One of those days

Got to the parking spot and discovered I'd left my moon boots at home. If I'd  been fishing close to car and not expecting  a mud bath might have risked the Vans but decided I'd better go back to get them. Passing The Little Bit More Water nearly stopped but someone was in the banker so carried on.

Huffing along the muddy path felt a tug then heard a snap, snap and realised I'd shortened the tip of one of my 12 footers quite a bit.

I have actually turned back before if I've left the camera and or scales at home  "just in case" so it took a bit of self persuasion to soldier on and fish with "just one rod. I know, sad isn't it. Having cast out the  "one" rod reassessed the situation and jammed the short section with the tip ring in the blank and it would do for the session at least  so out went a tiny joey down the near margin.

A couple of bleeps on the upstream rod made me think Ronnie or Reggie might be on the nosh but  my attention soon fixed on the much shorter rod as the bite alarm signalled a more toothy critter was inspecting the joey. The float submerged and began to trundle over to the far bank phragmities. Winding into the fish  the tip section held and after  a couple of reasonable head shakes I was bringing the fish through the strong flow to the outstretched net. Being the Thing of Beauty with it's carbon arms it was hard to sink and the pike kept diving under and eventually the trailing treble caught in the spreader cord. As I dragged net and fish in the second treble was ejected but the pike had beached itself in the reed mat and I chinned it in. Looking at it now think I under estimated it a bit. Blank saver either way

As the wind increased I continued to leapfrog down the long straight and given the successful rod repair  made plans to repair its triplet that had succumbed to the Charabanc boot lid a while back. Did that over and across  smelt  rod  tap?Two sharp dips of the float then nothing. Picking the rod up to reposition in the next gap in the phragmities  it became clear that something had the smelt in it's jaws and as I tightened down the rod slammed over and the fish surged downstream then back up and over. The line made that lovely whine in the wind and the fish sent up boiling vortices's as it bored  down in the margin. I made a more concerted effort to sink the net and in she went, a great moss and primrose flank upping my low doubles estimate. A two handed heave and on to the mat.  The hooks were just in the upper jaw and popped out easily. Not quite saddle  that donkey but the scales banged round to a net deducted 20.08. A lovely clean fish and a joy to behold. Nice way to end 2018's angling.