This cold snap we are having in Britain now is only normal for November, however we have been getting used to milder humid winters thanks to global warming.  Standing outside my local doctors waiting for it to open in a queue. The cold was eating into my flesh so i started rubbing my arms and watching my breath condense in the chilled air. 

My mind flashed back to a very cold morning when i was 16, I was fishing with my late father.  We were fishing in a dis-used gravel pit in Nazeing which is on the borders of Essex and Hertfordhire, a very picturesque fishery.  Weeping willows lined the edges of the fishery.  The lake extended almost as far as the eye could see and took a good 40 minutes to walk around at a brisk pace, in the middle of the lake was an island covered in bushes, small birds made their nests there, all in all a picture waiting to be hung on the wall in the grandest of houses.

We were fishing specifically for “pike” a beautiful predator of a fish, at first glance the pike appears almost prehistoric, its long and sleek and very colourful, wonderful greens and golds and reds flashed down their sides.  The main armoury of the pike is their jaws they are extremely strong and are lined with 3 rows of backward pointing teeth.  Their saliva is a natural anti-coagulant so if it bites you you will bleed for hours.

Pike feed on sickly fish, they hunt from the back of a shoal of fish, when very hungry they will take small ducks from the surface of the lake, in a particularly cold winter when some fish hibernate at the bottom of a lake, therefore their natural food supply is scarce, pike have been known to take a bite at any unsuspecting dog going for a swim! personally Ive never seen a pike attack a dog, however i have seen a pike jump out from a river and try to catch a swooping Heron!

So there we were my father and me at 6.00am tackling up the rods by torch light awaiting the dawn when pike like to feed.  Having described the pike for you, you need to know how to catch one?  A small sea fishing rod is best because its stocky and stronger than normal course fishing rods.  Next is the fishing line, in Britain the pike record weight is 55lbs! so normal fishing line will break at a flick of the pike’s tail, we used Marlon line with a 20lbs breaking strain.  At the business end of  the line we attached a “Trace” basically a long lead of metal line as pike can bite through mono-filamentline line. Last is the hooks 2 hooks with 3 smaller hooks welded together called”Treble” hooks.  For bait we used sprats fresh from a fishmongers.

Dawn broke, the lines were cast out and we sat in the freezing cold sipping hot coffee from a thermos flask.  I cast my line just in front of the island Idescribed, 9.00am came and went 10.00am came and went, I looked in the direction of my father further down the bank he tapped his wrist watch a signal he had had enough and knowing my father the pubs were set to open at 12.00 midday!

Suddenly the line on my rod went tight the tip of the rod twitching, i let some line out for a good reason.  Pike will take a fish in their jaws run with it drop it so they can turn it around and swallow it.  The line stopped running then 2 seconds later the line ran again, time to strike! I clicked the bail arm shut on the reel and pulled the rod up vertically to embed the hooks into the pikes jaws.

To me at 16 it felt like I had hooked Jaws! i shouted down the bank “Dad”, the rod bent almost double it took all my strength to hold the rod and when the pike changed direction I wound in some more line back onto the reel, my father was running along the bank in his wellingtons he slipped on the frozen grass kicking the thermos flask into the willows! [didn't look that professional bless him!] after 20 minutes the pike could be seen about 6 feet from the bank wow! I shouted to my dad “Were going to need a bigger boat!”

We steered the pike into a landing net, it took both of us to lift the beast onto the bank, the handle of the landing net snapped under the strain! my father donned chain mail gloves because of the rows of teeth.  He managed to remove the hooks and we surveyed the pike.  He or she was beautiful green and gold with almost luminous yellow eyes.  Did we have a camera? nope! we did have weighing scales which went up to 20lbs we put the pike in the basket and it went to the stop way past 20lbs!  We returned the pike to the lake and it swam away hopefully unharmed we didn’t believe in hurting fish or any other animals.

We were in the local pub a little later when me father spat out his beer saying “I get it I get it, we need a bigger boat that’s out of Jaws isn’t?” I laughed too saying that is what i meant!

We told the rest of the family over Sunday lunch incredulity and laughter was all we got! the more we said “Honestly it was over 20lbs it broke the landing net!” the more they laughed and shook their heads!

Well that’s my winters tale [True tale] I do miss my father.