Luke and the Pike!
Young Luke, seven years old was out in the Fens with his Dad on his first Winter Pike fishing expedition. It’s always bitterly cold on those Fen Drains, the wind funnels along the high banks of the waterways, the reeds crackle as they bend to the wind, and lone moor hens scuttle in and on the cat-ice at the edges.
A hungry pike is not particular in its menu, if it is not moving too fast and doesn't take too much energy to catch most things that venture in the pikes hunting area are fair game, frogs, injured fish, even voles or rats, moor-hen chicks, in fact if it has fur, skin, scales or feathers Mr. Pike will not turn his nose up, if he had one! Luke was with his Dad along one of the Main Drains not far from Boston,
The line was out, old fashioned 'Bung' float with green underside and bright red top bobbing along in the winter wind. At the bottom end of the line a fat sardine impaled on a treble hook. At the other end, an ancient pike rod that probably started life in World War Two as a tank aerial and on the end of that was Luke, seven years old and full of ambition to catch a PIKE! 'Hope Springs Eternal in the Breast of the Young'. Suddenly the red float bobbed just a little differently, deeper, faster and then down it went! “Reel in slowly until you feel him” said Dad, "I can't pull it" replied an excited Luke, "Count to Five slowly, then hit him" said Dad! Bang! The rod bent, but a tank aerial is made of strong stu ff and Mr. Pike was in trouble. Dad hung on to Luke and after about ten minutes a beaten pike and a tired Luke were together on the Bank!
After a photograph Mr. Pike was unhooked, weighed, 11 pounds, and returned to his drain, probably no wiser and just as likely to be caught again and likely ending in a 'Yellow-Bellies' cooking pot, because a properly cooked Pike especially after soaking in cider is a great Fenland meal.
Just over three months ago, a now nineteen year old Luke was involved in an accident in London, was on life support and nearly 'switched-off' but after many operations is hopefully on the slow road to recovery but I bet that one of the things in his young life that he'll never forget is the sound of the Fen wind singing through the tight line on the morning he caught his PIKE!
Summited by Brian
Lincolnshire
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