Now October is just over there if you look, and it can be the golden month for the angler. With the leaves in all their Autumn glory still on the trees and not fouling the water, the weather hopefully unbroken and all the fish in good fighting form, there's not a lot more you can ask.
It's a sad time for the trout man, of course, who has to give up pursuit of the brownies and sea trout from October 1 in England and Wales, and from October 7 in Scotland. But he can still go after the rainbows in most areas up to the middle of November and, if he gets the chance, after salmon until the end of October.
If he's not too snooty about it, he can go fly fishing for grayling. Although a member of the salmon family its season is that of the coarse fish, and in October it's in beautiful condition. Have a go, lad. You could be pleasantly surprised. As June is traditionally tench time, so October is pike time.
Many serious pike anglers, with more self-control than most of us, will not fish for pike before October. Some water authorities, indeed, extend the coarse close season and allow pike fishing only after October the 1st.There's a good reason for it. The summer pike is often a mess, skinny but flabby, and clapped out from spawning. Perhaps October is stretching the close season a bit far, but certainly by then the pike has no excuse for not putting up a fight. Lure fish, yeah fill your boots it seems.
Anyway even a medium-sized pike in good fettle is a formidable opponent, and by the time it's thrown itself out of the water a few times, with that great head jagging from side to side, the angler has been given his money's worth. By the time it's on the bank, with that cruel mouth snapping and those eyes looking straight at you, the angler could be forgiven for wishing he's stayed at home
.
But it's no excuse for the inexpert bashing to death so often inflicted on pike buy often the seat box frequenters. It's only a fish, dammit, and out of water at that. A pair of protective gloves, some proper pike tools, a mate to help you if there's one around that isn't chicken and the hooks can be removed from even the biggest pike with no damage done on either side.
Here endeth the lesson...
Anyway back to the fishing, when I was Nic on the private stretch last I went for a nosey at a peg he'd cleared opposite a tree that would provide some idea cover for fish, and the swim looked absolutely perfect. You see fishing the waggler he'd managed some nice fish already pinging maggots and fishing on the drop.
I don't do enough float fishing really because when I do, I really enjoy the method especially when it's a lottery what will turn up when the float goes under. A 1/2 ounce bleak or a 5lb chub you never know because lets be honest, everything likes maggots now doesn't it, so a quick trip to Martyn's at Stratford Fish and Outdoors for some much needed fresh maggots we better get fishing.
We took it in turns to fish the same swim where after arriving half an hour after Nic on the second cast the float buried and I was in to a nice fish. Considering the cover is thick and extensive oddly the chub decided to swim towards me rather than get to its potential escape route. I wasn't complaining though, a nice chub too of around 3lb.
Almost 4 hours of fishing it wasn't exactly prolific because there was some dry spells but I'd have been happy if this was my peg in a match. Some nice roach, rudd, chublets, dace and perch were also caught.
When we lifted the keepnet out the river at the end of the session there was more fish than I thought there would be. Not a bad session even if there larger fish were not showing.
Like I've said many a times, I need to do more float fishing because when I do I really enjoy it. Nic is lucky to have access to this stretch a stones throw from home. A bit like a regular at a pub, I'd be down here all the time especially when every day is different than the next, and there are plenty of surprises to be had.
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