Large pike, small stream

by david crespin
(new forest Hampshire UK)

It must have been October 1997, half term. I was using a mepps to try to catch some trout at the stream that runs past the Balmer Lawn at Brockenhurst, New Forest. It was not a successful day as there were so many leaves and twigs floating in the water and I kept hitting snags.
I managed a couple of trout which were returned unharmed. It was getting dark and I thought I would have a couple of last casts in a deep cut in the stream when I thought I snagged another log under the surface.
I wasn't worried about losing the lure as I was about to finish the day so I made a huge heave half expecting the line to snap when this huge pike head broke the surface of the water. Somehow I managed to get it onto the bank when it fell off the lure but I managed to stop it sliding into the water. I took a stick to measure it and returned the monster.
When I got home I measured the stick and it was just under three feet. Not the largest pike, but huge for the New Forest.

What a fantastic New Forest fishing tale David!
I know of a huge pike in a different area of the New Forest which we would worry about every summer as the stream it lived in got drier and drier. Yours at just under 3 feet is a whopper!!!!! Thanks for sharing.

Click here to post comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Best New Forest fishing stories.


Home | Contact Me | Terms of Use | About Me |