tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413470428225811862024-02-19T03:01:11.474+00:00River Barrow PikerThe diary of a River Pike Angler in Ireland.Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-52969173245788895902015-02-25T16:57:00.000+00:002015-02-25T17:15:07.202+00:00Father and Son.The weather was just about holding, the river was still pretty low and clear. There was one problem, I was getting earache from the junior piker. To say he was bursting to go down the river was an understatement. It was a triumph. The river, fishing and the chance of an Esox had won over X-box, Instagram and Youtube. Yes, my twelve year old son had seen the light, he realised that its hard to beat a good old fashioned adventure down the river; even if it is with your father... I took my cue (well rods actually) and we were off down the Barrow track.<br />
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He was eager, he'd seen the fish I'd caught over the previous days and wanted a slice of the action. Taking last week into account and the fickle nature of the Barrow pike, I decided to take no chances, we packed lures and a selection of deadbaits. Everything but the kitchen sink - no doubt you know the routine! We finally made it to our first swim. My strategy was to fine comb the whole swim with the lures, maybe we could root out a couple of "smash an' grab" opportunist pike and if they didn't fancy lure chasing we'd sit behind the deadbaits and wait it out! The lures caught the morning light as they flew through the air, they hit the water, we were on the hunt. As is often the way with lure fishing things can happen very quickly. There was a large flash in the water as a very decent double missed the junior pikers lure on the first retrieve, he covered the fish again but she was not tempted. A short while after another fish gave me such a hard follow it almost ended up on the bank when both it and the lure ran out of water at the margin. It sat there for a moment perplexed as to where its prey had suddenly vanished to. I looked at the fish and the fish looked at me, I moved to cover it again but was seen, it bolted for the depths. One jack was not so lucky, he came to the bank and was quickly returned. Then, as they do, they switched off...<br />
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Things went very quiet, no takes, nips or follows. Had we spooked them with our presence, I figured it was time for a brew and some covert operations. We started changing the rigs, it was back to the ledger set up, we were going hard on the bottom. The siege had begun.<br />
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Is it my imagination or does it usually happen when your about forty minutes in? Perhaps it takes your average pike this kind of time frame to pick up a scent trail or to find what's on offer. I often have visions of the Barrow pike sitting beside a deadbait weighing up the odds. Anyway that famous forty minutes in and the junior pikers rod decided to take a BLEEP. Eyebrows raised - we waited. Eventually after what seemed like a pikers eternity a casual but continuous string of blips sounded from the alarm. The fish was starting to move off, he tightened down hard but she didn't budge. The stalemate remained for quite some time. A twelve year old boy and what I reckoned to be a twelve year old fish - I thought this could get nasty! It was time for her to exercise her authority, she made the first move. A hard powerful run upstream, the boy was at the mercy of the fish, all he could was keep the rod tip out, follow her along the bank and keep the pressure on as she ripped the line through the water. An epic power struggle was underway. For every few feet of line he put back on the reel she took it back as quick and we still hadn't even seen her. In the back of my mind I knew well that the junior had a serious PB on his hands if he could bring her to the net. Eventually she tired, put her head up and we slid the net under her. The junior piker was in awe, a true mammoth Barrow Pike and an obliterated previous PB!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Barrow 20 +</td></tr>
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A couple of photos later and she was on her way back to her watery hideout. We fished for the rest of the day, did we see another fish? No, not as much as a run. Did we care? No!<br />
Father and Son - what an experience - what a team. BTW here's the vid !<br />
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Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-35768602995060992162015-02-13T01:29:00.003+00:002015-02-13T14:45:51.337+00:00Shovel Face & Baldy, on a Roll. Ok ! So the blog posts have been a bit sparse of late. Excuses, I have none really but in reality the river wasn't calling me, I walked the tow paths regularly, Christmas came and went but all the time the river just looked cold and uninviting, maybe it was a bit high, a bit coloured, a bit fast, a bit slow - a bit whatever, I dunno. On top of that to put it mildly the weather was crap. Hey maybe is was post Christmas or "January Blues" But I don't think so!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pea Soup @ Leighlinbridge</td></tr>
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So roll on to about ten days ago, that nice dry spell and a touch of frost had kicked in. I was watching the river like a hawk, for the first time in a long time the Barrow was calling - in fact, it was roaring at me, begging to be fished. It was dropping and the water clarity increasing by the day. I ran through my gear, big lures and bigger dead baits were the order of the day. I reckoned the Barrow Pike were on the move. It was time to get my arse in gear.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Barrow lure chaser.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Barrow Jack - Lure addiction</td></tr>
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And what a rollercoaster ride its been for the last week or so. I've had monsters follow my lures - rods pulled clean out of the bank sticks - a string of doubles to the bank and as many lost (hate a missed run) and all the while the the Barrow Jacks kept the matinee entertainment going in full technicolour. Yes, its true to say that the Barrow can be an absolute ball breaker but if you can drag yourself away from the television and social media you're in with a chance of meeting one of these great wild prehistoric beasts. The apex predator.<br />
Its great! I've just fallin' in love with the Barrow all over again and its not even Valentines day yet.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A high double Barrow warrior, hard on the bottom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High double to a SG lure, BTW Always check your camera lens for condensation! Obviously I didn't...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Lure Addict</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fatty - BOOM - Batty hard on the bottom</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take two!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shovel face & Baldy ;) I love em' really!</td></tr>
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Ok.... so here's the Video, till the next time Keep it wet an' Keep it real. C & R all the way!</div>
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-88669872045820801192014-11-04T01:13:00.001+00:002014-11-04T01:29:05.186+00:00Salinger !<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">The air in my artist studio was filled with chat and anticipation, finally I hung up the phone. After a few days of amateur meteorology and a game of "How's the water clarity?" I was off the following morning to fish a new venue. I packed some lures and flies and then fell into a hazy slumber dreaming of prehistoric Esox monsters.<br />To be honest this is a water I've been meaning to fish for a long time now, a year or two at least!<br />Finally the Barrow Piker was on tour. The term AWOL comes to mind too...<br /><br />The remaining overnight dew glistened on the manicured lawns, I rolled to a stop, threw on the handbreak, lit a smoke and contemplated, slowly but surely the water revealed itself as the early morning mist retreated. This place just screamed Big Pike and it has been known not to disappoint.</span><br />
There was a sharp rap on my drivers side window, I resisted for a moment but eventually pulled focus from the water and there beside me was my guide for the day Rob Love of <a href="http://lovefishingireland.com/" target="_blank">lovefishingireland.com</a> Rob is fishery consultant and head guide at the incredible County Kildare venue Carton House. Yes! The Barrow Piker had finally arrived at the famous Rye water.<br />
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The Rye lake is a spring fed back up water on the Liffey system. A Small enough body of water but having said that its got more nooks and crannies than your granny's scullery. First records of a house at Carton date back to the 17th century, however today it is a world renowned golf, spa, leisure and adventure resort. The type of place you could as easily run in to an A - list celeb as a good double figure Pike.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzE7JDJ-vihdBa7Y4NRy7J_0VJCfEJUHG29B0t7uV8t72YCYyKP7PWlgWnbhxcyZ65gsYHqB_Erhq7A20umSCv0NDOi9Jw2mzEmDg7Zu-N5b_B2DS8kTAJiYmvG1ILFjjQ1xIn7uRfHw/s1600/rye4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzE7JDJ-vihdBa7Y4NRy7J_0VJCfEJUHG29B0t7uV8t72YCYyKP7PWlgWnbhxcyZ65gsYHqB_Erhq7A20umSCv0NDOi9Jw2mzEmDg7Zu-N5b_B2DS8kTAJiYmvG1ILFjjQ1xIn7uRfHw/s1600/rye4.JPG" height="388" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rye Water At Carton House.</td></tr>
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A few pounds of thrust from the electric outboard propelled us silently along the margin, we were in stealth mode. I was having difficulties taking my eyes off the water, this bottle neck section of the Rye had a seemingly infinite amount of potential big pike lairs, swim after swim they were countless, no matter where I looked the Rye quietly whispered "fish me".<br />
