Autumn, that season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, is finally upon us once again – and in style. Although the month kicked off with scorching hot temperatures the first frosts of the year have already happened in many places and the air and water temperatures are starting to drop seriously now.
Things are still a bit behind though and my first few exploratory visits to the Rivers Great Ouse and Cam have not yet seen the prey fish concentrated in their winter haunts in any great numbers, though there are signs of some showing up on the deeper stretches.
My October didn’t start on the bank though, but at the PAC convention in Kettering. I have covered the Convention in greater detail on the site HERE and a great day was had by all, especially when a collector kindly paid £500 for a rare leather-bound copy of our Fenland Pike books, which was a nice surprise.
Moving back to the fishing a couple of blank sessions were followed by me being joined by Bob Roberts for an “In Session” on the Fens for zander which we shall be running on FishingMagic very shortly. As all of the details are in that feature I will stick to the bare bones here but suffice to say a good session was topped by a cracking zander for me and this definitely ignited a flame that had been just simmering for a few years.
I probably built what reputation I currently have on the back of my zander fishing; they were the first species that I wrote about catching on a regular basis and I have spent an inordinate amount of time in their pursuit over the years. This lead me to writing my book on the species and when I managed what had been my goal for many years, a fifteen pound plus zed, just before the book went to print it quenched my desire to chase them so hard for a few years. But, after spending a couple of nights out on the bank in the great company of Bob, I can see a bit more zander fishing being on the agenda this coming winter.
My main highlight this month though was a trip to Grafham water in Cambridgeshire after the pike and huge zander, oh – and big perch, that inhabit the reservoir.
I have had a love/hate relationship with Grafham for many years; I have had my red letter days with a 21lb pike and a 9lb 10oz zander my best from the water, but it has actually been the perch that have provided me with the bulk of my catches and lots of them up to a best of just over 3lb have fallen to jigs, spoons and crankbaits. But, despite the sometimes very average results, there always seems to be something to make the day memorable. This one was to be possibly the most memorable trip of all, but more of that later!
So it was that I met my boat partner for the day, Andy Harmer, bright and sharp at Grafham at 7.30am and, despite Andy’s mountain of gear, we managed to be the first boat out and, after the winds that had hampered my efforts to fish there earlier in the year, it was somewhat unusual to see the water almost mirror-like calm as we made our way over to the west tower.
This side of the reservoir does tend to see the bulk of the pike caught, probably because at 25 to 35ft deep it is the shallowest area and certainly nowhere near as deep as the dam end of the reservoir where you can be in 70ft or more. The dry summer though had taken its toll on the water levels and there was about 5ft less water than usual to play in.
We started off our fishing by casting lures on the drift, aided by the use of a drogue. We made sure that the first drift took us right alongside the tower as this is usually where the perch can be found. Sadly though, on this occasion, the perch were not at home and we remained fishless for quite some time as the pike, that had been reasonably numerous in days leading up to our trip, were also noticeable by their absence.
As is the way with all anglers we looked for an excuse and settled on the bright sunshine which, despite the freshening wind, was making the day a very pleasantly warm one. So with that in mind we decided to point the boat towards the dam and have a go on the jigs for the resident zander.
Grafham has developed a reputation for big zander in this country second only to the River Severn but the reality is that the best days’ of the reservoir are possibly well behind it now. Grafham had a zander boom that saw some phenomenal catches of big fish taken but a lot of these were caught in very deep water and, unlike a lot of other fish species, zander have no means of controlling the build-up of gas as they are brought up through the water and they suffer from inflated swim bladders that they cannot deflate – unless they are returned to the correct depth quickly, or they are vented.
Now personally I have a fair degree of doubt about the torpedo releases and use of weights to get the fish down quickly as torpedoing just doesn’t work for this situation at all whilst the weight to me is just a case of out of sight, out of mind.
I much prefer the venting procedure as all the fish I have done this to have returned strongly and can be seen powering to the bottom. As there is just a tiny prick I assume it soon heals and the swim bladder can be used again, if indeed it is ever needed by zeds anyway. Venting actually means to pop the inflated swim bladder and I do this by means of a baiting or syringe needle that most pike anglers carry with them.
If you are fishing in deep water the gassing-up phenomenon is pretty much impossible to avoid but you can lessen the effects by getting the fish up quickly, not slowly, as was recently suggested in a national magazine, and getting them back as fast as possible. All of this is relevant as the main reason for the decline in numbers that the zander have gone through in Grafham has been down to the anglers catching them not having come across the problem before and, consequently, not having the knowledge to deal with it.
Sadly the zander suffered and these days there are far fewer in the reservoir but where the numbers have dropped the ultimate size hasn’t and for local anglers the chances of a zander of a lifetime – in excess of 17lb – are still good.
On this particular day we were not to come into contact with such a specimen but after numerous jig changes and fruitless drifts my pro shad got nailed as it made its way back to the bottom for the hundredth time. Bending into the fish I thought that it felt heavy and that it could be a really good fish, sadly it wasn’t to be, but at 9lb it was a zander that nobody would be disappointed with, especially as it was unusually dark in colour and somewhat of a looker!
This fish was quickly brought into the boat, unhooked, vented and returned in the space of just a minute or two and it powered off straight back to the depths. After a few more drifts it was Andy’s turn to bend into another zander but sadly for Andy, who has yet to catch a fish of any description from the reservoir, halfway up the water column the fish came adrift and he was left to consider what just might have been.
The rest of the day passed by in a frenzy of casting and jigging lures but without any further interest from the fish and, as the sun sank over the Fens, we headed for the jetty and right into action of a completely different kind.
We moored up to the jetty and were actually one of the last boats in and, as is the way, we tidied away all the kit and made sure that the boat was all ship shape before leaving it. With all my jobs done I asked a friend of mine, Wes, if he could hold the boat whilst I got out as he was already on the jetty.
Wes was just getting hold of the boat and I had to move my rucksack from the bow of the boat to get out but as I swung it behind me disaster struck and I slipped on the water in the boat, losing my balance and ending up hanging over the gunwales. With Andy already on that side of the boat it rapidly began to fill with water and I doubt it took ten seconds before the boat capsized and I was in water of around 8ft deep and couldn’t touch the bottom.
Thankfully my lifejacket automatically deployed and I was floating upright in the water but the shock of the event and the cold water had temporarily disorientated me. As I slowly regained my senses I realised that the best way out was going to be via the slipway so I started paddling in that direction – only to get tangled in the ropes from another boat! How I kept calm at this point I don’t know, but thankfully I did and the Anglian Water staff soon had me free and I dragged myself out.
I can honestly say that it is an experience that I wouldn’t want to repeat again ever in my life. I always wear a lifejacket (In Session perch feature with Ian and Cheryl shows that even you sometimes forget Mark – we all do need to take care – Ed) and I moan like hell at friends that do not. Now having been through the whole man overboard experience it’s something that I shall always keep on about.
When I got out of the water I felt ill, cold and really wanted to throw up. Classic signs of shock and that is where the main problems arise, the shock of going into cold water will close down your body senses and functions like nothing else and it is that which will cause you problems, however strong a swimmer you are.
Thankfully I can still look forward to fishing again in the next month. I have a lot on again and with my first guiding customer arriving in the morning pike will be the target, hopefully with a zander or two thrown into the mix. I shall also be after the zeds again and a bit of perch fishing will also be on the agenda.
See you next month.
