As time is precious and DIY still being a priority i still managed to sneak out to my local Exeter Canal for a four hour trip after a Pike or two... or not as it turned out. I opted to walk the not so busy side of the canal as most days its like Piccadilly Circus here and weekends are a no no for me as every man, boat, dog etc. seems to be on a canal outing, not my scene at all. I walked a good half mile away from all those worn down popular fishing spots to an area that has produced a few twenty pound Pike for me in the past, the traps laid were in the form of two baits fished under a float one popped up and one hard on the bottom. The chosen baits were half a Herring and a plump Rudd. A proven method to search out these Pike for me has been to reposition the baits every 45 mins, soon enough you'll be near some Pike.
Conditions were good, nice cloud cover and that gut feeling that something could pick those baits up at anytime, but unfortunately it didn't happen and Mr Pike didn't want to feed so a blank was drawn. Whilst packing the gear up i was distracted by a huge flock of Starlings doing that mad dance with every bird moving with every sudden change in direction, great to watch, so many types of formations and the wind certainly made it a challenge for them yet they were all synchronised in flight. Incredible. Well the canal will have a few sessions yet so Pike, you can swim but you can't hide.