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We continued to glide by not making a sound, we were on our way to deeper open water this is where some of the Rye's larger residents have been know to frequent. As we rounded the final corner the famous shell cottage lay before us. It looked like we had stumbled upon a Tim Burton movie set. There was no sign of its old tenant Marianne Faithful, she was long gone. Rob recounted stories about the heady crazy days at the shell cottage, famous visitors and wild parties. In my minds eye, I had visions of Bowie sitting near my swim, guitar in hand, smoking a cigarette strumming the cords to Queen bitch.<br />
There was quite a rock star air about the place, it was surreal. All of a sudden a brightly coloured figure walked by, holding a nine iron... There was a splash - my lure hit the water.<br />
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Expertly guided by Rob I placed my lure as close to each target area as possible, this was far more than the usual over hangs and margins routine. Rob knew equally well what was happening under the water as above. Every drop off, shelf, hole and submerged feature was covered. I could feel my adrenaline starting to ratchet up with each swim we covered, cast for cast my anticipation grew. Its amazing how a private water thats lightly fished can focus the mind.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob Love of Love Fishing Ireland.</td></tr>
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Rob's rod took on a deep bend as a good fish made a take - it was gone as quick. We drifted on through the channel. He stripped the line back bringing his home tied perch fly to life - a Rye double moved in but the take was shy. We stared in awe, as the water boiled, the large fish turned, showed its tail and dismissed us.<br />
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We fished on discussing tactics, strategies, sharing ideas and solving world problems. It was a super day! Then I had one of those pike fishing moments. You know the type well. When you least expect it and you just happen to be paying no attention whatsoever... yeah you guessed it - you get a take! A beautifully formed Rye jack came to visit the Barrow Piker. A stunning hard fighting little fish went back strongly to its watery domain. Shortly after, tight to the margin another jack ambushed my lure, the braid cut through the water as he made a run for it but it was too late he had been duped. I put him back in the margin to sulk.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYpWoORJK6Ki33Br-2vom3vZzyKhIzQfC-eTGI4BbZeZ_0-lqnCZEl1REq7LeAHu2iVabji3cLH_fdaUxVvEMU7D3s-apR0SXhlOpbUmevp_axo22AJJUTYqLOIZnz2ujjgGvqtYVE5A/s1600/rye3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYpWoORJK6Ki33Br-2vom3vZzyKhIzQfC-eTGI4BbZeZ_0-lqnCZEl1REq7LeAHu2iVabji3cLH_fdaUxVvEMU7D3s-apR0SXhlOpbUmevp_axo22AJJUTYqLOIZnz2ujjgGvqtYVE5A/s1600/rye3.JPG" height="392" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Rye jack meets The Barrow Piker near the shell cottage.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZZ2ROfUd3q8PC5ruwPqiKnCoSG1ZfSOFHkA2vmQgX2Ww-OidxJudmjqHMmQmRGakjRdEIu4dR_8A5782VFHoX3ieNyFZC-_w7SD4m6GSeFbQIwZb4qVxYkA1gU1NVTnA9cxh-EGK_4Y/s1600/rye2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZZ2ROfUd3q8PC5ruwPqiKnCoSG1ZfSOFHkA2vmQgX2Ww-OidxJudmjqHMmQmRGakjRdEIu4dR_8A5782VFHoX3ieNyFZC-_w7SD4m6GSeFbQIwZb4qVxYkA1gU1NVTnA9cxh-EGK_4Y/s1600/rye2.JPG" height="328" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swim after swim. Take your pick!</td></tr>
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I think its fair to say that Rob had one of those wonderful pike fishing moments also! But I'll let him tell you about that one himself, lets just say it was a superb fish...<br />
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Carton House is a wonderful world class venue, Rosie and the staff were so helpful.<br />
My guide for the day was Rob Love, a true gentleman, highly skilled professional angler, informed, helpful and most importantly a good sport and great "great" company.......<br />
The Rye... I believe could produce the fish of a lifetime. I have no doubt that a mammoth pike will come from this water sooner or later.<br />
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What a day out !<br />
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<b>Post script</b><br />
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<div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: black;">Carton House Fishery</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></strong>Further details in relation to fishing at Carton House contact Guest Relations on (01) 5052000 You can also see the other activities on offer at Carton House by checking the Carton House website <a href="http://www.cartonhouse.com/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">www.cartonhouse.com</a></span></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #cccccc;">Rob Love</span></b></span></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Love Fishing Ireland have a small team of experienced guides available for tailor made fishing excursions for both wild brown trout and pike. While the standard days guiding on the River Liffey or Rye Water will appeal to many, for the more adventurous they offer guided trips by Canadian canoe along what are considered to be the best fishing beats of the River Liffey.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Web:</strong> <a href="http://www.lovefishingireland.com/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">www.lovefishingireland.com</a></span></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Email:</strong> <a href="mailto:robert@lovefishingireland.com" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">robert@lovefishingireland.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Tel:</strong> +353 (0)87 1947811 / +353 (0)1 6270353</span></div>
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-78000142581724590642014-09-15T19:48:00.001+01:002014-09-15T19:48:52.787+01:00Its Crystal Clear...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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No! Its not one of those iffy pop up internet windows on your super mega hi-speed wireless broadband connection... A bit like the dreaded RTE autumn schedule for what its worth. Its me - I'm back.<br />
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I've never been one for summer on the river and even now personally I feel its very early to be out piking but I couldn't resist, needs must an' all that. There had been a slight nip in the air over the last few evenings and the nights were starting to draw in just a tad so I thought hung for a sheep as a lamb. Better than a poke in the eye with a size 6. Lets go down the river!<br />
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If the truth be known the junior piker and myself did do a little wandering along the banks this summer but it was more therapeutic "leisure angling" (is there such a thing?). The type of day you bring a rod with you, at least then you have an excuse to look into the reflective glare of the Barrow as the nettles singe you to the armpits. These summer excursions resulted in the usual mixed bag that the Barrow has to offer and a couple of reasonable Perch.<br />
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So fast forward to yesterday.... There we were on the river, a fine autumn evening (could have still been easily mistaken for the height of the summer). The difference was, I had a serious hankering for a fish. I was looking for that rush that only a well cheesed of Barrow Pike can deliver. I was in hunter mode.<br />
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After a bit of the obligatory farting about and head scratching we settled on our first swim. The junoir piker had a bit of a coup, he met up with a shoal of striped warriors, cast for cast he caught and a few half decent ones too. The Pike however remained well under the radar, they were having none of it. I was getting despondent. I worked my way through a few different lures, the same time trying all levels of the water colum. Then things started to come together, I got a follow from what I reckon to be a beautiful low double. I threw the lure again, the fish came a second time, grabbed the lure but spat it it out equally as quick. I covered it again, nothing. The fish was gone but it was well cool to be able to watch the antics through the crystal clear water as I attempted to taunt the fish to make a solid take.<br />
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Reluctantly I moved on to another swim and immediately met a tiny jack, this fish was only learning the finer art of "the take" he missed my lure three or four times before running scared. One last swim to try before home and it was a new one. Second cast, the lure was wobbling, making its way to the margin. Then, Ka-Boom! What a take, hammered, nailed, call it what you will. The Barrow Pike never cease to impress me. That was some rush, I got my fix!<br />
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Oh yeah! One more thing. Here's the video for this post...<br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/rdpBZ5_b48g/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/rdpBZ5_b48g&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/rdpBZ5_b48g&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-40244956863829170892014-02-21T01:56:00.000+00:002014-02-21T02:01:41.002+00:00Zen And The Art Of Water Management<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Carlow or..."as Gaeilge" as it was known- <span class="st"> Ceatharlach! The literal meaning "The four lakes". In some ways it may be reasonable to assume, that the county has returned to its ancient geographical form. Many stretches of the Barrow now resemble massive lakes sprawling across many acres of farmland. The fertile land of the river basin is truly soaked and can take no more rain. Many of my favourite swims and slacks have been rendered useless, all that remains are raging torrents of coloured water. We walked (and waded) through many miles of overflowing river and partially submerged towpaths searching for possible swims but to no avail. So the junior piker and myself have been forced to retreat... however not to the comfort of the sofa and the fireplace but to the backwaters of the Barrow, our retreat which I deemed necessary, also for safety reasons, has proved to be to our "trump card". Close quarters are a distinct advantage when it comes to locating fish. The theory being that the Barrow pike in their nature are lazy buggers and do not want to spend all their time and energy holding out in the main flow of the river. So they too, like the bait fish have retreated to quieter, slow flowing waters. We followed suit !</span><br />
