Apologies for the lack of posts lately but I’ve been really busy – I’m now in Canada for a month of fishing and traveling around this amazing country. 

Gone fishing in Canada...

 

Whilst I’m here I’m writing a blog for Angling Times, which you can read here. I’ve had a fantastic time fishing so far and I’ll be updating this blog over the next few weeks with my adventures.

So far I’ve caught walleye, pike and trout and you can also read my feature on walleye and pike in Angling Times next Tuesday (6/7/10).

Tight lines,

Ben

Angling Times 25/5/10

Angling Times 25/5/10

I continued fishing Leland Water (Cambridgeshire, UK) over the weekend after Friday’s success and this afternoon (Sunday) I hooked another carp on the same 8lb set-up – intended for tench – I used to accidentally catch the 27lb 15oz fish two days before.

A friend took this photo as it went on another run and my arm was starting to go numb after about 15-minutes of the carp employing various ruses to try and escape, most of them involving underwater root systems and the opposite bank.

About fifteen-minutes into our little tussle...

But,  for the full story about that second big carp, you’ll have to wait until it comes out in Angling Times in a couple of weeks. I also had two nice tench and a bream over the weekend so, in all, it’s been a perfect few days fishing on a wonderful piece of water.

Today I went to test out a few rigs and set-ups in preparation for a major weekend fishing session on one of my favourite lakes, Waterbeach AC’s Leland Water.

My target for the next few days is a large tench but someone didn’t tell a particular carp this minor strategic point (I was using 8lb line and a size 10 hook with hair-rigged red maggots) and on my first cast I hooked something a bit special.

I’m writing a feature on this weekend’s fishing for Angling Times so I’ll leave the full story until then, but it took longer to land than a decent Pink Floyd song and my arm still aches as I write this.

A new personal best carp landed on tench tackle

I’m sure you’ll agree that she’s a fabulous creature and probably about the same age as myself, although, by the way she tried to wrap me around every available tree stump and snag in the area, considerably wiser.

I’ ve enjoyed catching a lot of small pike this year on all sorts of methods, but the ones I really admire are the micro pike – the tiny fish punching far above their weight in grabbing a large bait or lure intended for something ten times their size.

So here’s a selection of micro pike from the past few months. Their eyes are all bigger than their stomachs.

PS I’ve also updated this post with micro pike caught my my buddy and pike fishing supremo, Chris Mackay.

I went for a short session on a nearby lake today to test out some of the new Mustad Slow Death hooks and it turned out to be a good way to spend an evening, mainly due to the greed of a tiny pike.

I only went to have a few casts and experiment with a few different rigs and set-ups (having dug some suitably snake-like worms up from my garden for bait) and after about ten casts I angled one close to the bank, only for it to be swiftly taken up by something a few seconds after starting a slow retrieve.

It was so small I thought it’d come off or I’d hooked a tiny perch, but it turned up to be the smallest ever pike I’ve ever caught at about 6oz. It was squarely hooked in the mouth and was a perfect predator in miniature.

The smallest pike I've ever caught but still most welcome

Of course, it was returned alive and well as I hope to catch it in a few years time when it’s bigger than the bait I’m using! Thanks micro pike for making my evening trip worthwhile.

A friend just sent me a link to a forum post with an image of a huge pike which, if accurate, will be one of the biggest landed this season in the UK.

As far as I can make out – and I apologise to the captor if any of the information is incorrect – the giant essox weighed 42lb 8oz and was caught from Hickling Broad in the Norfolk Broads, East Anglia (UK) by Charlie Bettell, a well-known fishing guide and photographer.

Charlie Bettell's huge Broads pike

I’ve yet to see a confirmed press report of this fantastic fish but I hope all the information is correct and that Charlie (or someone associated with him) has indeed landed what is a truly gigantic specimen and a pike to be immensely proud of.

Maybe this week’s Angling Times will reveal more.

Cambridge News 13/3/10

Angling Times 9/3/10 Page 1

Angling Times 9/3/10 Page 2

Fishing has an ability to make anyone feel good about themselves – the achievement, after all, of catching a wild fish is entirely yours to cherish forever – and this extends to people from all walks of life and all situations.

I was prompted to think about this after my friend Rebecca posted a blog about a most worthy US charity, The Adaptive Fly Fishing Institute, that takes people out fly fishing to help them overcome the sort of hurdles that life throws at you sometimes – a subject extremely close to my heart.

A fishing buddy and a nice fish - a perfect combination

This year they want to take a group of wounded soldiers to Hawaii to fly fish but they need votes to secure funding. All it takes is a few seconds of your time and it could make all the difference to ten worthy individuals. This is the voting link: http://www.refresheverything.com/sendsoldiersfishing

Please read Rebecca’s excellent blog about the charity, vote and send this link to your friends and family.

Just remember how good it felt when you last hooked up on a nice fish, and then consider how good that would make someone less fortunate than yourself feel…