Hard work gets rewarded

It promised to be a very windy but warm and sunny day. That is not always easy, certainly not when the weather turns every day, but then you simply look for what is willing. We started very early and the plan was to fish for pike first. A pike puts so much power into the first seconds that you feel it all the way up your arm, which is why I like to start with them.

Koos started with a big slab of a lure and I fished behind him with a small chatterbait, to see whether smaller lures would produce. I soon caught a few smaller perch of around 30 to 35 cm, so that was a decent start. After an hour Koos got a thumping take and landed a nice pike. Mission accomplished. We fished on for a while, but got no further than one very thick follower.

Koos had not fished rivers often, so it was nice to show him different sides of it, because the river is so incredibly varied. After a short explanation he had jigging down quickly and could keep good contact with his shad despite the wind. We worked through a lot of spots, but sadly in vain. The zander kept their jaws firmly shut. A few hours passed, but the mood was still good. We talked away and enjoyed the surroundings, the birds and the beaver that came by to say hello.

Once we reached the furthest point we decided to troll the whole stretch back to the ramp. That way you cover a lot of water, and it has always proved effective, certainly on days when things are not running. It lifted our numbers a bit and we even hooked two thick eels. At least that kept us awake, because those animals are strong.

On the last stretch just before the ramp Koos got a good bite and a small pike came up. Not much later another bite followed, so we ran the stretch one more time. We could hardly resist. Just before we really wanted to stop my plug was grabbed and a thick perch of over fifty came up. That is hard work paying off. So despite the difficult conditions we came off the water satisfied.