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<span class="st">The following few images do not feature or show any part of the river course, but show only flood areas. Where you see water in these photos it is normally dry land.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrow floods I</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRnRq9k7Y73fAA0jGSe4iJFsSwuA-ViDGadRpxt5g1MM12VJ3TZH9BjpRWKubQ082GM6DACh7266O3Qtd3-ZmBX3-dtqk2WrfKEr1Q3sq76AE6G5ZWeO_QLH2im2aswonSNaOz7nDQY8/s1600/IMG_6850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRnRq9k7Y73fAA0jGSe4iJFsSwuA-ViDGadRpxt5g1MM12VJ3TZH9BjpRWKubQ082GM6DACh7266O3Qtd3-ZmBX3-dtqk2WrfKEr1Q3sq76AE6G5ZWeO_QLH2im2aswonSNaOz7nDQY8/s1600/IMG_6850.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrow floods II</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrow floods III</td></tr>
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Having spent the last couple of weeks fishing the backwaters, I've become more accustomed to my new habitat. The main river itself now seems like a vast flowing opaque wasteland, continuously tumbling past at a rate of knots. When I'm at the river now I quicken my pace and ignore the heaving flow as I head for the tranquility and shelter of the back waters, content to wait for the levels to drop and the colour run off before returning to fish open water. Right now I'm eager to find and research the network of sub slacks, mini swims and any unapparent features which the back waters have to offer and may work to my advantage. The Barrow Piker has gone into stealth mode! This doesn't mean that I'm crawling up and down the bank on my hand and knees stalking fish but the tactics have changed somewhat. Precisely placed baits popped up in the clear or small baits twitched through the swim are now the new order of the day. Results were initially inconsistent but then a feeding pattern emerged. One fish (maybe a fish of a lifetime) broke a 2.75lb test curve rod clean in half, right on cue as one feeding spell commenced. I was gutted, still am if the truth be known.....Having said that, plenty of other fish were brought to the bank before being returned to their backwater hideouts.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrow Pike from a very tight swim.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Happy" Piker with a fine backwater Barrow Pike.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Barrow Piker extra large, smelly deluxe model Herring !</td></tr>
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If you are planning a trip to the Barrow.... bring your wellies !<br />
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Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-34303417225379544652014-01-07T16:43:00.003+00:002014-01-07T22:04:49.235+00:00Red Alert! This is Radar Base...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Its been a bit of a funny if not peculiar start to the new season really. All a bit up and down, hot and cold or very mild as the case may be. A false start may be a more accurate account. I started catching fish and then stopped. The Biker Piker and myself had a few decent fish and then things went a bit pear shaped to say the least. Word comming back from the Barrow was that it was all a very hit or miss affair and not for the want of trying. The same was true for many other venues right across the country too. Overall I think the barometric pressure was too high, river levels too low and the water too clear... Eventually the mega blocking high pressure gave way to the current Atlantic depression fronts which seem at this point to be endless. The country has taken its worst winter beating in a long time and now looks as if its been dragged through a hedge backwards and as for the river...<br />
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Eventually the levels went up. I watched the river everyday and just as it came right the next series of Atlantic storm fronts arrived. I felt as if the next thing I would see would be Vader's Death Star on the horizon. Things really were that bleak. Christmas came and went (as it does) the level was up by almost two meters at one point, which is very impressive for the Barrow. The land didn't take long to saturate as the rain kept coming, the towpaths, drains, ditches and fields all flooded. It was a wash out!<br />
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Since then the status quo has remained and as I sit here typing this post it is still pouring and blowing a gale...<br />
So what did happen before the biblical floods arrived?<br />
Some dead baiting, some lure and fly fishing, a little river photography, an online radio show and lunch out on the bank!<br />
The few images below sum it up pretty well. Don't forget to check below for the post script.<br />
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p.s.<br />
So what next? Well no matter what shape or condition I find the river in over the next couple of weeks I'm getting out! I've a serious dose of cabin fever to remedy. I saw a small drop in the river today and there are plenty of slacks and cuts that are well worth investigation. I reckon the Barrow Pike are holding up in the backwaters, (you know where I mean) away from the main drag. Thats where you'll find me.<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-86787709476755800642013-11-15T20:53:00.001+00:002013-12-02T23:34:14.033+00:00Its Like Waiting On Buses...The Barrow was calling, I had to get back to the river. My long summer malaise had been broken by the events of Friday (see the previous post). My mind raced as I poured over maps of the river examining swims, hidden lane ways, access points and photos from last season. It looked like something out of CSI Miami. I laughed to myself, yes there was a serious predator at large!<br />
I was stuck in the salt mine all weekend but Monday was looking good, the weather pattern was holding nicely and the river should have fined down another little bit. I made some traces and grabbed a couple of Archie's finest (WaterWolf) scud floats and was ready to rock n'roll....<br />
A distinct nip in the air and a touch of ground frost caught my attention as I left the house, it was ball breaking cold, I glanced the temperature in the dash, 1.3 deg. I was frozen. I threw on the blower and pushed on to the river.<br />
As I headed to the swim the sun finally decided to make a guest appearance, it forced its way through the cold morning haze, things were starting to warm up.<br />
A very small fish was the fist to trip the alarms, he came to the bank quickly and was dispatched back to the margin. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First fish of the day.</td></tr>
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It was only about twenty minutes later when another jack nailed a dead bait in the exact same spot, he made a short lived charge up the middle of the river before making a cameo appearence for the blog and then headed straight back to his watery lair. A little bigger than the first fish but not by much, the jacks were queing up for the early morning feed and I was glad of the action. I wondered if this was a feeding spell I'd happened to hit upon or just a coincidence. Would it bring any bigger fish on the feed. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another eager Barrow jack comes to the bank.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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As I watched the water, a wooden pallet and football floated by... anything is liable to float past you on the Barrow. I once saw a partially submerged old tube television go by, obviously it was not plugged in and I know of a 3 peice sofa too, its wedged up against a undercut bank, red in colour if my memory serves me right. Is it any wonder they threw it out...<br />
Blip blip blip..... a tripped alarm pulled my gaze from the bobbing football. Then the line tore off the reel. Usain Bolt was in town! This was a more powerful fish, it kept its head down and pushed upstream, charging for its goal. I upped the drag and held my breath... Two runs and a damaged net later a most incredibly marked Barrow Pike came to the net. Not the biggest fish in the world but fit, wild and atheltic with a super paint job! It looked like somebody had just pimped my Pike.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A well marked Barrow Pike.</td></tr>
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-79822298006499443792013-11-06T01:25:00.000+00:002013-11-06T12:35:09.827+00:00Fasten Your Seatbelts....Summer! Where did the summer go? more about that later, right now I think we should cut to the chase.....<br />
In reality to start piking in October this year would have been car crash material. The river was ridiculously low due to a serious lack rain and still full of summer growth from the unseasonably mild weather. I must admit that I'm not one for farting about with lures up to my neck in nettles trying to tempt lazy sunbathing Pike. I much prefer my piking cold and calculated (literally). So finally the rain came, a fortnights worth... in a week. It lashed like never before, I held my breath as the river shot up and the mercury dropped.<br />
Phones started chirping across the mobile networks as a few of the usual suspects and myself texted covert daily reports on the state of the river, after a few days, the overall concensus was It was time, "The Boys Were Back In Town"<br />
