Weather's been getting otter for pike angler Eric

Pike angler Eric Edwards found some added competition when he tried a new stretch of river in the shape of a family of otters.

As first the dog otter then its kits came out to play on the icy margins, he realised he'd pitched up close to their holt and moved on. There's little chance he'd have found a pike nearby.

But the sighting still made for a memorable day, as Eric observes.

"I was truly thrilled to see those otters and absolutely delighted to get pictures of them," he writes on his blog.

"There are those in the angling world who would have otters done away with but not me, they are a predator, just like the pike I want to catch and for too long predators have been persecuted. Better to make room for them and enjoy their presence in my view."

Eric's uploaded a film clip of the otters on his blog - click here to see it.

The North wind doth blow on Eric Edwards

Eric Edwards ponders the onset of the cold snap in his latest blog post.

"While most people in this country abhor the cold and stay tucked up in their cosy houses the average piker loves it and can't wait to get out," he writes.
"Wind, rain, snow, we take them all in our stride and concentrate on the matter in hand - catching snappers."

Click here to read the rest of it.

Eric Edwards talk at Darlington and Durham

He's caught the biggest brace of pike ever landed, lost lures in the odd ceiling along the way - and he doesn't do a bad talk either.

Eric Edwards is heading for the Darlington, Durham and Teeside Region of the Pike Anglers Club on Tuesday, December 7.

He'll be speaking at the Coxhoe Workingmen's Club, High Street, Coxhoe, County Durham.

Tickets are £2 PAC members, £3 non-members, juniors free. There's a bar, buffet and raffle.

Is Chew in decline as a pike water..?

Eric Edwards has some interesting thoughts on the current state of pike fishing at Chew Valley - which some fear may be in decline - on his blog.

"It's probably fair to say that the pike fishing at Chew is just about the best there is in this country - usually that is," writes Eric.

"Earlier this year there was a fish-kill at the lake in which it is clear that many very big pike died.

"Such things are natural phenomena in which the population levels out a little, nothing much to worry about in the long term but annoying at the time."

More here. For Angling Times report on Chew's six thirties to date, click here.