there is some in the goyt, only jacks from what ive beeen told

Yes, Billy, I can understand that. A first aid trained angler, one who helped me repair my thumbs on the bank, suggested I go for stitches. I decided not too, but the healing has luckily been good. Scars only just visible. Hospital staff do like a good giggle. You should have seen the queue of nursing staff in A&E to come and laugh at me when I confessed to having fallen off a unicycle one night!

I must get a look at your gloves sometime Billy.

Managed a day's river piking today. I really wish I could say that I had been after the pike in one of the local rivers, but I wasn't. I caught my fish elsewhere. However, a super day, including a PB. Four fish:
7(ish), 11-8, 13-1, and 23-0!
The three doubles all caught within a space of 20 minutes...and that 20 minutes included landings, weighings, photos, rebaiting etc. After I cast in, I didn't have time to walk back to my chair, just 3 or 4 yards away from the rod rest, before the third and biggest was dragging line off the reel! Rod was already bouncing as I turned to sit down. Damned chuffed! A brilliant day.
Regrets: a few: only got pictures of the fish with my rod, no-one else around to include my handsome visage. But that doesn't really bother me. The catch was the important part.
However what did shock me was how very feeble the fights all were, compared to the summer pike I caught at the same venue back in August and September. They were REALLY spectacular, and those high fidelity scraps were a major reason why I returned today. Never has it been brought home so strongly, the difference between pike fitness in the two seasons. Mere six pounders in August gave a far wilder fight than the 23 today.
No wounds to show for it either Billy.

Great news on the 23lbs pike, shame its not a goyt pike, try uploading the photos, Ive changed the settings

__________________
Thermal Imaging
Building Heat Loss, Electrical, Flat Roof Leaks

Still restricts me to 97K or a resolution no more than 800 points Glenn. But the pic looks none too bad at the reduced size.

Hi Jay Great result mate thats a goods days fishing any were and also agree about winter pike they fight like bream but i could say the same about carp as well.

Barrie

Well, having abandoned barbel back in October, my time has been spent seeking chub and pike over the winter. Had quite a number of Away-Day pike ( including 3 yesterday) , but I actually spent much more time chasing them on the local rivers. Well over 20 trips. For just two pike. One small fish, one good fish.
Rightly or wrongly I have reached one conclusion: there are not very many pike in the local rivers!

Why not?

1) One reason is probably the shortage of prey fish in recent years. We have all noticed how few roach and dace we catch these days. Unless a pike can somehow manage to survive and grow well on minnows it will have had difficulty in growing up to reach a decent size. Most of the chub are too big for a small growing pike. They will take grayling and trout of course, but these may be far harder to catch. Even roach have one hell of a turn of speed when being chased by a pike: I watched one in Salford Quays last year. It was damned fast and evaded the pike after a 20 yard chase. My God it was quick.

2) Shortage of suitable swims: these are spate rivers, much of them probably being far too fast for a pike's comfort. relatively few obvious swims, many of which therefore get fished by...

3) ...teenagers: and other inexperienced anglers fishing for pike, probably following the old adage of "strike on the second run", and then being insufficiently skilled, and under equipped to remove their deep hooked snap tackle without killing the fish. I fear a number of pike have suffered in this way, and with a small resident population...well breeding needs at least a couple of fish. More for good genetic variability.

4) Small numbers may well mean it gets quite difficult to get a male and a female together. Not sure how far they are prepared to move when seeking a mate, but with fast river stretches intervening...? Probably equates to poor breeding success.

I would welcome further discussion on this, and realise others may have concluded differently. The Mersey around Warrington, big, deep and slow, might well be an easier target for next year.