J
Jim Crosskey 2
Guest
Mine would have been fishing from Nags Head Island on the Thames in Abingdon. At the time, I was regular in the pub and the landlord was fine with me and a mate fishing there quite regualarly. Anyway, it gave us access to a (previously) far bank swim that had seen quite a few good perch - now it was a near bank swim! I'd taken three good perch on small gudgeon livebaits about a rod length out. I was retrieving a cast to the point when the bait was literally about to break the surface when a large pike rushed out from under the bridge (downstream to my right) and grabbed it - lip-hooked on a size ten without a trace. It didn't fight that hard to begin with, and I actually got its head out of the water and half way over the net when it woke up and tore off under the bridge. It took about 50 yards of five pound bs line to a spot way the other side of the bridge, where the weird bit started. Everything went solid - i pulled as hard as i dared, but it was all solid. So I let the line go slack, keeping an eye on it for the fish free itself. Sure enough, after about five minutes, it suddenly started moving, at which point I started trying to make some line back. Bad move. The fish just took another 10 yards and locked up again. So I left it. The next time I mad a few. The next time it took a few.
The thing is, this was in a pub beer garden - my mate had just gone to get me a pint when I first hooked the fish. By now, there were a few bylookers (all with words of advice!). After about half an hour of virtual stalemate, I was starting to wish I'd never hooked it, because every bloke there was telling me what an idiot i was for fishing for pike without a trace (i was fishing for perch) or strong enough line (i was fishing for perch!).
Then it all went really solid. No movement for about ten minutes. Some of my audience drifted away. I'd really had enough by now and I knew my pint was flat. So, after leaving it longer than any of the previous times without any movement, I just heaved as hard as I could. I felt the line reach nearly breaking point - no movement. So I carried on pulling and there was a big "ping".... and I was reeling in slack. It felt like I was bringing in broken line but all of a sudden there was the unmistakeable thump of a decent fish - only this time it came straight to the net, whereupon the hook promtly fell out of the scissors.
At the time (no scales) I thought I'd caught a twenty pounder, but looking back on the picture (circa 1989) its probably more like 16. More frightening is the stone roses bowl/big-finge haircut - but that's another story.........
The thing is, this was in a pub beer garden - my mate had just gone to get me a pint when I first hooked the fish. By now, there were a few bylookers (all with words of advice!). After about half an hour of virtual stalemate, I was starting to wish I'd never hooked it, because every bloke there was telling me what an idiot i was for fishing for pike without a trace (i was fishing for perch) or strong enough line (i was fishing for perch!).
Then it all went really solid. No movement for about ten minutes. Some of my audience drifted away. I'd really had enough by now and I knew my pint was flat. So, after leaving it longer than any of the previous times without any movement, I just heaved as hard as I could. I felt the line reach nearly breaking point - no movement. So I carried on pulling and there was a big "ping".... and I was reeling in slack. It felt like I was bringing in broken line but all of a sudden there was the unmistakeable thump of a decent fish - only this time it came straight to the net, whereupon the hook promtly fell out of the scissors.
At the time (no scales) I thought I'd caught a twenty pounder, but looking back on the picture (circa 1989) its probably more like 16. More frightening is the stone roses bowl/big-finge haircut - but that's another story.........