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After much sorting of tackle and cobweb blowing we arrived at the river on Friday morning with more gear than a subterranean terrorist cell. To say we were ready for the "first" day of the winter season was an understatement. Alan "Burkie" Burke fished downstream. The junior Piker and myself fished a slack above him. Things were quite, very quiet. An opening day anti climax I thought to myself. Then my phone rang..."A NET.... I NEED A BIGGER NET" Burkie screamed down the phone so loud he needn't have bothered ringing. The junior piker legged it down the bank.<br />
I waited for news, then waited some more... it was uncanny to say the least. I missed a run and then my phone rang, it was Burkie breathless but happy. As it happened he put the bait in the swim and was hit immediately, he couldn't reach the net. After a major power struggle on a tricky piece bank himself and the junior piker landed a really decent double. Its fair to say, on our first day out since last spring the Biker Piker nailed a WHOPPER and was he nowhere near Burger King. But there was more to come...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burkies Whopper!</td></tr>
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With a double already accounted for we fished on, enthusiasm and confidence had been intravenously pumped into our systems. Even though we were on a high things remained quiet our prey had gone to ground, we fished on ever optimistic. I searched the river and finally decided to settle down once I hit my fifth swim. Some time later my rod gave a gentle knock, the alarm barely croaked a couple of sedate blips, I squinted at the rod tip through the cold sunshine. Hmmm maybe, maybe not... I struck and was well in, not such a big fish but still this bad boy got 10 out of 10 as he cleared the surface and tail walked across the water. We were gobsmacked.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The River Barrow Piker and the tail walking Pike.</td></tr>
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We saw no more fish that day but what a great start to the new season on the Barrow. I went back to the river on Monday and met another three fish. That story and others will be posted here in a day or two. I headed home for a cuppa thinking along the way, Philo said it well when he said "The boys are back in town"...<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-72721022408834177802013-04-10T00:39:00.000+01:002013-04-10T10:40:43.502+01:00A Mid Term Mixed Bag...Any hint of Spring that had been in the air vanished quicker than the Doctor's tardis on a BBC set. I watched the mercury drop day after day as temperatures plummeted once again. The weather forecast incessently droned on about the bitter east wind, factor in the wind chill and it was a serious case of freezing the balls off a brass monkey and yourself, if you dared or were stupid enough to stay out in it for any amount of time.<br />
I was in a spot of bother, the mid term break had just arrived and the junior piker was bursting for some action at the river. Try explaining recent flood levels, daily snow flurries and gale force winds as reasons not to venture out to a ten year old! Eventually I gave in, we braved the elements and headed to a swim that has produced the goods of late. We came home perished, the wind had cut us in two, I was raw to the bone and to top it all, the fish in their infinite wisdom did not entertain, not as much as a run...<br />
We held off for the guts of a week watching the forecasts, playing the x box and waiting, waiting for a small weakness in the blocking high which would allow a marginal break in the weather. Friday was looking like the best of a bad lot. Temperatures (not that they felt it) had crept up a degree or two as we met the biker piker on the towpath. We were not there long when a rod almost ended up in the river, it leapt out of the rear bank stick, the alarm screamed "RUN" as a psycho jack hammered a bait. The junior piker was well hooked up and into his first fish of the day. A hard fighting Barrow pike came to the bank. It was the biggest smile I'd seen on his face all mid term break. Little did he know there was more in store...<br />
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I stood there (freezing) watching my rods, willing them to burst into life, they remained static, not as much as a nudge. I was playing a rather bad game of hide and seek with my unseen quarry. The junior piker let a roar, I nearly jumped out of my skin, he was in again! A smaller fish. This time however on his lighter rod and tackle so there was an almost comical battle of tug o' war before the fish finally decided to let him win and come to the net. Things were looking bleak for the biker piker and myself, we were now two nil down to my young lad.<br />
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I went through the usual ritual of moving the baits around dropping them in the best holding spots I could find. I even went as far as slinging one out right across the river to a small pool under the far bank. Coffee, sandwiches, more coffee and more waiting. Then something happened. Yes, the junior piker was roaring yet again. "I've got one"... I raced down the bank to help him, what a surprise!. Splashing in the water in front of us a beautiful Barrow brownie.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A surprise bonus Barrow brownie for the junior piker.</td></tr>
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At this stage it looked like the game was up, we were 3 nil and two species down to the junior piker! But in the end lady luck did shine as did the sun later in the afternoon. The biker piker was next up, he picked up a jack in the middle of the afternoon and my gamble on the far bank pool paid off just before we called it a day. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan, the biker piker strikes again!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And finally I got one.</td></tr>
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Talk about saving face! What a great day, conditions were far from
ideal, windy, sunny and very cold. No massive fish but we all caught,
some more than others... It was the junior piker's mid term, he caught fish and I was happy!<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-75799872213915923482013-03-22T23:01:00.000+00:002013-03-23T00:41:05.278+00:00A Red Letter Morning...Its been two weeks since I last walked the Barrow's towpaths, Its not that I didn't want to be fishing but the "real world" was calling and for a change there was much work to be done. The barometer was rising yet the temperature was only tipping 1.2 deg C. when I pulled the backdoor behind me.<br />
The dank cold morning started to brighten slowly, damp icy air caught my breath as I headed for the first swim. All the time the river flowed silently beside me, like a quiet slightly unfamiliar friend. I couldn't help it but my eyes kept scanning the water, I was looking for a sign or a signal of where to go but the river did not speak, it just continued to flow, low and clear after the unseasonal dry spell. A feeling crept slowly over me, I was uncertain, almost doubting myself. My time away from the bank had left me a little unsettled, the river now seemed like a vast endless flowing wilderness, could I read the water, could I bait up the right swims. I was on my own, no one to consult with or to talk up the confidence levels. Just me and the river.<br />
In hindsight I was a lot more content once I had the baits out and happier still an hour later when a well rounded fish of about 8lb or 9lb came to the net. My confidence levels soared when slightly smaller fish hooked up ten minutes later and was happy to pose for a small video clip with me!<br />
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I wanted to cover more ground, eager to capitialise on the feeding spell. I headed downstream to another swim, its a featureless stretch of river which doesn't evoke confidence, you have to have balls of steel or be stone mad to sling your baits out here as it looks nothing like a pike swim but nonetheless I had met fish here before. It was a gamble but with only one more swim in mind I thought it worth an hour or so. That hour passed uneventfully, I was getting ready for the next move when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a rod tip twitch, the alarm remained silent, it twitched again and then two solitary blips. I wound down a touch and waited... I pondered what was going on, no screaming run, then I felt it, the rod twitched again, I struck but into nothing! I checked the bait and had it back in the exact same part of the swim in seconds. I was playing "cat and mouse" with fish! I repositioned the other rod at the bottom of the swim and happily played the waiting game as the river watched on. About forty minutes later, the rod which produced the missed run earlier signalled the arrival of a fish with an almost unnoticeable twitch, it barely moved, not even a blip. I was intrigued to say the least as the pike gently mouthed or pushed the bait about. One more subtle twitch and I finally felt her move off. I struck, all was good. Such an incredibly gentle take from such a hard fighting river pike. A pristine mid double came to the net about ten minutes later.<br />
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As I watched her kick off into the depths the rod at the lower end of the swim gave a blip, I scrambled up the bank and witnessed the gentle twitch style take once again. A moment seemed like an eternity, two equally spaced blips and she was slowly on her way with the bait. A far more stubborn and agressive fish this time. I had visions of fighting a submerged supermarket trolley with a life of its own. As it came to the net, it turned out to be not a trolley! but a low double with a a lot character.<br />
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I could have so easily stayed and fished on but the school run beckoned. I couldn't believe it, four fish, two of those doubles and a missed run.....<br />
