If the fishing was looking brighter in March then April was the start of better things to come. It was full speed ahead for some of the lads who caught some nice fish during the Easter break. Dave Greally took time out to venture into one of his favourite haunts in the highlands of Scotland. Bruce Turnbull and Dave Gardner followed in his footsteps and we will report on their trip in our next blog report. Dave Greally caught this nice Pike weighing in at 17lb 4ozs pictured below on his trip.
Steve "Salmon" Sandiford was also out and about trying his luck on one of our local rivers and as usual had something to celebrate in the shape of this 20lb fish.
The coarse fishing has also continued to improve with Bruce Turnbull enjoying good sessions catching Carp and Bream. This nice Bream of 9lb being the highlight of Bruce's month.
The lighter mornings are starting to appear and hopefully the weather will improve. Our members are looking forward to our Golden Maggot trophy match in June which will be followed by our Summer series of matches in July and August.
We are now at the start of April and the Pike season has come and gone. Results for March fared better than the previous months. The club's Jolly Boys outing took place during the month and although the fishing at times proved hard the lads did manage to catch some Pike. The final club match took place over the weekend of the trip with Dave Greally catching a 14lb 8oz fish which took him to the top of the leaderboard. Paul Proctor also had some success with a 14lb 4oz. As for the other guys, well they managed a few Jacks as well. The final result for the club championship saw Dave Greally win the event. Peter Armstrong took second place with Chris Graham and Paul Proctor taking third and fourth places.
Trophy Winner Dave.
One For Paul.
The PAC Lake Of Menteith events took place in early March. Both events were attended by region members but on both occasions the fishing proved difficult with rain and blustery conditions not helping the cause. In the end Bruce Turnbull, Dave Gardner and Dennis Fearon tried their best but unfortunately for them it did not bring any results. Early in March Bruce Turnbull continued his search for a double figure Yorkshire Barbel. After putting in many hours of hard work he was finally rewarded with a fish of 11lbs 2 ozs.
At Last The Wait Was Over.
All Smiles. Peter Still Catching.
The region will now look forward to the next few months when we will have our match for the highly sought after Golden Maggot trophy along with our four match Summer league trophy.
It's been a while since we posted an update on the SENPAC goings-on so apologies to our regular followers.
The main reason for the passage of time since our last posting is, simply, there hasn't been a lot happening in terms of our Pike fishing. Unless something spectacular happens during the few remaining weeks of the season, then this one is going to go down as a bit of a dismal affair.
Sure there are fish being caught by a few of our number but generally we are having to work hard for meagre returns in terms of the size of fish being caught and some of the better fish have fallen to members who have experimented with their fishing by trying new waters as their more regular venues have failed to produce.
One of the SENPAC traditions for early March is for some of our members to enter the annual tombola that is the PAC's privileged access event on the Lake of Menteith. This year was a little different to previous years in that there are two visits to "The Lake" rather than just the one and as a result the odds against being drawn out the hat for what is normally a heavily over-subscribed entry were much reduced. That said there were only three of our number who bought a ticket and all three were successful. As I write this Dave Gardner and I have had our day afloat, Dennis Fearon has another few days to wait before he gets his opportunity, so best of luck Dennis, I hope it turns out to be better for you than it was for Dave and I!!
Speaking of which...………… https://youtu.be/q6ElnF4HWng
January started and finished without any big fish being reported. The January club trip proved a bit of a wash out with rain and winds in Scotland. Everyone returned home fishless after an exasperating day. Most of the Piking has been on one of our local waters but even then few members have caught and most have suffered from the blankety blanks. Steve Sandiford has still been catching and can be seen below with a small fish caught on a lure. The members will persevere though and hopefully February will bring the lads some better results.
Not much to report in the last month with only one good fish to note. Most of the members got caught up in the Christmas shopping and festivities but at least Dave Greally managed to get out and catch two Pike the one above and the Yorkshire river cracker weighing in at 18lb pictured below. The December club trip was cancelled due to the low turnout expected and adverse weather conditions. The members are now looking forward to the new year ahead and what might be in store. We are hoping that we can continue to catch some very good Pike in the months ahead. We hope that all our readers around the world have a great 2019.
A Quiet Month For SENPAC but Chris Caught This One At 15lb.
A very quiet month all round for the lads with only two decent fish being caught. First one fell to the rods of Chris Graham on our monthly club trip to one of our favourite Cumbrian venues. On what turned out to be a beautiful, warm autumnal day Chris also caught a smaller fish at 8lb and fellow angler Bruce Turnbull also caught one weighing in at 7lb. As for the rest of us we just enjoyed our day out. As usual the wildlife took our attention and out came the cameras. One Robin was extremely tame and enjoyed the photoshoot as well as giving us a timely reminder that Christmas was on the way.
"Smile Please"
A Gentle Reminder That Christmas Was On The Way.
Bruce Turnbull and Dave Greally are still having success down in Yorkshire and Bruce came up trumps with this lovely 16lb river fish pictured below.
A Sunday Special For Bruce.
Another successful SENPAC year is nearly over and we look forward to hopefully catching some crackers in December. In closing we would like to wish all our fellow anglers and readers of our blog around the world a very Merry Christmas.
The region's Jolly Boys outing to Scotland was eagerly awaited by those participating but the weather had different ideas. Storm Callum came in big style from the Atlantic and the first two days of our Pike fishing were far from jolly. Extremely strong winds and torrential rain caused flooding and water levels rose dramatically. Finding somewhere to fish proved virtually impossible as water enveloped most of the favourable spots. SENPAC members are hardy guys and it did not stop them from giving it a go. Paul Proctor and Steve Sandiford decided that bank fishing was a no hoper and decided to do a spot of Kayak fishing. They covered a fair distance over water but even after a couple of days they were not to be rewarded for their efforts. Luckily some small Pike were caught by Bruce Turnbull, Dave Greally, Dave Gardner and Peter Armstrong on day one. The first of the Winter Pike matches was due to be fished on the second day but this was quickly cancelled and the other members travelling across on the day were advised not to travel. Highlight of this day was Paul Patterson's first ever Pike weighing in at just under 12lbs. Two members who were going to travel on the day re routed to a Cumbrian fishery with new member Mike Halligan celebrating with his first two Pike. Day three and we started to dry out. We were greeted with blue skies and sunshine. Water levels still high but starting to subside. Paul Patterson, Dave Gardner and Peter Armstrong had a change of venue but still caught while Bruce Turnbull and Mike Bell enjoyed a bit of sunbathing catching a handful of Pike as well.
Paul Celebrates With His First Ever Pike.
One For Mr Turnbull.
Dave Gardener Short On Bank Space.
Peter Armstrong.
As usual everyone enjoyed the outing but hopefully next time the weather will be a little kinder. As for the rest of the month Dave Greally and Bruce Turnbull were back again in Yorkshire catching some nice fish. Peter Armstrong and Dave Gardner returned to Scotland and caught a few fish. We now look forward to the weeks ahead and hopefully some nice Pike will be caught.
