Hello from the levels.

[davidl]

Hi . I only joined this forum so I could keep up with all the Chew antics at the weekend, then realised its pretty good! Based in Somerset all my piking was dedicated to the drains, rivers and canals there. I gave up serious piking a number of years ago when it got so dire on the levels it was not worth the effort or license. Now I dedicate my fishing time to chasing carp. Still got pike in the blood though, and some of the scars to prove it!! Still know all the places so gonna make the effort next winter and see if anything has changed out there!

[Andrew]

Hi . I only joined this forum so I could keep up with all the Chew antics at the weekend, then realised its pretty good! Based in Somerset all my piking was dedicated to the drains, rivers and canals there. I gave up serious piking a number of years ago when it got so dire on the levels it was not worth the effort or license. Now I dedicate my fishing time to chasing carp. Still got pike in the blood though, and some of the scars to prove it!! Still know all the places so gonna make the effort next winter and see if anything has changed out there!

Welcome to the pit David. I took a good break after a few years of non stop piking, changing it up is good imo, I fish for tench and roach more than pike past few years. Good mix of everything on here and a good laugh too.

[davidl]

I agree. Had I not stopped I would have probably given up fishing full stop by now. From the age of 7 I spent over 25 years carp/trench/breaming in the summer and then piking from Oct 1st (Always told the big carp boys that there were better things to fish for come Oct!). The big pike just seemed to disappear in the end and after years of seeing my favourite spots unfishable for the majority of the season it was time to call it a day. Now it feels a good time to give it another shot. (Plus I didn't get a chew ticket this year). It's a stitch up!! Having said that didn't think so last year when I got through in an hour!

[Piker Nick]

Hello and welcome David.

Did last years floods wipe out the fishing in your area. Or do you fish other areas that wasn't affected by the floods.

[davidl]

Last year was particularly bad. However the vast majority of waterways are deliberately "run off" each year (its what they are for). Which has meant that many become impossible to fish due to the volume of water flowing through them. I know people pike fish flowing rivers, but one slip and you would be in the Bristol Channel in no time! The main problem used to be heavy rain early on in the pike season. This would mean that they would be run off much earlier in the season and with lots of weed about you simply cold not cast a bait in the water (weed clothes line) and when you could it would risk deep hooking as bite indication would be so poor. I don't know how it affects fish stocks, but I know many years ago the water authority dug large cut-outs in one large drain in an effort to give fish somewhere to lay up in flood times. I also have a friend who insists that he has seen freshwater fish washed out to sea at Burnham on sea whilst beach casting. I'm sure some do but what percent I don't know. Lots must survive as its been flooded most years for decades and there are always fish in here albeit not seemingly the big ones of the late 80's and early 90's. Fish are pretty well adapted to their environment and it takes remarkably little energy to hug the bottom if they need to.

[Rugged]

The cycles of predatory fish, EEs, crazy floods, otters, cormorants even carp have all been blamed for the decline in levels piking. IMO probably down to all of these and others.
There are a few decent fish around, but it's absolutely ball breaking fishing. Stick with carp for a couple more years and see if there's any improvements. ;-)