Pike; Jerkbait Fishing; 2nd May 2014

Jesper with a stunning double, a particularily nicely marked fish.

A very happy me with a fish of 6.25 kilo, a big female which obviously had not yet spawned...

A day out jerkbaiting for Pike saw Eddie Bowler, Jesper Fröberg and I setting off very early as we had to bring the boating gear. Outboard motor, an electric motor, fishfinder, batteries and fuel tanks were all hauled to the boat and the fishing gear was set up and organized for the day before we set off. the day began with the sun beaming down and flat calm conditions, hardly ideal for Pike fishing. Probably as a direct result we had a quiet start to the day, with nothing happening in the shallows. We moved to a shallow bay close by were the first fish of the day fell to Ed and Jesper. It is always something of a relief to get a fish or two in the boeat and we relaxed somewhat before planning or next move. We all decided of fishing a huge reedbed, an area which saw water of about four metres depth sloping up to a huge stand of last years reed in the shallows. It began slowly here before we experienced our first feeding spell of the day and the Pike suddenly seemed to switch on. Jesper and Ed had a fish here in quick succession before I hooked up and lost what felt o good fish. Jesper was soon in again and this time his rod showed a deeper arc as a powerful fish pulled back. a short while later the first double of the day was in the boat, a cracking fish...

Jesper with the first big fish of the day, this was the start of some incredible fishing...

   As soon as it hard started the feeding spell ceased and we moved back to the bay without a lot of success. We decided to head for dry land as the fishing was quiet at this point and we had lunch. Cumberland sausages and bacon were the order of the day, they were soon sizzling away on the camping stove. It was a superb bit of grub and we were revitalized decideding to head south into unknown water. Using the fish finder we found some superb looking featueres for later in the year, remarkable drop offs and features that will surely hold big Pike, Perch and Zander later in the year. I was rather taken with the potential here for species such as Rudd, Bream and Tench. Despite all this we failed to locate any Pike in the area, perhaps the water was a simply too deep at around three metres in the shallows. We noted that the water was colder here too and figured this was the kiss of death as regards Pike, which were now spawning and we made the decision to head back to the shallow waters at the head of the fjörd. Cloud cover had now formed and duller, overcast conditions saw us head back to the long reedbed. After some time here without any fish we tried the bay, here a couple of small fish followed lures to the boat without taking. It had now been quiet for sometime and we decided to head for the extreme shallows were we had started first thing in the morning...

 

A really cracking fish here, taken by Ed, his largest of the day, also a very nicely marked fish...


We entered the shallows which the fish finder told us were jusy 80cm Deep, the margins were no more than a foot or two and two our north the shallow water was festooned with last years loose, stubby reed stems. It didn't take us long to find the fish, which were tucked into this cover in a foot or two of water. Casting close to these stubby reeds saw violent takes, often just after the lure had hit the water. They were taking right off the Surface with gusto, we had found the fish. They were fish of a very good size as well, the quality of the fishing would prove to be superb. Jesper was at the front of the boat and was on fire, hooking some lovely fish. It was pretty special stuff as the Pike were hitting the jerks so hard, sometimes striking wide of the lures and missing them completely. One fish took Jesper's lure so violently it rocketed clear of the water with the lure in it's jaws as the Three of us looked on. It was during this period that I took my largest fish of 6.35 kilo, a fish which slammed into the jerkbait right on the top in the reeds. After an hour it went a little quiet and we decided to rest the area and moved off to other areas for a while. We had little joy elsewhere and after an hour we made out way back to the shallows...

Jesper with the biigest fish of the day at 6.5 kilo.

As we began to cast it soon became apparent the fish were still present and again it was mayhem. Fish after fish walloped out lures and Ed at last connect with a big fish. Jesper again had the lions share of fish, Ed being a little unlucky to have three fish throw his lure. It went on for another hour and it was truly amazing stuff. As the sun dropped in the sky it broke through the cloud and the wind died completely. The water was now still as a millpond and the best cesed to take out lures. We moved off were Jesper took the final fish of the day from the margins. Incredibly, we had taken 24 Pike into the boat, with eight of these into double figures. The overall average weight was somewhere in the region of 4.5 kilo, which is remarkably good fishing.
   At this point we decided to pack it up. Jerkbait fishing is demanding and we were tired from cranking these large baits all day. We mounted the engined and batteries on to trolleys and wheeled them back to the car. with the hard work done we sat down and fried some 200g homemade burgers off and reflected on what we all agreed was one of the best days angling we had ever experienced. We headed off as the sun sunk over a postcard, a stunning venue...

