Avoiding sods law

Avoiding ‘Sod’s Law’
And they are off…………………. Traditionally the piking season runs the course of the winter months from October-March & many a piker confines their pike fishing to these 6 months of the year. In this article Jon Neafcy takes a timely look at preparing for the coming season suggesting that September may be the time to get your piking house in order to avoid sod’s law
Sod’s law as it is often referred to is as most of us are only too well aware is the unscientific principle that if things can go wrong then invariably they will do. Sod & his law have took their toll on most of us at some time & our fishing is often no exception to this. Just ask my mate Andy Cooke about the twist of fate that led to him losing a big pike at the net in Norfolk, a fish which would undoubtedly have been a new p.b. for him at the time. I myself have encountered sod & his law on numerous times, perhaps on more than my fair share of occasions such as in my quest for unfished waters, invariably just as I think I’ve found one another angler turns up or what about the time my outboard cut out & the pull-cord then snapped on my auxiliary engine & still at least we had a contingency plan namely the oars & we had to row the boat back. Sometimes I’ve been told by others ‘Neafcy if you didn’t have bad luck you would have no luck at all’! Are there however ways & means by which we can avoid sod & his law or at least reduce the odds of the likelihood of him striking, or is it merely all just that bad luck that we have to accept it regardless? With October being the traditional start of the piking season we want to do all we can to ensure a good winters piking, which may take a bit more than just a lucky talisman to avoid the pitfalls & sod & his law.
In contrast to Sod’s law I cast my mind back to fond memories of a time when it all went according to plan & the gods were for once in my favour, it was the first of October many years ago & I arrived at the venue before first light, as the rays of first light broke & the mist rose from the water everything was sorted, the baits went in, not too long after the float bobbed under & the line peeled from the spool, a swift strike was met with firm resistance, after a spirited fight a nice pike lay in the net, it was carefully unhooked & then weighed, a nice double, the first pike of the season & a double at that, a double whammy & a nice start to the piking season.
Does this nostalgic situation sound familiar to those of you who predominantly fish for pike during the traditional ‘season’ from Oct-March? October the 1st used to be like June 16th is on the rivers to me & no doubt it still is for many others, that sense of anticipation building upto that first trip & that first cast & ultimately the first pike of the season. The first pike of the season was always a special one regardless of its size Let’s think about that extract from my memory bank for a second & how different that situation could have been say if I had had a lie in, maybe someone else would have got the swim, maybe the fish were only feeding early morning & I would have missed the dawn feeding spell, if I’d left my old line on from last season would it have handled the fish?, if I hadn’t used fresh bait would I have got a run at all? That day could have ended so differently, it could indeed have been an anti-climax had it not been for the preparation that had got in before hand. If I’d blanked would poor old ‘Sod’ & his law have been blamed (again)?
Nowadays I only fish for pike, so I fish for them all year round. I have jokingly called my mate Andy Blunty, who only fishes for pike in the winter months a part time piker. When I used to be an all-round specimen hunter, traditionally for me September used to be the month where I used to get all my piking gear sorted, or put my ‘piking head’ on as others have referred to it as. So in this article I thought I’d cover looking forward & getting prepared for the winters piking campaign, for all those pikers who start their piking in October (or later) & try to avoid some of the common pitfalls that can be attributed to good old ‘Sod’ & his law. There are several waters that I know that can fish well early on in the season, maybe you know of similar venues yourself where good October sport can be had with the opportunity to get your winter’s piking campaign off to a flying start, so to make the most of it, it pays to be well prepared & ready.
I love it when a plan comes together!
Like the ‘A’ team I find that its always good to have a plan, often this requires a little time before your winter piking campaign begins. This ranges from re-search such as which venues to fish & how to fish them to arranging tackle, deciding on methods & approach, bait selection & obtaining your chosen supply, permits – cost/availability/rules, travel arrangements - going alone or with mates etc., you may also want to set yourself a target or a goal to achieve such as catching a certain number of doubles in a season or breaking your P.B. (although that’s very much a personal thing). As the old saying goes remember the 6 P’s ‘Prior, Preparation & Planning, Prevents Poor Performance’. So lets look at each one of these in turn to give us the best possible chance of ensuring a good start to our piking season.
