"The first, the last and a very fine line"

 

"The first will be last, and the last will be first" declared Jesus in the famous Sermon on the Mount, and the past week has seen some piking firsts and lasts in our household. Today I caught my last pike of this river season on a chilly and challenging early morning pre-work session, while last Saturday my son caught his first ever pike.

 This new calendar year has seen me fish 5 sessions with pike as the intended quarry and from those 5 trips I've landed 3 pike, the largest at 14 pound coming on my first trip. Today's capture, if weighed, would have probably only tipped the scales around the 6 pound mark, but, although no monster, was a welcome relief after 2 successive blanks. It was the turn of Pete, who has been comprehensively outfishing me this year to blank today.

 

As so often happens, the pike came straight after a missed take. The livebait was immediately recast to the same spot and within seconds the float was sliding away. A brief fight followed before the obligatory photograph. As ever, watching the fish swim purposefully back into its watery home was as rewarding as the capture.

 

 

Last weekend I'd managed to secure a few hours for a quick trip to the canal, where pike were again the target. It was another single fish session, but thankfully it was my son, rather than me, who was the successful angler, his small silver spinner being attacked right underneath the bank by a marauding  jack pike. A short and splashy fight which lasted seconds, but saw the pike launch itself into the air before being netted ensued as a result of the young pike's error of judgement. Although my son has caught carp and bream much bigger than the pike, the fact that it was his first of the species made it a special moment for us both.

 

So, my last pike of the river season, his first pike ever, and in both cases an example of how fine the line between success and "failure" is in fishing. In both instances, just one thrown hook or missed take would have resulted in the dreaded blank.

 

And so, with the rivers closed till June, it's onwards and upwards as lakes, ponds and towpath beckon, and more "firsts". "lasts" and twists of fate.