Sunset captured on the iPhone. A stunning venue to fish...

 

Sik; Tyresö Slott; 6th April 2014

A day of suprises. Arrived just after dawn with Andy Shaw, the intention being to fish for Pike. We both got two dead baits out and the legered a worm in the hope of catching a livebait or two. Nothing happened for an hour, except for both of us getting slowly soaked by the constant light rain. An easterly wind made life very unpleasant indeed. Around 08.20am Andy had a ripping bites and lost a good fish in front of our eyes, there was no doubt that the culprit was a good Sik of about 3lb. Happily, we hade another chance and we managed to hook one Sik each , Andy taking the biggest specimen. These fish fought well, in fact as well ans the two landed we lost two fish. A decent result on a day when Pike were just not interested

Pike; Jerkbait fishing Afloat; Lidingö; 30th March 2014

A typical fish for Ed on the jerkbait....

What can only be described as a great days fishing today with Eddie and Jesper at Lidingö. I jumped at the chance to get onto the boat, although it is a little cramped with three people. I was a little late and by the time I got there The boy had a couple of fish each, averaging about the 5lb. mark. We spent the day fishing jerkbaits and a total of around 15 Pike were taken, with Jesper taling 8 fish, the best of which just making double figures. The action at times was fantastic and we had quite a few fish attacking lures on the surface which we didnt catch. A couple of times there were multiple fish on. A fantastic start to the season which confirmed that these fish have now returned to the shallows and are getting ready to spawn....

This one came from shaded water. All fish were lying in shallow water less than two metres deep...

Jesper with a nice fish of around average stamp...

A very nicely marked Pike here for Jesper, who was on fire today...

Ed unhooking a fish whilst standing up...

The best fish of the day, a cracking ten pounder and happy angler...

A glorious day to be out in the boat...

A tiddler....

Stunning surroundings at this site....

Another nicely marked fish for Ed here...

Tench at Dreviken; Andy Shaw hits green gold...

Andy Shaw has been concentrating on a swim close to home on Dreviken, a superb fishing venue, though a massive water where locating fish can be a problem. Andy's solution was to watch for signs of Tench, before beginning a regular baiting campaign which went on for some weeks. Plenty of hemp, pellets, sweetcorn and crumb mix has gone in and over the last couple of weeks he has really been getting amongst the Tench, his target species. None of these fish were weighed, though one in particular looks every ounce of five pound. Andy has been taking these fish mainly on short early morning sessions, the odd evening sessions have not been as successful. I joined him for a night session just a few days ago and watched him take three Tench, whilst I blanked. All of the good Tench here have fallen to spicy 10mm popped up boilie baits on three inch hook lengths. Sweetcorn/Worm baits have taken some smaller Tench and many Bream, even pineapple pop ups coming in second to the spicy, white baits. Different water, different preference it seems. Some nice fish so far, all those below are different fish, Andy well into double figures with regard to Tench captures, very good on such a difficult lake...

A cracking early morning Tinca for Andy Shaw...

A smaller, pot bellied fish here. 

A night caught Tench here, a fish laden with spawn, very deep. This one put up a great fight...

A beast. A shame this one was not weighed as it may have gone 5lb, a mark which we have not beaten to date in Swedish waters. This one tested Andy's tackle to the limit and fought like a demon..

Below; another dawn fish, typically dark, which all the fish in this water seem to be...

A record Crucian Carp...

On just my second visit to a very special venue today, an unforgettable angling experience. I arrived late afternoon and carefully fed my chosen swim with a handful of 8mm halibut pellets and some sweetcorn before setting up slowly over 45 minutes well back from the bank. I chose to fish with 2 Korum 1.25lb test curve Avon rods, at the business end were a couple of 35g Drennan method feeders. On one was a hair rigged piece of buoyant ESP fake corn, with a real grain of sweetcorn also on the hair, three inch braid hook link and size 14 Kamasan wide gape hook. On the other was a pared down Swedish Bait Mechanics boilie, Shitty Lobster flavour.