Venue Selection
In my opinion the single most important factor, if the big pike are not in there then you can’t catch them (as has often been said before). Pick the waters that suit your own goals, this could be for example a good doubles water to hit your desired target in terms of a certain number of doubles caught or somewhere that you are prepared to sit out blank after blank in the quest for a real big girl if your quest is solely for a new p.b.. I find it’s always useful to have a back up venue just incase e.g. a Stillwater incase your favourite stretch of river is in flood. There may be waters from last or previous seasons that you are itching to get back on or you may seek pastures new. You may have gained information on pike potential during the summer months whilst fishing for other species, maybe you have fished a water during the summer that has good pike potential for the winter months. Maybe you fancy a change of venue type from stillwaters to a river, or maybe you want to try a venue from the ranks of piking history or legend that you want to have a go. If at all possible its always a good idea to walk the banks, making useful observations, talking to others whilst you are there. Ask about the venue at local tackle shops, get a decent Ordinance survey map of the area, sometimes you can get depth maps of venues (normally larger venues) online. Perhaps like I sometimes do you could use a pre-baiting campaign. Sometimes sending a Personal Message (PM) on one of the fishing forums such as P&P T.C.F. to an angler who knows the area you are looking to fish can get you some information, however it’s not the done thing to name venues in the public domain on these forums. Maybe the R/O of the local branch of the PAC can provide some help & information to you. When networking in this way remember to return the favour for those who help you where you can, don’t expect to get details of someone else’s favourite peg or where they caught their latest 20+ but just maybe you will get some good general information to steer you in the right direction. I find that it’s also good to be able to help others out such as keen newcomers to the sport, we all had to start somewhere – you may be able to help a less experienced piker improve their results on last season yourself without giving away any secrets. Keep an open mind but beware that sometimes people may try to lead you down a wrong track. I once re-visited a venue that I’d fished for roach many years before, returning to have a look at its piking potential. I was in the area as I’d been fishing another venue not too far away, two lads who looked like very keen pikers were fishing it, they told us it was not worth bothering with for pike as there were only one or two decent pike in. These lads really did try their absolute best to put us off fishing the venue, a little too much if you ask me, so the question was if it was as poor a venue as they portrayed it to be then why were they fishing it? Obviously we all do what we can to protect our own fishing, so fair play to these lads. I didn’t bother with the venue in question that season & those lads probably had it to themselves, however I returned to fish it another season & had a lot of good doubles from it. However in contrast information gained whilst fishing one venue can lead you to some good fishing elsewhere. I was once fishing alone on a venue & on a couple of occasions an old boy arrived & came over for a chat before setting up, he put me onto another water that led to quite a few good fish being caught, thanks old timer! However a cautionary word with information sharing, be selective & don’t just give information away willy-nilly, there are those who just want to take, take, take, OK I will get off the soapbox now then. Information gathering is great but there is no substitute for getting out there & fishing the venue yourself! Some venues don’t fish consistently throughout the season, for example a pressured water that I used to fish would fish best in the first few weeks of October as the first pikers started to arrive & then it would go quite, possibly due to angling pressure as hordes of pikers descended upon the venue. I have fished other venues where the bigger pike don’t tend come out in any number until it gets cold & others that seem to fish better back end of the season. If you can work these patterns out then you can often see yourself having consistently good sport throughout the winter months by chopping & changing between venues to suit the conditions & feeding patterns of the fish.
A subsection of venue selection has to be fishing rights & the rights of other water users. You need to establish if it’s a club water, members only, day ticket or free fishing. Are there any matches that may restrict your chosen fishing days? What are the rules & restrictions for the chosen venues? What of other water based activities? One reservoir I fish it’s pointless boat fishing at weekend until it gets really cold as it’s full of sailing & rowing boats & they can be a right nuisance, during reasonable weather conditions. A smaller venue I have fished is usually packed out during decent weather often by ‘fine weather anglers’, if you go there when it’s cold, raining & windy you are very likely to have the place to yourself & will still catch fish. For me the amount of pike angling pressure a water is likely to get is also another important factor of when (or if) I fish it.
Bait
Bait is an obvious essential, maybe you go sea fishing over the summer & catch your own to freeze up for dead-bait or maybe you like me buy it & freeze it. You may find that as October arrives dead-bait in the local tackle-shop may be sold out (not that I tend to use these) or your local fishmonger may not have adequate supplies of your favourite bait readily available. Far better in my book to get your order in early to ensure you can get what you want. I individually wrap all my baits in freezer bags & then put them in carrier bags by bait type, I have two chest freezers in my garage for my bait. Sometimes we obtain some natural baits over the summer & freeze them, however we are very careful not to take baits from waters where it would be of detriment to fish stocks. Sometimes I occasionally add oils or flavourings to my baits prior to freezing them. Obtaining bait as fresh as possible is important to me. Personally I don’t re-freeze bait which has de-frosted, left over from previous sessions to use as hook-bait again, instead I use these for pre-bait. I have a small telescopic pole & a telescopic rod for catching live-baits, these take up a minimum amount of room & are both lightweight. I use a decent quality cool box to keep baits nice & fresh (much better I find than a cool bag), for longer sessions I have a 12v cool box.
Artificials
Being a bit of a lure enthusiast October can be a good month for lures, I always check the hooks & ensure that they are nice & sharp, replacing them where necessary. Often I make up a small box of various lures to suit the venue I’m tackling. Combining lure fishing with bait fishing can bring bonus fish & sometimes the lure will ‘wake up’ the pike in the swim & you will get a take on the baits after the lure goes past them. You can also cover a fair bit of water lure fishing perhaps opting to chuck some baits in when you find the fish. Unlike my mate Andy Cooke I don’t really believe that every splash in the water attracts fish, (maybe that’s just Cookey’s excuse for constantly wading in the water & his constant re-casting of his baits! Ha ha). The warmer days may see the lures out fishing the baits as I have seen before. So we now have our chosen venues to go at & some bait/artificial options, so what next.
