Fenland piking legend Denis Moules is the special guest when the re-launched King's Lynn branch of the Pike Anglers Club meets for the first time in a few seasons on Wednesday, October 26.

Denis - or Digger as many pike anglers know him - will be talking about his pike fishing career which stretches from the 1960s to the present day.

He's fished the Fens at their best and seen some leaner times as well in half a century chasing Esox on the rivers and drains.

'The Fenland drains are up and down but one of the most important things I have learned is that the good swims will return to life eventually,' he said.

'Over the years I have fished most of Fenland's waters. I now have 104 pike over 20lbs, topped by one of 31lbs 8oz.

'At present I am catching some very good pike from one or two drains. The Fens are never producing big pike from every drain, so it pays to have good knowledge of several.

'I am often asked if the pike fishing is as good as it was in the 1970s. This is a hard one to answer but the answer is yes, but you have to work hard and have a lot of good information or long experience to reach the heights of the 1970s.'

For hard work, read a mobile approach to bait fishing - aka the leap-frogging method of moving rods along the bank to search a water until feeding fish are found. Digger once told me he reckoned he'd had a twenty for every so many miles he'd covered.

He certainly gets about a bit, and puts many of the younger generation to shame with the amount of legwork he puts in. He's also a seasoned political operator.

'I am a great believer in putting something back into the sport and represent the PAC on the Lower Great Ouse and Fenland Fisheries Consultative,' he said. 'Here we make representations to the EA about the Fen drains and highlight what we think is wrong.

'Recently a new by-pass pump has been constructed at Welmore Sluice on the Delph to rapidly remove flood water from the Ouse washes. This should prevent future pollutions on this drain.

'Also, the John Rennie sluice at Denver has been de - silted which should help the Relief Channel return to

its former glory. These projects were undertaken as a result of my representations to LGOFFC.

'At present I am working closely with Ashley Brown of Kings Lynn AA and PAC to highlight long underlying problems with the Old Bedford.

'This has suffered badly as a fishery in recent years and EA surveys confirm this. Local Angling Trust officials are also actively involved.'

Elsewhere, the rivers have been up and down. A police match on the Ouse downstream of St Mark's was won with a few pounds in last week's gales.

But a little further downstream, two anglers found the bream big-time. Mark Smith and Jess Rockett sacked up with slabs, with Mark landing 137lbs in a pleasure session on the river last week.

Good swims always return to life eventually, as Denis says. That applies to bream as much as it applies to pike.

Denis Moules will be at the Wm Burt Club, West Winch, on Wednesday, October 26 (7.30pm).