  The method feeders were lowered in at 16.45, the method mix was homemade, some ground bread crumb, cornflakes, halibut pellet and salted peanuts, with sweetcorn and hemp added on the bank. I sat back to wait, both baits close in the margins under a willow bush. Nothing happened at all for a couple of hours. Then a fish broke the surface under the willow and I thought I saw a dark back and dorsal. Ten minutes later there was a sudden steady pull on my left rod, just before 7pm. It was a good bite and I cursed my luck, the fished had not hooked itself. I waited another hour with no activity, except for a large swirl out in the lake, a large Carp? Then, five minutes later some bubbling in the swim beside my left rod again saw me hovering over the rods. First came a soft tap on the rod tip, then another. I figured these to be line bites and the excitement was palpable as I waited for a proper bite, but would it come? I waited, three or four minutes later came a slow nod of the rod tip, then, as the rod straightened came a second, slow, steady pull. I knew this was a bite and the fish had taken the bait and decided to strike. I was met by a good weight before a heavy thump told me the fish was on. It stayed down at first and I didn't put to much pressure on at first, until it bored for the willow bush and I applied side strain and turned it away. After that it plodded about slowly and then came to the top and I saw a broad dark back and long dorsal. The water here is murky and dark and the fish allowed itself to be drawn to the bank and it was only when I lifted it from the water I realized it was a Crucian Carp, a huge, deep fish. On the unhooking mat it went and I was gob smacked. I quickly got my scales out, placed the fish in a plastic bag and weighed it careful. It read 2.95 kilo! I reset the scales twice and weighed it twice more, still 2.95 kilo. I then took out a second set of scales and they told me I was looking at a Swedish National Record fish! I then set the timer on my iPhone camera and took a few shots of myself holding the fish, before placing it on a mat with my rapala scales beside it for size comparison. The dimensions were staggering, the fish wis 44cm long from nos the the central tip of the tail, it was deep, an amazing 25cm deep! The fish was incredibly broad. I then realized my predicament, I had a record claim on my hands and no witness. I had no keep net and was loathe to hurt the fish in anyway. I decided there and then it should go back unharmed. It went back easily and swam away strongly almost immediately. I sat down and grabbed my smokes as it began to dawn on me what had just occurred. I was elated and couldn't really concentrate on fishing for some time. Eventually a local angler turned up and I shared my news and showed him the photos. Although he hadn't seen the fish the photo of the fish on the mat made it plainly obvious to him how big the fish had been, as the mat was on the ground in front of us. He told me there were only six known Crucians in the lake and they were all now huge fish, though they had been stocked as small fish many years previously. The fish had thrived in the lake, as had some regular Carp, with no other fish present in the lake apart from a tiny handful of Rudd. They have being growing constantly, the lake is teeming with tadpoles and other life and it seems the abundance of food and lack of competition has meant these fish have grown to record proportions.
 As regards a record claim, it seems the fact I was alone will mean that a claim is unlikely to be ratified. A witness to the weighing is generally required, as is a tissue sample for DNA analysis for this species. As I had no way of safely retaining the fish at the lake my hands were tied and the welfare of a superb fish was put first, rightly so in my opinion. I addition the publication of such a claim would mean the lake would be desended upon by anglers from all over. The lake is small, remote and surrounded by a delicate sphagnum moss ecosystem with some rare insect eating plants in the margins, a lot of traffic would be undesirable. Sometimes its fine just to enjoy a magnificent fish and there is little one can do with the circumstances of such a capture after the event. I do enjoy fishing alone and will continue to do so in the future, though I think a good fish sack may become part of my kit in the near future, especially when I return to this wonderful venue... 

 A huge, huge Crucian which didn't fight terribly well. I didn't realize just how big it was until I had it on the bank...

 A stunning creature, the head was massive!

 At this point it hadn't really sunk in what was occuring, it was only after I slipped the fish back that the weight of events hit me. The fish went back easily and swam away stongly. On the bank it was a dream to handle and didn't flap around at all...

The fish here on the mat, alongside my rapala digital scales. The fish was 44cm long and 25cm deep, quite incredible proportions. It was very broad and the belly fat and probably full of spawn..


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Tench; Farsta; First of the season for Andy

Just got this from Andy Shaw, a cracking Tench from Magelungen, Farsta, earlier this morning. Andy had been prevailing his chosen swim for two nights before he got down there this morning to fish it. Plenty of Bream around before this fish hit his white, pop up boilie rig at around 9am. This one fought like stink all the way to the net. Richly deserved old chap, first of the season...

Carp; Floater Fishing; 7th June 2013

The biggest fish of the day and Ed's first ever Carp, a fish of 7lb 5oz. Taken on floating cereal...

