Today I paid a visit to a famous Trout water, Chew valley lake in Somerset, which at the moment is open for Pike fishing from the bank. This was an opportunity for me to test out several new sample rods from our up and coming TFG 'Cutting Edge' predator range which we have been developing over the past few months.
I arrived at the lake at dawn and set up a pair of 3.25 test sample dead bait rods teamed up with TFG force 8 and Power bigpits on hardwear screw in bank sticks. On Chew It is often necessary to use a bait boat due the shallow nature of the reservoir. I placed a mackerel at around eighty yards and a smelt at hundred yards with a patriot boat and settled down awaiting a run.
All was quiet until ten' o'clock when a flurry of activity commenced. I landed several Jacks within the space of on hour and had several dropped pickups. Each run got the adrenalin flowing as on Chew you just never know what could pick up the bait next.
All was quiet until ten' o'clock when a flurry of activity commenced. I landed several Jacks within the space of on hour and had several dropped pickups. Each run got the adrenalin flowing as on Chew you just never know what could pick up the bait next.
The action seriously slowed down around noon so I rigged up one of the test lightweight lure rods with 14lb grunt braid and a small rubber shad as I had spotted several large Perch crashing through the swim after some fry. I threw out the shad and bumped it back along the bottom bringing it right into the edge, a big stripy swooped in from nowhere and sucked up the lure into a mouth like a bucket. After a short but belligerent tussle a 4lb Perch was hoisted ashore. This was followed later by a 3lb 1/4. Several fish that followed the lure were bigger again - perhaps 5lb plus !
Through the afternoon things were slow on the Pike front, It was not till the last knockings that things picked up - I had a serious run which I struck into a solid resistance, unfortunately the fish turned and moved towards me at speed and then came off about twenty yards out. I thought this was game over as it was now practically dark when the Xsense alarm on the other rod bleeped into life with a real screamer. Lifting into the fish I felt an immense power, and far out in the gloom something angry boiled under the surface. Surely this must be on of those big o'l girls at last! After a terrific fight I reached out with the net into the dark and pulled it to the bank. To my amazement what was in it was yet another predator, a hefty brown trout of 11lb 1/2
I was made up with this capture and even though no big Pike had been seen I had achieved a predator grand slam and had a given the samples a good run in. The new rods performed beyond all expectations and will be certainly forming the core of the new range which will continue to be developed this winter by the TFG team.
