John Synnuck's 28lb Pike

 Last Monday John Synnuck and I fished the 1st day of Chew Valley Pike Trials and landed pike of 28lbs and 21lbs 4ozs, plus 2 other doubles and a couple of cracking rainbow trout!
The weather had threatened to cancel all boats due to high winds, but thankfully Chew was fishable all week as the high gusts never materialised.  It was however, very cold and pretty windy, making drifting with lures almost impossible.  So it was reluctantly a time to sit it out with deadbaits and our first fish of the day weighed a creditable 21:04 and fell to my rod.  John soon followed that up with his PB Chew Pike that weighed exactly 28lbs.
We also had a couple of doubles and another at 7lbs with a Tag.  I checked my records and John Synnuck caught that fish with me in October and it weighed 6:12.  Then an hour later that October day, I caught it again!  Amazingly, when I was out the next day, we caught 5 more pike and one of them was that very same fish - complete with Tag!

Overwintering Trout

On the Monday, John and I boated rainbow trout of 3lbs and 5lbs - both took mackerel and were released unharmed.
The next day, my clients landed 3 cracking rainbows; 4lbs, 6:08 and 7:08.  Once again, all went back unharmed and all were extremely fat and fighting fit.

This really bodes well for the coming trout fishing season as it proves the trout are overwintering well on the rich pickings of hoglice and shrimp.

Pike again on Monday

The weather looks set to be fairly calm and a bit warmer for this 2nd set of Chew Pike Trials which begin on Monday.
I am due to be there and am expecting to fish lures on the drift.

Hardly anyone has fished lures during the 1st set of Trials, so it is possible we might find some decent pike well away from where the bait fishers are anchoring.