Having trawled the net for venues that might hold a few Carp, Ed headed out to a water today and was amazed to find Carp straight away, fish clearly visible on the surface. He rang me straight away and i went straight out for a few hours to join him. By the time I got there Ed had already had a fish of over 7lb., the fish taken off the surface on floating cereal! The fish gave him a fantastic fight after being hooked and he was well pleased on my arrival, his first ever Carp, a nice Mirror.
 i quickly got set up whilst Ed fished on and i looked on as a second fish took Ed's floating bait, a fish of just over 3lb. A short while later I took my first Carp, a fish of around 4lb! It was a cracking short session and very exciting fishing. We saw many bigger fish and have vowed to return soon for a proper seesion at the venue in order to try get a better fish, for now the target will be a double figgure fish. Most seem to be Mirror Carp, though there are rumours of Grass Carp here too. How big the Carp get is speculations, though there could be fish to well over 20lb here. Watch this space..

My first ever Carp, a fish of around 4lb, also taken off the surface.

 

 

                                               Ed's second fish of just over 3lb..

Big Rudd at Dusk

A bit of a social BBQ today followed by a bit of fishing. Today was a sweltering summer day and the fish weren't very interested in the afternoon. The Bream at the site have been spawning these past few days, some big girls being chased around by groups of males, with a few fish looking like potential six pounders. 

 I prevailed a swim and moved in for a late evening session after everyone had gone home and opted for two method rigs with pineapple pop ups. The feeders were attacked by small fish, though after a while I had a wrenching take which I failed to hook up on. Forty minutes later a more gentle pull resulted in a quick scrap, before a very big Rudd was landed, a stunner that went 2lb 12oz and looked an old fish. I was very pleased, my third best Rudd ever...

Ten minutes after that another ripping take saw me enter a dogged fight with a good tench. After four minutes the fish came towards me a looked beat. It wasn't. At the last moment it turned and bolted away with amazing power, my clutch wasn't set light enough and the hook pulled. A shame, but that's fishing. Still, a very nice result today with another belter of a Rudd..

2lb 12oz Rudd at dusk, a fantastic specimen..

Below; Rafal and Souso with a bream of three pound plus. These fish a spawning and not biting freely right now...

A 3lb Rudd; Tench trio and big Bream...

What a days fishing, a full day session over thirteen hours. Things were slow at first, though eventually the groundbait fed into the swim saw fish moving in. Andy Shaw was with me for the day, I had the first good Bream, though it would be his day for that species..

 At about 1.30pm I struck into a very good fish on my leger, a Redworm/Sweetcorn bait on a running set up.  It fought well and I wasn't sure what it was until it surfaced and I was flummoxed, a massive Rudd! I had never seen a three pound Rudd until that moment, though there was no doubt in my find this was a three pounder and a dream fish. It was netted and weighed at a staggering 3lb 6oz. A dream come true and beyond my wildest expectations when I planned these sessions in the hope of specimen Rudd...

3lb 6oz Rudd, a dream fish in every way. It was in immaculate condition...

Somewhat elated, it took me a while to get back into my fishing. Andy was doing very well however and took some cracking Bream. The first came on an 8mm halibut pellet, a fantastic bite which hooped his rod over in the rests. Others came on trimmed 10mm pineapple pop up boilies, which we were trying today, they were a big success and we had some good fish on them...

Andy with a very nice Bream...

Another Bream, this one on halibut pellet..

In the afternoon came a stunning Tench for me, a 4lb fish. It took a Redworm/Sweetcorn bait off the bottom. This site is proving excellent for the species. I followed it with another  fish of 4lb 11oz, before hooking and losing a third! The second fish was a new Swedish PB for me which took a pineapple pop up and fought like a demon. Later in the evening, I bettered it by an ounce on the halibut pellet! This was my best result with Tench in Sweden to date, my Swedish PB now standing at 4lb 12oz. A five pounder is the next target weight...

Above;4lb 11 oz Tench, a lovely fish..

 A 4lb 12oz fish which came right at dusk..

There were a few more bream for Andy, we both caught loads of Silver Vream to around 10oz. Andy had a roach of around 12oz, I had a respectable Rudd of 1lb 9oz. There were period were it was downright madness, with free biting fish coming constantly. At times it went quiet, though there was so much quality through the day. A fishing session I will never forget, we had a blast. 

Below; Andy with a typical Silver Bream from the swim, we had lots of these today...