My unfounded doubts and uncertainties had vanished as quickly as the chill of the early morning air. Maybe my quiet friend the Barrow had been speaking to me all along perhaps I'd just not been listening. We were on the same wavelength, in tune with each other once again.<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-82678709515757136012013-03-06T00:41:00.000+00:002013-03-07T00:01:37.131+00:00Barrow Muscle Cars.I've not fished the river for a whole week (six days to be precise), withdrawal symptoms were well set in by today. Living so close to the river is real a double edged sword, it would be very easy to spend a lot time on the bank and yet when your not there the mind often wanders as to what you might be missing!<br />
I've been watching the river like a hawk, checking the level and colour everyday whilst on the school run, still no rain, things were looking good. If my memory serves me right, the river has not been this low and clear since last June. I couldn't resist it any longer, I was off out to get my Fix.<br />
Heading to the swim there was a distinct touch of spring in the air, no coat or extra layers required today. I quickened my pace!<br />
Two ledgered deads were the order of the day, the usual routine, one popped up the other hard on the bottom. Ninety minutes in and an alarm burst into life, not a screamer of a run but a take of sorts. Fish on!...Oh.... Fish off... I left the bait in for a few moments longer hoping the fish may slam it out of frustration if nothing else but no joy. I cursed myself and the fish, if the truth be known.<br />
I brought it in to see if there were any signs of the encounter. Once again it was all proper horror show, slashed like a Romero movie.<br />
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Things then went decidedly quiet, I moved everything around, changed the baits but the swim still appeared to be void of fish. I moved upstream and put the coffee on. I needed to cover some ground or water as the case may be. A 30g WaterWolf Scud float was now patrolling the new swim, third trot through, it bobbed and disappeared, that was the last I saw of it for some time. Through the braid I could feel the fish chomping on the hooks and rig, this was not a good sign yet some how all remained secure. This was one angry mother! A superb hard fighting river pike, this high octane fish was like a muscle car on a quarter mile strip... At will, she ripped line off the reel at very high tension quite a number of times. <br />
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By the looks of this of this old girl, she has seen her fair share of action in the past. She was very lean compared with other recent fish, clearly she has not been feeding up perhaps due to previous captures. She also carried a number of small cuts and nicks on her lower flanks and back. She had a noticable lesion or bacterial infection at the neck of her caudal (tail) fin. This could be due to stress or mishandling. I also wonder due to her condition and wounds was she maybe a post spawn fish, were the jacks nipping her whilst jostling for position (could some of the Barrow pike have spawned already). Looking at my "self take" timer photos she reminds me very much of a "summer pike". Tonight she swims, I hope she feeds up well and finds a place of refuge to make a full recovery.<br />
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As I mentioned at the top of this post, I'd not been on the river for about a week or so. I dug out a bit of old software one of the days (Windows Movie Maker) and put a few bits together, I suppose its a bit of a look back at the season and blog so far. I think it turned out alright, Give it a click and let me know what you think.<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-25238389759576229952013-02-28T00:20:00.000+00:002013-12-02T23:33:15.184+00:00Double Trouble.Right now I'm very conscious of the fact that time is running out. Spawning time is on the way, maybe another two or three weeks left depending on water temperatures and levels. Time on the bank is time well spent. A chance to meet a "big girl" before she retires to entertain the boys. With this in mind I was at the river again (any excuse to fish). Nothing had been organised with the lads so I was on my own and had a morning to kill. I was on a solo, a RECON mission. Reconnaissance is nothing new it actually dates back to 1918 but its often overlooked in relation to angling. I was checking out a few new swims and some possible access points to various stretches of the river. All was going well, found some nice water and a road I never knew even existed. Back to the map and I was en route to the second location. This time not so lucky, large amounts of NO ACCESS/PRIVATE LANDS etc...<br />
So, I ended up with rather alot of time on my hands, what else to do?<br />
I headed to another swim for a couple of hours before picking up the kids from school. I wasn't long there when I got a pick up, the alarm signalled a slow steady take. After the string of dropped runs last week I decided not to waste a second and immediately struck into what turned out to be a turbocharged jack, he went off like a bullet and was in a proper strop coming to the bank.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From little acorns....</td></tr>
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With nothing else happening I moved upstream a bit to a rather featureless swim and waited. It was almost time to head for the school run when the rod twitched a bit, or did it... The alarm remained silent, no drop back signs either. It twitched again, the fish moved and the alarm registered, this fish was in no hurry, a slow blip blip blip... I struck into a good solid resistance, she didn't budge. I held my ground as did the fish, we both knew we were in for the long haul. Eventually she turned and cruised downstream slowly peeling line off the reel. Not until I had to keep her out from the weeds did she make a few insane lunges (time to readjust the drag very quickly). After another run for freedom and she finally showed, a plump double by the looks. Like any river pike she put the boot in hard and held her ground as best she could, second attempt at the net and she was on the bank.<br />
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You know, it never ceases to amaze me how folk (not little people) magically appear on the bank when a fish shows up. A very pleasent elderly couple were sure it was a salmon and were extremely disappointed to find out it was a pike!<br />
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Another angler (Chris from Kilkenny) was very kind to spend some of his valuable fishing time helping me land, photograph and release the fish. Chris if you ever read this "Thank You"<br />
A few hours on the river, two fish and the Barrow delivers yet another double. I was on the road and still in time for the school run. Sweet!<br />
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So what happened next? <br />
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The following day I was brimming with enthusiasm (an expression I hate but it was true), Burkie was off work so the Biker piker and myself decided to join forces and meet up for a few hours to see if the river might magic up another double. It did.......<br />
Levels are now dropping rapidly, and the river is running with just a touch of colour due to the early spring dry spell. Conditions were ideal, we slung out a couple of deads, hard on the bottom and popped up. An alarm blipped as a fish snatched a bait. Alan was in.... (Alan was into the fight of his life) this fish was not keen to move on any account, I wondered if were glued to the riverbed. Eventually the runs came, the line cut through the water as the fish moved upstream still holding firm. Alan was patient... he had to be! This fish was in no hurry. I don't know who had the greater workout Alan or the fish, eventually I reached down with the net and she came to the bank.<br />
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Check out the small video of the release of Alan's fish. I hope to add some more soon. So what a crazy couple of days, the Barrow delivers two doubles in two days, I can't believe it. Can things get any better... I think so! Already looking forward to the next time out.<br />
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Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-23861506670487076092013-02-25T10:42:00.000+00:002013-02-25T10:42:14.823+00:00The Phantom Menace.I'm scheduled for work all weekend so it was either fish today or not at all (today sounded good). The "Motley crew" were called up for duty, Frank the plasterer, The Biker Piker and myself. The venue as always, one of the three sisters, our dear friend - The Barrow.<br />
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We were at the swim and ready to rock n' roll by about 10am, surprisingly enough about twenty minutes later my alarm burst into life, it let off a slow string of blips as it registered the first take of the day. The angry jack went ballistic as it attempted to shake the hooks but to no avail, he came to the bank.<br />
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We covered water by leapfrogging downstream every forty minutes or so. Thats when events took a strange turn. All was quiet, my bite alarm sounded again, three slow solitary blips...nothing for a moment... then a savage take, the rod jolted, the bank sticks dug in, everything shuddered as an almost endless amount of line blistered off the reel, the alarm almost burst into flames....... a large fish kicked up a cloud of mud and weed. It was gone as quick. I was rattled, shaking and of course gutted. I brought the bait in, it had been sliced and diced, proper Chain Saw Massacre style. The game was up, there was a large predator in the swim!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Muirin of East Coast Fishing</td></tr>
