Big Pike - Attempt No 4 (Lake Windermere)

Water temp 44f.
Overcast with cold south westerly.
Air pressure 1025.

It's been a lazy few months fishing-wise with my two year and none year old getting more attention than the rods and to be honest I really could not be bothered going out in stinking weather.  I've done a few evening sessions on the Dee fishing a team of spiders - no monsters but a lovely way to fish.

I've finally psyched myself up to get the boat up to Winderemere for a couple of days piking with a mate/client called Damian who knows what he's doing having grown up in the Fens.  We've booked in the big white hotel midway between Ambleside and Bowness which has it's own slipway in the price of b&b for the night.  Day one and amazingly we meet a man out of my fishing bible for the Lake District (Paul Sodo's guide) on the slipway.  He's pictured holding a huge brownie in the book and kindly gives us a few tips on where's fishing well.  To be fair, we knew that Windermere is really a summer venue but the theory was a really big female might be possible before they spawn...

Kicking off at a leisurely 10am I'm into a fish on a Green Flipper at 10.20am about 100m north of the hotel.  A micro jack of about 3lbs goes back and running down the same line produces another jack of about 4lbs for Damian again on the Green Flipper.  We are also running a Grey Fox Pig Lure - not strictly speaking a trolling lure but it worked on Brenig last time out.

Nothing at all till lunch despite covering a few miles.  Post lunch we switch to two float trolled herring and a Smity Slaptail surface lure which produces a few abortive runs in White Cross Bay which we can't connect with - Perch or Trout is my bet.  We finally take another fish at 4.30pm pretty much where we started off in the morning on a float trolled herring in 10ft.  It's maaaasive at all of 2.5lbs and a joy to unhook with a 0.75lb herring virtually swallowed despite usingt a three treble instant strike rig.  The lake has been pretty moody today with a freezing wind not helping the cause.

Day two and the weather is beautiful - the lake like as millpond.  Water temp has risen to 50f and the air pressure up a touch to 1026.  Having fished Bala Lake for years from a boat my records show that times of high air pressure are never great on the troll but off we go today with the sun lotion at the ready...
8 very pleasurable hours later and we've had one high double/low twenty swirl next to the boat (nowhere near the baits) and one pull on a trolled octopus and nothing else despite trolling round the whole northern basin of the lake.  We did get a property deal done so I'll put these days down as work!!
Return trip planned in warmer times.

Mr Fish