Tackle
It’s important to check your gear over, I have a basic check of my gear before each time I fish, however you could call this an annual inspection come service. Replace old line, make up new traces, change the batteries in your alarms & camera & carry some spare batteries just incase. Download all those old photos from your digital camera or buy a new memory card so that you have plenty capacity for the photos of all the big pike you are going to catch. Re-waterproofing you foul weather gear & your umbrella/shelter is a good idea. Check your waders & wellies aren’t leaking in, its never a good experience when they do. Check & ensure that you have all those bits & bobs that you need, swivels, leads & the like. Whilst transporting your gear ensure that your line does not become damaged, although I use a quiver style holdall instead of a full one, I use rod bands & rod tip protectors to protect the rod & line during transit. Each time I fish I check my terminal tackle & my line over, cutting off any damaged lengths. Carrying some spare line just incase is a good idea, I can remember on more than one occasion being ‘spooled’ by a passing boat! Replace anything that looks a bit suspect. Check your pike rods over, are there any flaws in the rings, are the reel seats secure etc., your piking reels do they need opening up & greasing or maybe even a service? Some of the smaller tackle shops may only stock up on pike terminal gear & the like in winter (if you ask they may get stuff in early for you), whilst in general there is likely to be increased demand in for all things pikey as October arrives, check earlier rather than later with who you buy from to ensure your requirements are met & that you get the trace material you want in your preferred breaking strain, the make model & size of your favourite hooks & the like. It’s disappointing & can affect your confidence if you have to settle for second best, it could also cost you some fish. Overall I find that its better to check everything even if your findings are that your gear is in good order & ready to go rather than to just presume, if you do just presume & if there is a defect then the gear could well let you down. If the gear lets you down, say you get snapped it affects pikes welfare, a trace left in a pike or a baited rig that snaps off could equal a dead pike.
Boat & Trailer
Many of these items are safety essentials for your own well being & that of others, not just whilst you are fishing but in the case of your trailer ensuring that you get there & back safely. Have a good general check of your trailer, in particular check, grease & replace if necessary trailer wheel bearings, check your suspension units, check wheels, tyres& spares are in good repair, ensure that you have a wheel brace that fits your trailer wheels (it may not be the same size as the one for your car). Some trailer centres offer a trailer service if you don’t want to mess about yourself. Ensure that your grease gun has a cartridge in it with plenty grease in it (you do carry one right?). It’s a good idea to have an annual service on your outboard & your auxiliary engine, you don’t want them to let you down (if you haven’t got an auxiliary engine you may want to consider getting one). Check that your leisure batteries for your electric motor etc are still charging correctly & holding a decent amount of charge, a battery meter is a useful tool. Check the boat over & carry out any little jobs that need doing. Renew any insurance policy/s & boat registration. Check that your anchor ropes are not overly worn. Check your life jacket out, do the gas cartridges need replacing? Check your fishfinder/gps over obviously you cant fully test it until you are out on the water, but as a minimum ensure that it still switches on, maybe run it in simulator mode, out don’t want that to let you down.
Other gear
If you own a bait boat or perhaps a wire-less fish finder are they in good order (are you sure!)? Do you have other specialist equipment that you haven’t used since last season? We all have those extra items that we like to use & I’m sure that you can add to my checklist with many other items of your own.
Organisation
Organisation can be one of the keys to successful piking & this is afterall what we want to achieve. Once you have everything you need then organise it so that you know where everything is to maximise the available fishing time that you have available to you. If your chosen venue involves a long walk then minimise your gear accordingly. If you intend doing a lot of boat fishing ensure your boat fishing bag/box is well organised. If you are going to be sitting it out for long periods of time, days on end ensure that you have all the creature comforts that you are likely to need to survive the elements. Consider when exactly are you going to fish, a couple of venues that I have fished you can only legally pike fish them at certain times of the year. Do you need to arrange to swap a shift or book a days holiday at work? Are there privileged access events that you are hoping to get on? Are there long haul piking trips you are going to go on with your mates? All of these are better off being organised sooner rather than later.
Other Activates
There is the annual PAC conference in September to look forward to, maybe buying a new pike fishing book to read or some bargain gear & not least listening the talks from a wealth of experienced anglers. Many of the PAC regions hold monthly meetings often with a slideshow & club outings during the winter months. I myself am starting a PAC region in South-Lancashire this winter, so I have been doing a lot of preparation for that, if you are from the area why not come along?
Conclusion
So there we have it a bit of an action plan to keep you busy during September if you are a winter only piker, whilst you are looking forward to your winter piking campaign. I wish you all a productive piking season…………………………………………………………………...