Smash & Grab Trout

Posted by in Blog | 1 comment

Feb 12, 12 Smash & Grab Trout

Its quite possible that people driving over the bridge yesterday, in Exe Bridge, may have thought that some kind of madman had been set loose on the lakes.  In fact I was fully expecting to hear sirens, prior to being carted off to the funny farm or possibly a cell.  I am sure that they were wondering why on earth the few brave souls who had turned up to endure the cold were there in the first place, especially as they had been joined by a spade swinging, pickaxe throwing lunatic.  Was this some kind of new "extreme" fishing?

Of course the answer is no.  I do not have shelves stacked full of spades or pick axes on buy one, get one free.  There is no blue tow rope on offer either.  The reason behind the strange looking spectacle was of course ice.  All week we have been relatively ice free and then when Saturday arrives …. -6 and half the lake is covered.  I saw red … or rather mist through the "cold" lens of my Costas.  Venturing out of the cosy hart flyshop office clad in a multitude of layers and armed with many heavy implements I decided to wreak havoc on the surface of Exe Valley.  The anglers who had made the effort were going to catch some fish, but the ice would have to go first.

I must admit at this point that I had no idea if my plan could backfire, resulting in several "bodies" floating to the surface after my blitz.  Setting to work with "Ice Breaker – Mk 1", (a spade attached to the rope) I tried some tentative throws resulting in a few holes before pulling the rope back to cause stress fractures.  Having created half a dozen or so "softeners" I waited a while to see if anything happened.  Nothing did … no dead Trout so far.  At this point you may have been forgiven for thinking that I was training for London 2012, as the Saturday morning peace was shattered (literally) by my grunts and the sound of a spade (pickaxe or club hammer) swooshing through the air.  "Different" in approach this method maybe but the result was incredibly satisfying as the ice began to shatter into hundreds of little pieces.  On one occasion I got quite carried away and even managed a war cry before Ice Breaker Mk 1 died. Ditching my cheap and nasty plastic spade, "Ice Breaker Mk II" was born, sporting a hard wood handle and super heavy head.  Not so great for distance but the ice was not liking it one bit.

A few hours went by and slowly but surely little gaps began to open up, allowing a fly to be fished in previously frozen water and before long one of the anglers had hooked a Trout.  I had also been joined by John who had arrived expecting to enjoy a days fishing but got roped in to my hair brained scheme.  Little did he know that within a few hours he would be more than rewarded for his efforts!  But before that there was a lot more ice to be broken, especially as the low temperatures were causing some of it to freeze once again.  We did not give up, especially when the sun began to shine.  By breaking the surface layer up it should defrost faster and then the natural current in Exe Valley would begin drawing the ice away from the corner … or at least that was the plan.

Although the ice was becoming badly damaged I was beginning to question my sanity a little as only a few major holes had appeared.  That was until Alan Jukes turned up in the corner we had been working on to give it a go.  A few of the others had been mumbling about the commotion but Alan took notice of my advice that the majority of the fish had been sat in the deep corner covered in ice.  He began prospecting with a lure through a few of the gaps … little did we expect what happened next!

 

I was just chuffed to see Alan hook a fish from the previously impenetrable corner, but after a few minutes and by the tense look on Alan's face I knew that not only had he managed to hook a Trout but that it was a decent size.   A few weeks ago he bought one of the excellent McLeans nets from the shop which I usually use for Salmon and what a good job as the frame is very tough enabling us to clear some ice in readiness to land the fish.  There were several heart stopping moments as the fish used its weight and power to charge through several broken layers of ice which at any moment I expected to slice through the leader.  Thankfully the leader held and …

What a buzz!  A beautiful conditioned winter fish that almost certainly wouldnt have been caught unless the ice had been broken.   Not much more than an hour later Alan appeared with his full bag limit of 5 fish which also included another specimen of well over 5lb.  Meanwhile the other anglers had all begun to catch fairly frequently as the sun defrosted the broken ice.  Evidently the fish were not bothered that we had spent the morning hurling blunt implements at them!  And remember John? …. he is in the background of this picture.

And ten minutes later he was stuck into this beast.  His first ever double figure Trout caught on a sinking line and landed using a 5 weight set up.  What a brilliant way to finish the day.  But will I be doing it again?  Well today despite very cold temperatures last night the ice receded rapidly, even though it is overcast and the air temperature low.  Usually the ice will begin to thaw and then refreeze, which increases the density.  However by smashing up the ice I think that today the ice was much thinner which has meant good fishing once again in the now ice free corner.  But no, I wont be doing it like this again because 4 hours of work based on per kilo fish weights and the market price of a ticket does not stack up.  However, it has made me realise that all I need is Ice Breaker MK III in the form of a boat powered by an electric engine which should reduce the time taken to clear the ice immensely although if I am honest … I don't think it will be so much fun!

read more