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Brief pike report from West Wales. It was Saturday, so we had to go fishing (it's the law round here!) but given the rain and gales leading up to the weekend, we realised there was not much chance of finding any water clarity around North or South Pembs for bass fishing. We drove past a few of our regular marks, and although swell conditions were well within limits, the water was like mulligatawny soup so we went straight to the now infamous Bosherston Lilly Ponds (site of Steve Lewis' winter pike bumble) in Pembrokeshire. We wanted our string pulled and hadn't visited since the summer bumble, so it seemed like the best, if not only, option on the day.
Cut a long story short, George kicked my ass (as usual, yeah, yeah) and he outfished me 5 fish to 3. We didn't move as many fish as normal, but he had the fish below on a Sammy (cracking first take off the top) but it did not give the best scrap surprisingly. Very long fish - unsure on weight as I don't carry scales but definitely his best pike. Later in the session he moved a monster pike (20lb+) which refused his lure right at the bank on the very same peg as this fish was caught, as we worked our way back towards the car.
I had a tiddler to start (off the top on a Sammy as well) then a tidy fish (7-8lb maybe?) on a Feed Shallow. I had the best scrap ever from a fish caught from "Simon's Bridge" that had been terrorising a huge shoal of roach. We tried a few different lures without any joy, but first cast on my trusty Crystal Minnow and it was "fish-on!" after just three turns of the reel handle. I had a great audience of walkers & ramblers and the fish put on a real performance - searing runs, thrashing on the surface and a complete back-flip out of the water. George manfully waded into the water to land the fish (the water level was too low to land from above the bridge). Sadly George is not as good a photographer as he is angler, but it was a good fish - maybe my best, but it doesn't matter. I had a big smile for the rest of the day. The good news? All 8 fish on regular bass lures. George wants to keep his new pike killer lure secret for now (Simon Lewis knows but he has been sworn to secrecy!) but I can divulge that it was a 5" soft lure that caught four of his 5 pike. I'll have to buy him some more now as the ones he used are shredded to bits!
Oh yeah - He also had a tidy little perch on a spinner too. Damn - make that 6 fish to my 3. DOH!
Cut a long story short, George kicked my ass (as usual, yeah, yeah) and he outfished me 5 fish to 3. We didn't move as many fish as normal, but he had the fish below on a Sammy (cracking first take off the top) but it did not give the best scrap surprisingly. Very long fish - unsure on weight as I don't carry scales but definitely his best pike. Later in the session he moved a monster pike (20lb+) which refused his lure right at the bank on the very same peg as this fish was caught, as we worked our way back towards the car.

I had a tiddler to start (off the top on a Sammy as well) then a tidy fish (7-8lb maybe?) on a Feed Shallow. I had the best scrap ever from a fish caught from "Simon's Bridge" that had been terrorising a huge shoal of roach. We tried a few different lures without any joy, but first cast on my trusty Crystal Minnow and it was "fish-on!" after just three turns of the reel handle. I had a great audience of walkers & ramblers and the fish put on a real performance - searing runs, thrashing on the surface and a complete back-flip out of the water. George manfully waded into the water to land the fish (the water level was too low to land from above the bridge). Sadly George is not as good a photographer as he is angler, but it was a good fish - maybe my best, but it doesn't matter. I had a big smile for the rest of the day. The good news? All 8 fish on regular bass lures. George wants to keep his new pike killer lure secret for now (Simon Lewis knows but he has been sworn to secrecy!) but I can divulge that it was a 5" soft lure that caught four of his 5 pike. I'll have to buy him some more now as the ones he used are shredded to bits!
Oh yeah - He also had a tidy little perch on a spinner too. Damn - make that 6 fish to my 3. DOH!