Tench; A brace of Tinca are the first of the year..

Out again for an evening session at the site of recent specimen Rudd. Things were very quiet for a while after 3pm., though eventually a few small Rudd were followed by a better fish of 1lb 9oz. A few minutes later I struck into a solid fish, another belter of a Rudd was landed and it went exactly 2lb, my fifth two pound plus fish in the past ten days...

 Ed Bowler arrived a short while later and the fishing remained quiet for long periods, then would come a period of fish feeding. Several Bream, Silver Bream and small Rudd were taken before I struck at a gentle bite on the leger and was met with a powerhouse of resistance. I should of realized it was a Tench before I did, the fish boring away with a lot of power, giving a fantastic account of itself. Eventually it did tire and Ed did the honors with the netting and the first Tench of the year was photographed and returned. The fish weighed 3lb 11oz and is the first Tench I have ever had from the site...

Above and below; 3lb 11oz of pristine Tench, first of the season and very welcome..

After that things went rather muted again before Ed decided to set up a Pike rod. The roving float rig requires a bait, so Ed duly fished a double maggot under a waggler to get one. Having a bite straight away he was amazed to realize he had a Pike on the bait rod, much to both our amusement...

Double maggot caught Pike!

We fished on until dusk, again not a lot of activity, until my boilie rod began to twitch. Fish had been active on and off over the boilie baits, which had been put out with PVA bags of 8mm halibut pellets and boilie segments as free offerings. I missed a couple of takes, possibly small bream, before a positive take was struck and the rod hooped over. Our suspicions were confirmed a short while later when a Tench surface, another lovely fish. The first had been a big surprise, the second told us that the species may be regular here. It went an ounce more than the earlier fish, at 3lb 12oz. This venue keeps throwing up surprises and is really fishing well right now. Planning a full day onsite in two days, who knows what might happen, with a little luck...

A second Tench went an ounce better at 3lb 12oz. This one took a boilie presented on a short hair and inline lead rig...

Monster Dorado; Dave Kampf in Mexico

Here's a shot of a monster Dorado caught of the Mexico coast by a mate, Dave Kampf. Good job my son, what a fish that is!

Specimen Rudd; Silver Bream put in an appearance..

An evening back onsite after specimen Rudd. I arrived at 3pm and set up a couple of boilie rigs, whilst on a third rod I set up a helicopter rig again and fished the Redworm/Sweetcorn cocktail bait on a size 10 drennan hook. An hour later after a couple of reasonable Bream I hooked a large fish which bored away strongly. The fish showed under the surface and I could see it was another big Rudd. It then dove into the drop off, an all too familiar tactic which has lost me some good fish in this swim. The fish found snags easily in the underwater bank here and the hook pulled out. A tough break, but I fished on. More Bream followed, the largest a little over 3lb., as well as a few Rudd up to 12oz or so. It was around then another species appeared out of the blue in numbers, Silver Bream. These fish came out of nowhere and demonstrated the sites ever changing nature. The venue had been fished three days in a row, each day was in some way different from the others. Again, here was another species appearing in the swim, seemingly transient shoals moving into shallow waters pre spawning. It would be nice to get a big Silver Bream here in the future, a species that doesn't grow huge and perhaps is overlooked and more than a little neglected in Sweden.

Ed Bowler with a cracking Rudd, which weighed in at 2lb 4oz. Nice to see him get a reward after making the drive out after work for a few hours fishing. The fish is a new PB for Ed, a really nice fish in superb condition...

Ed Bowler arrived around 7pm and after a frustrating time on the waggler with small fish, he decided to concentrate in the leger rod. Not long after that point he struck into a gentle bite and his rod hooped over, bucking as a good fish felt the hook. As we hoped it proved a Rudd and what a fish, at exactly 2lb 4oz.! Ed was rightly delighted, the fish dwarfing his previous personal best. The fish was in immaculate condition, hardly a scale out of place and superbly conditioned.

 After that, there were periods where it was quiet, with occasional periods of fish biting, though nothing exceptional followed. As darkness fell, we packed up, content after banking the fifth two pound plus Rudd in two days! It was especially nice to see a friend getting one of these very special Rudd and sharing in the pleasure of catching these huge bars of gold...

Silver Bream. Note the large eyed appearance, silver appearance, reddish pectoral and pelvic fins. Quite a few caught today, all small specimens.

Below; Helicopter Rig, which has accounted for some good fish of late..