectly sensible, I thought, but I don't use spinnerbaits unless I'm really desperate so I'll persevere with the plugs.

I blanked, Seb had three pike, best over 11lb, but I had pointed him at the best swim, I'm kind to my guests. I suffered some gentle "told you so" ribbing on the walk back to the cars.

Next day, a latish start at Chasewater saw the wind coming off the east bank but no powerboats, mercifully. We bumped into a fishing mate of mine, Richard Proud, who was pleased to see me because he has only recently switched to baitcasting gear (on my recommendation) and was struggling a little with the multiplier. He invited me to join him in his spacious swim, which I did, and then caught a pike after a few casts. "Poacher" he yelled, but was kind enough to take the photograph.

I've fished Chasewater a few times but not got to grips with it, I'm always a bit slow on new waters, but after a pike so soon after starting I expected to get a few more, but never had another take. Seb managed one a little later, we were fishing across strips of weed but inflowing water had coloured that end of the lake. We could just about make out the weed beds under the surface. "I will fish a shallow diver, work it down into the gaps and let it float over the top of the weed", he said. Next cast he had a pike, and was convinced he'd cracked it. But neither of us could raise another take.

Mid afternoon saw us heading back to the first venue.
We were both sticking to our tactics of the previous evening, but I had brought some different plugs, replacing some of the ones I had not bothered to use the night before with better casters, I wanted to reach some features that had been out of range.

I endured a frustrating evening, I saw at least four fish passing my plugs, not following or missing, just investigating, including one that must have been big, it looked big at thirty yards range just under the surface in the clear water, although it was only afterwards that it occurred to me how big it might have been. I hooked and lost a fish and then landed one on the next cast, probably the same one, of about 7lb. A repainted Rebel Windcheater did the business.

Seb wandered off and while he was away I was talking to a local lad who has had some impressive fish from the spot we were fishing, as we spoke a low double rolled just to my right. I cast at it several times but I think it was lying too deep for my lures, and besides a low double did not interest me as much as the monster I'd seen earlier.

When Seb returned the local lad asked me about the Bull Dawg lures I'd shown him last week, but I hadn't brought any, Seb had though, and invited the lad to have a cast with one on his spare rod. I had a very good idea what was going to happen next, and my premonition was proved correct when first cast the local was into a fish and the low double (probably) we'd seen earlier came to the surface but immediately spat the lure. Seb was astonished. Never work with children or animals, I say.

We didn't catch the pike, and Seb blanked, despite working hard with spinnerbaits.

After we said goodbye and went home our separate ways I drove home annoyed at myself for not making more of the opportunity. I'll be back.

Seb took the honours again with the only double. It was disappointing not to get on the Severn but at least we caught a few from second choice venues, and had a bit of a natter!

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