Going back to my roots...... yeah

Firstly, I trust you all had a great Christmas and New Year!
During December I have been climbing the walls, due to one thing or another I was not able to get out fishing at all. However 2013 is here and I would say its been an enjoyable start to the years fishing.

Myself and my family travelled down to Suffolk on the 30th December to see our extended family and I had it in my mind to visit at least one mark I used to fish as a child, whilst I was there. Knowing I wasn't going to be able to spend much time at it, I had just packed my Blue Current, Biomaster, a few spinnerbaits, shads, traces, net and tools.

My lure fishing started back in Suffolk, where I learned to target Pike and Perch and for sometime I have felt quite nostalgic about those days. I have often wanted to visit and turn my hand to a bit of freshwater fishing again.
Sadly I have no proof of my childhood fishing aside from the following image;

Even that is not proof enough, as it is a picture of a dead pike I lifted out of the water in order to fool my Dad and prove I was better than him (which of course I am!).

It wasn't until the 2nd of January that I did get out and it would only be a four hour session max, I think it actually turned out about three and a half hours.
My chosen venue was a drainage system surrounding a country estate in Long Melford, a mark I last fished about 20 years ago and had some nice Pike out of there indeed.

Snag fest!

The area is quite snaggy and the branches were dotted with lost lures, something I did not quite expect as it was rarely fished when I was a child.
Anyway I tackled up using a 2.8" Illex Method Shad with a 2g Jighead at the business end. I began to fan out my casts, working up against reeds and under overhanging branches. Within minutes I had a rise from a fish, I started to get ever so excited and about 15 minutes later I banked a small Jack Pike,  my first Pike in near 20 years!

Very shortly after it was followed by another that took the lure on the drop! Surprising how fish react similarly at times, be it a fresh or salt species!

I was really hoping for bigger fish and know that the area holds them as I've caught them before, albeit a long time ago.
I tried some spinnerbaits and some ultralight plugs but I could not find the bigger fish, in fact with those lures I couldn't induce a take of another Jack either!
Switching back to the Method Shad I caught three more Jacks and lost another three.

The action strangely died off as the rain started to fall heavier and though I fished on for an hour or so I had no more bites or follows. I decided to accept my lot and head back to meet the family.
So I didn't quite get the size I was after, but I felt it was a pretty enjoyable way to start the years fishing and a nice way to kind of reconnect with my Childhood. I think I would like to catch some more Pike this year and shall hopefully visit some of the reservoirs in North Wales, I will have to stop being such a tight arse and fork out the dosh for day tickets though.

It was the first time I had used the Illex Method Shads too and I was suitably impressed with them. I did leave a couple in the overhanging branches to accompany the other lures, but guess thats par for the course.

So with that report my fishing for 2013 commences and I hope its a big year for us all!

Thanks for reading and tight lines.