First pike in 2013

I just got back from a two week visit in Poland. Second day in the Netherlands and I went fishing of course. Today's score is a 75 cm pike from a 3hr session. I decided to further pursue fly fishing and try fishing from a belly boat, but It's going to cost me some money (bboat, fins, safety west, waders, shoes, maybe echo sounder). During the visit in Poland I already bought waders and shoes. I went for the "Vision" brand and bought "Kura" waders with the "Hopper" shoes. If you are looking for a fly fishing shop that has it all in Krakow, I can recommend www.hurch.pl. Now it's time to decide on the belly boat :-)

End of the dutch season

This day has finally come - end of the predator season in Holland. And it was a very good season for me. I think this was a season with most of fish landed in my life. Unfortunately I wasn't lucky enough to land the magical meter, although I was close couple of times. Anyway, last day I was trying to catch a zander on a jig lure, but got bored and the fly rod was in a trunk of my car... I moved to shallower waters and landed three pikes, not very big, all 70-80 cm. I unhooked them in the water and took a picture of just one.

During the closed season I will try to chase carp on the fly, let's see how that goes. I have to say I'm really hooked on fly fishing right now, it just works very well on my shallow waters and tying flies is something that has consumed my evenings :-)

Street fishing 3

I've been ill last week, so didn't do any fishing. This Saturday however I managed to get done few hours of street fishing. I landed three pikes - biggest one 80 cm. The guy few meters away from me landed really nice, fat 105cm.

On another note, in order to get some solid knowledge about pike fly fishing before buying any gear, I treated myself with some books. I'll try to read them between Christmas and New Years (I'm on a leave then :-)).

Street fishing 2

Just a quick session today in the morning and a nice catch of 87cm. The other one was 70 cm. Again Savage Gear 4Play does the job ;-) Tomorrow long anticipated friendly pike fishing competition near Amsterdam :-)

Sunset, golden colors and a 92cm pike...

Today I went fishing to another polder, this time a bit closer to The Hague - Weiportse Vliet. The sun was setting down, so I decided to use a lure with the colors that call to be used in that kind of situation - orange/gold/yellow. I chose Savage Gear 4Play - "Golden ambulance" color. The result - a 92 cm fat lady. So far the best catch of this season for me.

Polder pike

Another trip to the dutch polders and a good catch again - 84cm. The water was clear and only 50cm, so I saw the strike. Poetry for the pike angler :-) I was using again the little SPRO BBZ-1 swimbait, which becomes my favorite lure this season. I use it in the clear waters and also with the fluorocarbon leader, this works very well.

Back in bussines!

I got back from the annual leave and went fishing of course! Just a small jackie, but it counts :-) I'll hope the autumn will be better then this years spring. I know one thing, it's going to be a lot of polder fishing.

Closing the 2010/2011 season

I think this one is the last one in this season. I fished only for 2 hours on Saturday, it was just pouring rain. I was on a sick leave at the beginning of the week and didn't want to risk it again, so I head back home. Anyway – 2 hours of fishing resulted in 78cm pike, caught on Salmo Fatso Crank in my favorite TT color. In Holland the season closes with the end of the March (this Thursday), but I don't think I'll find the time to go out fishing again. The next time I'll be fishing it will be in Poland, in my hometown Kazimierza Wielka. I'm going for a short 1,5 week vacation to fish with my dad. I hope the flood will not ruin the plans to fish in Nida river (like it did in 2010 Spring). Nida river holds the polish pike (24.10 kg, 128cm) and zander(15.60kg,109cm) records, unbeaten since the 70's. Although the times of that big fish are gone I'm afraid, I still have high hopes for that river.

Next weekend I'm going to Rotterdam to visit the Visma, the biggest fishing trade show in Europe. I'll post some pictures as I already promised to write an article for www.jerkbait.pl.

Wydaje mi się że to ostatni szczupak w tym sezonie. Byłem na rybach tylko dwie godziny w sobotę bo lało jak z cebra. Na początku tygodnia byłem chory i nie chcąc ryzykować wróciłem do domu. Rezultat dwóch godziny łowienia to 78cm szczupak, złowiony na Salmo Fatso Crank w moim ulubionym kolorze TT. Sezon w Holandii kończy się z marcem (ten czwartek), ale wydaje mi się że nie znajdę czasu by jeszcze raz pójść na ryby. Następnym razem gdy będę łowił będzie to w Polsce, w moim rodzinnym mieście Kazimierza Wielka. Spędzę tam krótkie 1,5 tygodniowe wakacje łowiąc z moim tatą. Mam nadzieje, że powódź nie zrujnuje planów łowienia w rzece Nida (tak jak to się stało na wiosnę w 2010). Z Nidy pochodzą polskie rekordy szczupaka (24.10kg, 128cm) i sandacza (15.60kg, 109cm), nie pobite od lat 70-tych. Obawiam się, że czasy tak dużych ryb w tej rzece już minęły, niemniej jednak nadzieje mam duże.

W następny weekend jadę na targi Visma, największą imprezę wędkarska w całej Europie. Wystawię kilka fotek, i tak obiecałem fotoreportaż dla www.jerkbait.pl.

First pikes in 2011

Finally! The beginning of the 2001 was quite cold in Holland, so far each weekend was windy or rainy. However it got a bit warmer recently - around 6-10 degrees. I took the advantage of favourable weather and decided to explore new areas, I went to Leidschenveen-Ypenburg district. Generally I don't like fishing in the city, I prefer areas where I can enjoy the nature. Leidschenveen-Ypenburg is mostly offices, warehouses etc..., so not much of staring people in the weekend. I fish there in shallow canals 1-1.5m, maybe deeper in few places. Because of the winter I was not expecting any spectacular bites, however I managed to catch two decent pikes – 77 and 76 cm. Although the second one was shorter it was quite fat. Both were caught on sinking Salmo Fatso 10cm, in GS colour. Fatty on Fatso :-)

No w końcu! Początek 2011 roku w Holandii był dość zimny i jak na złość każdy weekend a to lało a to wiało... Ostatnio jednak zrobiło się trochę cieplej - 6-10 stopni. Postanowiłem wykorzystać sprzyjającą pogodę i poodkrywać trochę nowe tereny, wybrałem się do dzielnicy Leidschenveen-Ypenburg. Generalnie nie lubię łowić w mieście, wolę tereny gdzie mogę cieszyć się kontaktem z naturą. Leidschenveen-Ypenburg to przede wszystkim biura, magazyny itp..., więc w weekend nie ma tu zbyt dużo gapiów. Woda to płytkie kanały 1-1.5m, może miejscami głębiej. Jakby nie było jest zima i nie nastawiałem się zbytnio na jakieś szaleństwo i spektakularne brania, ale udało mi się wyciągnąć dwie nie najgorsze sztuki - 77 i 76 cm. Drugi mimo, że krótszy był nieźle napasiony. Oba wzięły na Salmo Fatso 10 cm, tonące, w kolorze GS. Grubas na Fatso :-)

My personal best

It happend! On a lazy Sunday afternoon I cought my biggest pike ever - 110cm!

No i stało się! W leniwe, niedzielne popołudnie złowiłem moją życiówkę - 110cm!