The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Wow! What a splendid fish, more than twice the weight of my largest pike…

Glad I'm not the only one fantasying about record Pike in the "we small hours"

Mr B.

Its all I dream about from October to March, I used to dream of 30's, then 20's now I dream of just getting a run.

John Milford wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2024 4:32 pm

Dave Burr wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2024 2:15 pm What a massive fish, I think that guarantees that Chew will be busy for a few years yet.

Lloyd's fish has certainly raised the bar Dave! (And no doubt the future ticket price).

Chew has previously recorded quite a number of forty pounders to over 44 pounds, certainly now more than Llandegfedd and Bough Beech did in their hey days.

Sadly I doubt I will ever fish there (not unless I can arrange a second mortgage!).

A 44 pounder came out very recently. When I fished there a few times about twenty years ago, the target fish were low thirties not that I came anywhere close to it. What chance a fifty?

The " big girls" eat a lot of smaller pike. The smaller pike live on stockie trout so the Fishery is keen to keep the larger fish safe

Not surprising it came from Chew. Last time I was there there were quite a few dead 3lb stockie rainbow trout floating on the top, and its fairly overstocked with trout. Apparently, there's a mass die off of the trout late autumn that the big girls can gorge on and grow fat on without expending much energy chasing prey.

I suspect that there's probably even bigger pike in there!

What a wonderful fish, in what looks to be top condition!

A fantastic achievement although I was a tad disappointed to read he used a bait boat to place the bait.

Snape wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 11:59 am A fantastic achievement although I was a tad disappointed to read he used a bait boat to place the bait.

I realise that we are mostly " old and past it" but having out of reach areas and no technology to scan under the water is a special part of my fishing.

The fishing bank on Chew is quite shallow and 'Traditional' rods and tactics would only scratch the surface there. Of course, the old terminal tackle was never very fish friendly and many fish were left carrying snap tackle around in their mouths. Even with modern gear the fish have seen it all and that makes them much harder to tempt. I welcome the modern approach to predator fishing.

A bait boat is an obvious solution to avoid the crowds and you can find your own spots just as you can by casting around closer in.

It's not always easy though. My friend left the shallow bank one windy day and headed to a spot near the dam. He and his mate watched a bait boat drift in the heavy chop and come to rest against the dam, it was well out of reach of the owner and evidently didn't have the 'return to home' feature that many have when the signal is lost. After taking a battering, it upended and the boat, flashing lights and all were seen disappearing into the depths.

Dave Burr wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 1:35 pm It's not always easy though. My friend left the shallow bank one windy day and headed to a spot near the dam. He and his mate watched a bait boat drift in the heavy chop and come to rest against the dam, it was well out of reach of the owner and evidently didn't have the 'return to home' feature that many have when the signal is lost. After taking a battering, it upended and the boat, flashing lights and all were seen disappearing into the depths.

Superb! That made me laugh Dave, thank you ! …