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This series of events was repeated numerous times throughout the day to all our rods, hard fast takes yet all were dropped as quick as they'd been taken, sometimes the baits returning undamaged, looking almost untouched. I had visions of a phantom pike lurking in the depths striking at our baits! One particularly vicious take (the whole lot nearly ended up in the swim) was witnessed by angler and blogger David Muirin of the <a href="http://ecoastfishing.blogspot.ie/" target="_blank">East Coast Fishing Blog</a>. We were in awe, we couldn't believe the sheer intensity of the run and more so that it didn't result in a fish. We wondered if maybe a local otter was playing silly buggers in the swim but having said that, we didn't see one all day. No ducking n'diving, no rustling in the margins, not even a trail of tell-tail bubbles! Nothing! If there was an otter about he was operating with more stealth than a Lockheed F-117.<br />
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Whilst driving home the series of dropped runs played on my mind. An otter? I didn't think so but it couldn't be ruled out. Pressured water? More likely... its getting late in the season, have the pike in this stretch of river seen it all before and now know a baited rig when they hit it... hot potato syndrome. Lower resistance rigs and smaller hooks could be an option. One other thought crossed my mind, maybe they're just getting giddy! Perhaps their minds are just not on the job. Are they thinking about "other" things... They are in the last phase before spawning now, were they grabbing the baits out of instinct but with no real interest to feed? Yet many anglers would say the pike will be feeding up well before going to spawn, so who knows what really happened today.<br />
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One thing I did know, was that I'd have to go back to the river to find out. So not the most productive day but certainly interesting, highly entertaining if not a tad frustrating. Between the three of us, one fish to the bank, two fish lost, seven or eight of those dreaded dropped runs and one large elusive "Phantom Pike".<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-2029542387797546602013-02-23T22:21:00.000+00:002013-02-24T19:38:19.109+00:00Lazing In A Slack.Frank the plasterer had often spoken of this swim and I knew it well too. On the Barrow south of Carlow town. A text book pike swim, medium to fast flowing water with plenty of adjoining deep slow water. A perfect scenario for the pike, they laze in the slack water keeping their heads down and run guerilla raids into the fast flow to abduct their prey at will. Great theory!<br />
To say I was keen is an over statement, I'd just finished ten days on the trot at work and was not really pushed to spend the day somewhere thats never produced a big fish for me (I had other plans). A few jacks to deads and lures was about the best I could account to this swim over the last couple of years.<br />
I decided to leave it to chance! Maybe something would happen... Thats pike fishing, very often when your luck is down, when you least expect it, something special can happen.<br />
So at the very last minute I threw the gear in the boot. A few ledgered deads were strategically placed tight up against the crease and the coffee was made. A couple of hours in and after moving the baits around a few times the pike remained tight-lipped, literally! It was time to tweak the gameplay settings. I grabbed the lure rod and started to cover water, Frank set up a dead under a slider float, leaving it to drift slowly about the swim. About a mug of coffee later, the float dropped. The silhouette of a roach against the morning sky proved to be too much for one restless fish...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank gets his fish.</td></tr>
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-55532699539993124862013-02-13T23:58:00.000+00:002013-02-14T00:01:34.355+00:00The WaterWolf is on the prowl.The WaterWolf has been out stalking the banks again, the water came right and my old mate Archie was on a roll. Throwing some of his own lures, a couple of big girls just couldn't resist his charm offensive. Archie will be showing his WaterWolf Lures at <a href="http://maramedia.ie/public-exhibitions/ireland-angling-expo1" target="_blank">The Ireland Angling Show 2013</a> this weekend, stand H1. Drop by if you get a chance. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Archie Andrews, WaterWolf Lures.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Get the full "low down" on Archie and WaterWolf Lures in one of my previous blog posts, <a href="http://riverbarrowpiker.blogspot.ie/2013/01/the-waterwolf-is-coming-to-town_23.html" target="_blank">check it out here!</a><br />
<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-89489515203679352482013-02-12T00:38:00.000+00:002013-02-14T00:00:58.999+00:00Still Waters Run Deep.Driving a pothole ridden back road in the early hours my phone gave a mechanical shudder, a text!. I grabbed the phone, it read "Just missed a good run". I hadn't even got there and the pike were on the feed. Alan had already wet the lines... With the recent rains the river's been somewhat out of sorts, running high, coloured and generally uninviting. Come to think of it, my own recent string of blanks has been enough to put me out of sorts too. It would be true to say the Barrow has not been its usual "crowd pleaser" self. So Alan suggested a change of scene (the pub seemed like a good idea) he was thinking of a still water! So with more rain forecast a venue change was arranged.<br />
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We arrived just in time to witness his second run, the float wobbled for a moment then tore across the surface before disappearing into the depths. He connected well, a respectable jack was landed, on the mat, unhooked and released. All this before I'd even put the rods together. The words, "arse" "in" "gear" came to mind... I got set up and put the coffee on.<br />
All was quiet but not for long, The line on Frank's reel ran off steadily as another jack let it be known he was on the hunt. He gave up the ghost easily and was quickly dispatched back to the shallows.<br />
We put in a couple of hours but all signs were that the spell was over, or the pike had us sussed!<br />
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All tranquility and silence was broken late in the afternoon, suddenly Alan let off a string of obscenities, his float dropped on a take, a moment later a large fish showed its back as it broke the surface but then bolted straight to the refuge of the weeds not to be seen again... <br />
So, there I was looking down my rods at my upteempth blank and then it happened, in the blink of an eye the float was gone! I dared to wind into the fish, was this going to be another missed run? No, I was in. Not a big fish by any stretch of the imagination but nonetheless I had duped my quarry, the predator had become the prey. This humble jack with his beautiful markings and colour had just made my day. The run of blanks was finally over. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXz7VaopigHSmxA_DasJkyYQXM8fqT5m9d6BC0RPZEZNEq16oV2Aln9yZpPxHOfgYuy-kwdrXaGTj4uLaMZGRhfjk1K6_kV3AA0p6W1YJh6fN31cTTZw2_e3p1K7ZKFCcaxZ0w_PTOPg/s1600/IMG_5159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXz7VaopigHSmxA_DasJkyYQXM8fqT5m9d6BC0RPZEZNEq16oV2Aln9yZpPxHOfgYuy-kwdrXaGTj4uLaMZGRhfjk1K6_kV3AA0p6W1YJh6fN31cTTZw2_e3p1K7ZKFCcaxZ0w_PTOPg/s640/IMG_5159.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvbvx8wrD_5HCd9WqViaHlyPJ1jC2rBvvrtjp4QEAS-k5JMV53r3KVXLSlL8H1py9IRHo2Sz6jwIzwliMmBRfDg6cGhyphenhyphenH1CVksbGb-bZCL-BCWlTeXI68GW9uEj0zm-0_pFftjJ6y5O8/s1600/IMG_5162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvbvx8wrD_5HCd9WqViaHlyPJ1jC2rBvvrtjp4QEAS-k5JMV53r3KVXLSlL8H1py9IRHo2Sz6jwIzwliMmBRfDg6cGhyphenhyphenH1CVksbGb-bZCL-BCWlTeXI68GW9uEj0zm-0_pFftjJ6y5O8/s640/IMG_5162.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan Burkie Burke - The Biker Piker.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-61711169870656773662013-01-29T17:06:00.000+00:002013-02-13T23:59:55.359+00:00River Report.FLOOD REPORT<br />
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A miserable day to be out, incessant rain with some real downpours and a constant southwesterly wind just to make it even more unpleasant. These two photographs were taken earlier today. Safe to say the Barrow is in good winter flood. I have seen it much higher over the years but having said that its still rising. Many sections of towpath are submerged with heavy flow and now rendered dangerous. The river has burst its banks in many locations and a number of the local roads are flooded. The forecast is not looking great. Still raining with more to come. Time for another stick on the fire.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KPtaytOOxzYCuZkUnOZbj4CoojUGM7gu6j86Tyk0sDmyktyzPAIdNzNkqExvjooxtwt9nSLggVwgWASz8v3FU3jfZa__PA16JgJMDpYufTnsL6NGUlKasB1Vq8EB6bCG2jr3GvuqIw4/s1600/barrow2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KPtaytOOxzYCuZkUnOZbj4CoojUGM7gu6j86Tyk0sDmyktyzPAIdNzNkqExvjooxtwt9nSLggVwgWASz8v3FU3jfZa__PA16JgJMDpYufTnsL6NGUlKasB1Vq8EB6bCG2jr3GvuqIw4/s640/barrow2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVDUzfAMKHeS2fuPRyQUuXMwzbZ66dZwRsj5wLI7nOSZvTF5qeWSdVrWKOvf8qUuDzSr0Yiw-NZ1k3OqBoRpu8XwmRByVvGH93JrUB1uDOfUYqxTQ76vDoVHwGT5XDENAQlDwrUJFnyU/s1600/map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVDUzfAMKHeS2fuPRyQUuXMwzbZ66dZwRsj5wLI7nOSZvTF5qeWSdVrWKOvf8qUuDzSr0Yiw-NZ1k3OqBoRpu8XwmRByVvGH93JrUB1uDOfUYqxTQ76vDoVHwGT5XDENAQlDwrUJFnyU/s400/map.png" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Latest radar predicts more rain.</td></tr>
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-61472715669928904132013-01-23T20:34:00.000+00:002013-01-24T20:41:34.377+00:00The WaterWolf is coming to town.Where do I start? In reality the last fortnight or so has been a
complete wash out...... in more ways than one!<br />
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The river rose quickly after the rain and was up a good five
feet, heavily coloured too. On top of that I caught the most miserable bug
going, in short I felt like the proverbial "sh!t on a stick". You
know your not well when you can't even be bothered spool up a new reel. So, there's
been large amounts of sitting by the fire, drinking tea whilst cooking up endless
plans on how to snare a Barrow monster.
