As we all know, it has been bitterly cold in the UK recently, with many of our lakes and canals freezing over. While that may put some anglers off fishing, for others, it is just another hurdle to overcome in their pursuit of catching fish.
Andrew Brown had planned a session targeting pike and, despite the freezing temperatures that night, set off optimistic about what the morning might bring having had previous success on the waterway in similar conditions. However, when he arrived at his chosen stretch, he was surprised to find the canal was frozen solid, with no clear areas of water to fish.
Instead of heading home, he set about breaking the ice to create a fishable spot. While you might think that would spook any self-respecting pike in the area, after a few hours fishing he had the biggest pike he had ever seen laying in his landing net, making all the effort worthwhile!
“Recently I had a red-letter day’s piking on a Midlands canal. I had to spend a bit of time breaking the ice before I could cast out a deadbait, and then passed a few uneventful hours."
“As a last roll of the dice, I changed hookbait to a jumbo smelt, which had been heavily oiled. Twenty minutes later, I had a take."
“When it surfaced, I was shaking with excitement as I netted a massive pike. It weighed 29lb, and is the fish of a lifetime.”
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