Chew Pike go ballistic!

What a great day John Synnuck and I had yesterday on Chew Valley fishing for pike.  We had over 100lbs to the boat, but this almost paled into insignificance by the magnitude of fish taken on the day.

For the very first time in a day on Chew, there were not one, but two 40lb specimens landed.  Also, no less than seven 30lb pike and a whole host of 20 pounders and loads of mid to upper teens.

The best of the bunch weighed in at 41lbs 4ozs and was taken from Woodford Bank.  Phil Wakeford also had a 40lb fish from a boat.  Neville Fickiling at last broke his Chew 30lb duck with two 30lb fish in a day!

With water temperatures between 6 and 7 degrees C, the Chew pike must have kept feeding all through the Winter months.  I saw several pike swirling on the surface chasing roach and this activity is more akin to what I see in the Summer months.

Dead baits such as mackerel, smelt, herring and blueys accounted for the majority of fish.  Lures have been taking a few, but the vast majority of pike anglers that visit Chew Valley fish nothing but baits, so I would expect this type of result.

John's first fish of the 2012 trials was a solid 17lb 04oz lump, while my first fish of 2012 tipped the scales at 22lbs 4ozs.

The first 3 days of trials have produced at least a dozen fish over 30lbs and now 2 over 40lbs.  The weather is now changing from low to high pressure and the temperatures are already dropping - hopefully this will not stop the pike from feeding - I am out tomorrow, so watch this space ................