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On a lighter and more positive note the <a href="http://maramedia.ie/homeirelandanglingexpo1" target="_blank">Ireland Angling Show 2013</a> is just around the corner, less than a month away. The weekend of Febuary
16th and 17th to be precise at the National Show Centre, Swords, Co. Dublin. It
promises to be a great weekend, almost as good as fishing itself! A chance to
restock or upgrade some gear, maybe bump into a few old riverbank friends or
just wander around window shopping the latest (must have) items that the industry reckons we can't do without.</div>
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If you make it to the show try and take a moment to check out
the WaterWolf Lures Stand and meet Mark<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"Archie" Andrews.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydrA3b0lWhK0OhhR7FBS6zurrIZlTUZbtQYx9LmVtuR_WxWUfilJ8G_bckAO0xh3q6wIoC3SmLd65ZaCFeASVcbd7NkpdjHKYPwMeBWBOiutoC9t-oRKol1Z9j8duPKtOlU-lWq-NQFc/s1600/_wsb_400x322_markandrews1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydrA3b0lWhK0OhhR7FBS6zurrIZlTUZbtQYx9LmVtuR_WxWUfilJ8G_bckAO0xh3q6wIoC3SmLd65ZaCFeASVcbd7NkpdjHKYPwMeBWBOiutoC9t-oRKol1Z9j8duPKtOlU-lWq-NQFc/s1600/_wsb_400x322_markandrews1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark "Archie" Andrews of WaterWolf Lures.</td></tr>
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Archie as he is better known, owns
"WaterWolf Lures" He's also a Middy 30 Plus consultant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and a regular contributor to regional PAC
talks in the UK. His fishing from bank and boat has seen him all over Europe,
the U.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and New Zealand from big wild
waters to off the beaten track venues is search of Pike, Bass, Giant Eels and
even Carp. Archie has a great range of lures, is very helpful, informative and
a great man for a few tips which may just help increase the catch rate.<br />
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The junior piker and myself have been using some of the
WaterWolf range since last summer and the results have been great, the
Barrow pike can't get enough of Archie's swimbaits. He was only telling me the
other day that he's got some new stock ready for the Dublin show and a few surprises too!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshwptYTnswQBfzMcAZfDDU6QBC0QZ-51X48tBi0KSltZ4t4phVT5KJjxtoQN_XgNY1yIAy3Ce7IWZQb0rP_3f9Z2A0POLpLMdqF4gqQdwh5WZBqPk3hejtc4817rOxFHb55lssyMkVCI/s1600/floats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshwptYTnswQBfzMcAZfDDU6QBC0QZ-51X48tBi0KSltZ4t4phVT5KJjxtoQN_XgNY1yIAy3Ce7IWZQb0rP_3f9Z2A0POLpLMdqF4gqQdwh5WZBqPk3hejtc4817rOxFHb55lssyMkVCI/s400/floats.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WaterWolf range of Pike floats.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpE7Jt_I4jOxGAKNeM_GgoZc_x_w-bB8vNJ022h5v7Wmk-XFX1w6vnI9DsvCjQzj6dQ1PFGL_NmaDrvdNpK4iYtHVdgy7QQswMfG4Cf_SIc58ox3Ps2kYirRr8Ug0GMRBRiWidlFocR4/s1600/lures.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpE7Jt_I4jOxGAKNeM_GgoZc_x_w-bB8vNJ022h5v7Wmk-XFX1w6vnI9DsvCjQzj6dQ1PFGL_NmaDrvdNpK4iYtHVdgy7QQswMfG4Cf_SIc58ox3Ps2kYirRr8Ug0GMRBRiWidlFocR4/s400/lures.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WaterWolf hard swimbaits & large soft plastics.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Right, thats it.... I'm off. All the talk has got the better of me. I'll be back on the Barrow tomorrow even if its snowing!</div>
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Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-70269491682467575522013-01-09T22:28:00.001+00:002013-01-14T15:58:57.289+00:00Three Hours.... Double Figures.I got a text yesteday from a good friend inviting me to fish another venue today. It was somewhere we had discussed on a number of occasions and would involve a full day. Due to time constraints, it was not to be and I had to decline - maybe next time.<br />
However I did have a few hours available to fish locally on the Barrow so I met up with Frank the plasterer after the school run for a morning session. We headed to what over the last number of months has become my favourite swim, its by no means a "hotspot" or even a "dead cert" but it has quite a number of different characteristics which means that you can employ any number of methods in an attempt to achive a result. I suppose you could almost say its three swims in one! Besides all that, its a great part of the river to spend time.<br />
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We decended into the morning mist which in truth was more like a freezing fog. It was laying heavy in the Barrow valley this morning, the sun fought to light the sky from behind the endless veils of moisture. In short, the whole place looked like something from a ninteeen fifties B horror movie.<br />
I decided on two static deads, a Roach (popped up) and an Eel section hard on the bottom. Frank dropped a half Mackerel in the swim and proceeded to set up his feeder rod.<br />
Just over an hour in Frank got a very gentle pick up, a fish took the bait and moved very slowly downstream towards the near bank, He struck and was hooked up well. The fish took some time to realise what was going on but then it put the boot in, giving Frank a serious run for his money! It never ceases to amaze me how agile and powerful river pike are, to see a double figure fish tail walking on a misty January morning is a sight to behold!<br />
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For Frank this is a special day, his first double figure Pike and a new PB all in one. Congrats and may it lead to many more. The fish came in on the scales just under 13lb. <br />
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ps. Needless to say my almost endless run of blanks continues, think I'm up to five in a row, almost lost count at this stage. The law of probability must soon say things will change, so I'll fish on!<br />
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Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-62475182980894174372013-01-07T19:36:00.000+00:002013-01-14T16:00:52.933+00:00A not so glum face.This is not so much a post about piking on the Barrow (I'll tell you about that bit in a while) but more about fishing in general and the pleasure and satisfaction it can bring. Without sounding too much like the doting father I brought the junior piker out today to test his new pole...... whip.......or whatever its called! As you can see, I'm a real coarse fishing expert (not). The fishing industry call them pole's and whip's however I couldn't quite help but notice that it was really a modern day version of a stick..... allbeit with a string and float set up. I thought to myself, how difficult could this be?<br />
The previous day I bought a bag of ground bait, it looked more like a small bag of cement. Turbo black they called it. Sounded more like an additive that some snotty nosed boy racer would put in a Jap import rather than something you'd throw in the river to attract fish. The obligatory can of corn, a few of the gardens best worms and a quick covert op. to sneak my own pike gear along for the ride. We were all set!<br />
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Expertise from my good friend Frank the plasterer was our GPS to the local hotspot, Roach, Rudd, Perch, Dace and a selection of hybrids were all in our grasp, any wonder the Barrow is deemed a mixed fishery.<br />
So the "bag of cement" (well about half of it) was mixed with some corn, a few chopped worms, a drop of water and chucked in the swim. We plumbed the depth and got under way. Watching my son sitting there waiting for action reminded me of my own youth, helped by my father, watching a small cork float working its way downstream as it searched out wild brown trout in the small rivers of the Wicklow mountains.<br />
We sat there for a bit, then as if by magic the float started to twitch...My son's eyes light up in astonishment. The float twitched again... just a bit, there was a nudge, another twitch.... then it zipped under the surface as if, all of a sudden, it had a life of its own. He struck and hooked up. The fish had arrived in the the swim!<br />
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Not wanting to be left out I brought the pike gear and slung out a couple of deads. I figured that the silver fish activity in the swim may get the attention of any patrolling pike, I've heard and read numerous stories about pike moving into swims and grabbing feeding prey fish. <br />
We kept feeding the swim every so often when it went quiet. I don't know how many he caught (we just released them as we caught them) in the few hours we were there. It wasn't match standards but he must have landed fifteen to twenty fish and probably lost another half dozen. Maybe a keep net could be arranged if he was to get serious about this.<br />
As he caught fish after fish I was left to ponder this famous theory about pike moving into anglers swims during coarse or match sessions as they prowled around for easy pickings. None of the pike were taking advantage of the activity we stirred up in our swim. I brought the deads in and tried a variety of lures.....still no takers! It didn't really matter, it was his day, he caught plenty of fish, had some great sport and I was thrilled for him. The Barrow pike may rest for another day or two!<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-68767342549343056052013-01-04T22:54:00.000+00:002013-03-06T13:44:31.950+00:00A new years revolutionChristmas and the new year scuppered all my best intentions and plans of a festive Piking spree. I had thoughts of pre and post Christmas sessions, frost crunching underfoot, screaming runs and floats sliding away into the early morning mist. Needless to say, between decorations, lights, visiting family, extra shifts at work and a constant stream of TV repeats........it never happened. Christmas Eve to New Years day just flew!<br />
So today after a few quick calls a not very much planning a new year (revolt) visit to the river was on the cards.<br />
Frank the Plasterer, Alan Burkie Burke, myself and the junior piker! Were enlisted.<br />
The rough plan was to fish a secluded cut away from the main flow in the hope that some fish may have retreated to the quiet depths to ambush any shoals of prey fish that made an appearence. After some time in the cut things were looking bleak, the two lads groundbaited a swim and worked feeder rods whilst Alan and myself twitched lures and deadbaited..........the swim appeared void of fish.<br />
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After a lengthy debate (all of two minutes) a move was decided, upstream to the main river, just above the mouth of the cut.<br />
RESULT! We were there less than an hour when Alan met up with two fish to static deadbaits in the space of twenty minutes. The first about 7 or 8lb a real scrapper, the second was good deal smaller. Two great fish none the less!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan saves us all from a blank!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another brave jack comes to the bank.</td></tr>
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With our enthusiasm renewed we fished on but had no other takers. On a more curious note, the two lads on the feeder rods did bait up the new swim yet never met a fish! Where have the shoals gone?<br />
