Pike Master Derek Gibson
There are, I think, various ways by which a great angler can be defined. But to many it is the fish he catches that matters most. I recently had the opportunity to interview Derek Gibson, one of Britain’s most successful pike anglers. Most of you will have never heard of him; this man keeps himself and his catches very quiet and with probably very good reason. Pike, with all their aura of ferocity are the most delicate of species. They are top of the piscine pyramid and easily damaged by those who do not know how to handle them.
Derek has been a friend of mine since 1963. We met as a result of my involvement with the formation of The Sheffield based Northern Specimen Group, and although we fished together from time to time, Derek was not really interested in joining us. Since then, we have made contact on odd occasions and even had the occasional fishing session together after Yorkshire barbel and Fenland pike. Sometimes we succeeded and sometimes we failed. However most of our meetings have consisted of long discussions at his Sheffield home on all matters angling, these debates often lasting well into the night, lubricated by bottomless pots of tea provided his wife Pat. Then about 1997, I lost Derek – his phone number to be exact, and I nearly forgot about him. Quite recently I was sorting out my pike tackle when I came upon a Shimano Bantam Magnumlite baitcasting reel, an item of tackle I had purchased from Derek in 1996. It didn’t take me long to locate his phone number again, my old mate Gord Burton coming to the rescue. I phoned Derek and, thank goodness, he is still around, and piking just as much too. His list of pike, mainly lure caught, had also grown impressively. We arranged to meet and the result is the following interview, which I am sure you will find fascinating. RC: Where and when were you born Derek? DG: Langsett Road – Sheffield, 1943. RC: Do you remember your first day’s fishing? DG: I was about 8 years of age and was taken out to Bardney on the River Witham in Lincolnshire. My Dad took me out there on a motorbike and side-car, I was in the side-car of course. We were pike fishing at the time, but I was not allowed to livebait, so I used a battered old Colorado and Kidney spoon, which resulted in a couple of jacks. But the sight of those two fish, which couldn’t have been more than three pounds each, lit a spark, which refuses to die.
RC: You have caught many other fish to specimen size, do pike remain your favourite species? DG: Without doubt – I have caught barbel, chub, big roach, big perch and zander, but no others species ‘floats my boat’ quite like old Esox. RC: Who has been the greatest influence or inspiration to your angling? DG: First and foremost, and although he didn’t understand, nor like pike – Richard Walker. Secondly it would be J.W. Martin, the Trent Otter – a giant in his time. I also followed the exploits of the great Dennis Pye, and the legendary Ray Webb of course. RC: Many pike anglers thought Dennis Pye told a few porkies regarding his catches, what do you think? DG: I don’t think it matters! If Dennis did exaggerate his pike captures, it was not intentional. The truth is that he caught a tremendous number of big Broads pike and he understood Norfolk Broads fishing better than any other angler before him or since. RC: You have caught an incredible amount of big pike from Damflask Reservoir near Sheffield. Can you tell us a little bit about this northern reservoir?
DG: I knew Damflask from a child and long before it became a premier pike water. I have caught all sorts of species from Damflask, including big perch to over four pounds and roach to 21/2 lbs. I am fully aware how Damflask came to be a premier pike water, but enough said. I look back at Damflask with great affection. It produced my biggest ever pike of 35  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community.
|
Welcome!Log into your account