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Thats it! The lines are wet again after the festive break. We're back out piking on the Barrow, welcome to 2013..........Watch this space.<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-52069587396950928462012-12-07T19:03:00.001+00:002013-02-14T00:03:30.490+00:00A bit pear shaped.Its gone a bit quiet the last week or so. I must admit that I (or my son for that matter) have seen very few fish of late and its not for the want of trying. One fish of about 8lb for my son comes to mind which was caught in a "pre-dawn raid" at the weekend, I thought a good early session fishing right through dawn may break the deadlock maybe even give us the upperhand. However it was not to be, sunrise was at 8:17am and the fish was caught at about 7:30am and that was all we saw for almost 6 hours fishing. Still what an adventure for my 10 year old boy, driving through the darkness in the wee small hours to chase river monsters with his pike obsessed father.<br />
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Myself and Frank (a friend who also fishes) were out on Wednesday and met with a blank having tried three different swims with deads and lures, in the end a combination of cold and lack of interest from the pike got the better of us, we packed up just after lunch. Having said that the river is in the best condition I've seen it for quite some time. I would have thought the spell of cold weather would have got the fish on the feed. Theres good water clarity and its running only a shade above the norm.<br />
So as the fellow says "Where are the Pike hiding"? Lastest information is conflicting to say the least! I met some fluff chuckers at the river the other day and they believe the fish are still to be found at relatively shallow depths considering the time of year. Another angler I met claims they've already gone to deeper water (where ever that may be) for the winter and you need to be fishing hard on the bottom whatever method you choose.<br />
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Too much information is beginning to develop into mind games in relation to my choice of swims, riverbank tactics and overall strategy, which of late appear to be lacking somewhat. Time to re think and up the game as the hunt for my second double of the season continues. Playing cat and mouse.... with fish can be a head wrecker! <br />
<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-39151472055821796292012-11-30T23:47:00.000+00:002012-12-01T00:38:44.735+00:00Hard Lines (The Ottergate scandal)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In my ultimate wisdom I thought the Barrow pike would be on the feed - how wrong I was. Two blanks, yes two in a row I can't understand it. Well thats two blanks unless your allowed count a frigging OTTER. Yes I caught an otter on a swimbait lure but more about that incident later.<br />
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It all started last week when we had deluge of rain, the river went up over four feet (see the previous post). It was starting to drop and was clearing well by Tuesday so I headed out first thing Wednesday morning to a swim on the main river. I'd only flung out a couple of ledgered deads when an otter appeared on the scene, it didn't hang around, maybe it knew more than me. I put in a few hours without even a touch. The only sign of life in the river were the crayfish which demolished a couple of trout on me.<br />
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I headed downstream to a spot where there is a large crease, it had produced fish before, but not today. After some time at a third swim a local pike expert appeared on the bank, minus his tackle. One of those unavoidable lengthy one sided conversations took place, with wispered word about how I'd only missed the big hen fish that feeds upstream every morning, not to mention the 21lb and 17lb'ers that are regularly seen too! (I should have got up earlier) At this stage I'd had enough talking.... and fishing. I made the trek back along the tow path throwing lures here and there as I went. None the less it wasn't a bad day to be out and its always a good suss to be adventuring down the river. However considering the weather and condition of the river the fishing was a bit of a let down.<br />
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So that was Wednesday!</div>
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Today Friday was a very odd affair altogether. No rain since I was last out, the river is still dropping and gettting really clear. I had high hopes for a good session. Maybe I'm a bit OCD but I did all my prep, sorted the baits, lures, tackle and anything else I could think of. I must have thought I was going for the week- in hindsight I'm glad I wasn't. I even had a plan! and for me thats good.<br />
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A good few miles downstream from Wednesday's swim, I was at one of my favourite spots, baits were out early. It was one of those mornings when you could hear the morning traffic, the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the distance yet all was quiet and still in this riverbank world as the mist lifted and the sun crept out from behind the clouds. One of those mornings when you could almost anticipate a screaming run. Thats all it was- anticipation. After a couple of hours of this carry on it became glaringly obvious that the pike were not playing ball.<br />
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Unperturbed by this I ditched the dead baits,grabbed a fistful of lures and started to cover a few likely spots at various depths. Thats when my "friend" the Otter arrrived. Initially I chose to ignore it (as one does) but this one was unafraid, unphased by my presence. I continued fishing- as did the otter.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish breakfast.</td></tr>
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It was getting rather embarrassing, the otter was catching alot more than me, occaisionally sitting in the water a few feet away munching Perch. The otter slipped under again and I got a knock, a short pluck... then again.... a thought flashed across my mind....NO surely the otter wasn't hitting the lure. This was ridiculous, or was it. I looked around for the otter but it was still under....then BANG! the animal surfaced with the bloody lure caught in its back!! Good God! I'd foul hooked an f***ing otter. Immediately I had visions of wrestling a snapping creature on the bank. I had 50lb braid and a heavy duty homemade trace on so I was good to go! I did not fear that I'd be broken off, the impliciations of an otter swimming around with a four piece swim bait in its back were beyond my imagination.<br />
The animal went down taking some line off the reel, everthing was under control for the moment, when it came back up it realised it was still caught and decided to head straight for the far bank like a bullet! The rod went into a massive bend, the braid ripped off the reel. I was now sure it was all going to snap, the animal hit the bank and at that moment the hook tore from its skin. The lure, under the force of the bend in the rod was catapulted straight back at me, hitting me in the leg, lodging itself in my waders! "That was close", I thought to myself as the otter scrambled for its life up the bank and disappeared.<br />
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At this point I thought it was a far safer option to get the deadbaits back out, have a brew and calm the nerves. Order had been restored, I was sipping coffee when low and behold the brazen otter resurfaced almost at my feet! I threw it a dead roach (one of Neville's best) which it gratefully accepted.<br />
I packed up the gear and headed home for a cuppa.<br />
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RESULT</div>
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Otter 1 Piker 0<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the Christmas Robin looked on!</td></tr>
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-83579418428164612082012-11-26T20:14:00.001+00:002013-01-14T16:04:37.324+00:00Flood Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Barrow today, south of Carlow Town.</td></tr>
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Levels just keep going up. There was a fair spill of rain over the last few days and it would be fair to say the river is up 3 to 4 feet at least and pushing hard. I checked it twice today at 6 hour intervals and there was no increase in the level, however it has broken its banks in a number of places. Maybe it will start to drop in the next 24 hours, this coupled a rain free forecast for the next few days may help to bring things back to norm'<br />
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Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341347042822581186.post-35447212278166761222012-11-22T00:01:00.000+00:002013-01-14T16:04:03.264+00:00A Morning in Muine Bheag<br />
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A short burst of heavy rain a couple of days ago brought the levels flying up almost over night. It was holding steady yesterday afternoon and had already started to fine down, I figured it may be dropping by today - I was right, it had dropped over four inches by the time I got to the bank just after 9 this morning. I must admit I didn't really have a plan..... do I ever!<br />
As the river is still quite high and pushing through I knew I'd be heading for a backwater or canal cut. I had a few deads in a bag, a few lures, flask, sambo and a luxury I don't usually bring, a light collapsible chair!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drawbridge at Muine Bheag Lock</td></tr>
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Yeah I must admit I fancied a morning of "lazy fishing" parked in front of the deads sipping a hot brew. Normally I'd prefer to head onto the main river, travelling light and covering lots of ground investigating all the nooks and crannies where the pike may be holding up - not today. I headed to a spot that I've not fished since the early summer when I brought my son lure fishing for jacks, this was semi urban piking at its best, a place with a lock, basin, drawbridge, old mill and lots more. Was there the potiential for a fish or two? I got the rods out, it was time to find out.<br />
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Two rods out, the usual set up employed, a half mackerel hard on the bottom and a pop up smelt both strategically placed at the edge of the basin. I sat back and reached for the flask, about an hour later I reached for the flask again... nothing had happened. I moved the baits and tried a small trout popped up - still nothing. I reeled in the deads and went for a wander with the lure rod.<br />
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I fished the lure out beyond where the deads has sat, bringing it back just over the dying weed. Got a knock on the first cast, I put it out again into the exact same spot and brought it through as slow as possible waiting for the take.... nothing. Had I spooked the fish? The lure flashed in the morning light as it flew through the air once more, at this stage I was on the third or fourth cast. I tried to almost "wobble" the lure back toward me. This was enough! The fish came once more and didn't miss this time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT50du0-DO6e5qnV57I5zkBs1a7kSfsrdRqhoOvRRDkEBgo3r8zn8xfSLR342GB77q8q2xdGpol5XoWEIA7NASgxEj2uf9alBIZuHcOJp9StNXMVF7t3enKCZPpP6Ve9ymtAplaep8XYQ/s1600/pi9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT50du0-DO6e5qnV57I5zkBs1a7kSfsrdRqhoOvRRDkEBgo3r8zn8xfSLR342GB77q8q2xdGpol5XoWEIA7NASgxEj2uf9alBIZuHcOJp9StNXMVF7t3enKCZPpP6Ve9ymtAplaep8XYQ/s400/pi9.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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So much for my "lazy fishing" parked in front of the dead baits waiting for something to happen - I could have blanked. Sometimes the fish just need a bit provocation to spark their predatory instincts and sometimes the fishermen need to get up off their backside and go look for the fish!<br />
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"What a great morning"<br />
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<br />Roly Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08638040810040520183noreply@blogger.com0