We caught some pike last week. Seriously. When I teamed up with a mate to throw some wood and rubber – as we lure experts call it – we found the fish were well up for it.

We'd tried a few places before we found some obvious clues. The most obvious being the double that chased the three different baits I lobbed in its direction before I managed to nail a jack and it was game on.

The water on the drain was low and clear and we eventually realised they'd chase after anything we jigged and tapped along a couple of feet under the surface.

We missed and bumped off as many as we caught, ending the afternoon with seven. But after struggling for so long, it was a real buzz to be among pike that were in feeding mode – despite the fact we could have ended up with twice as many and those we did catch weren't exactly monsters.

If you don't lure fish all the time, it makes a change to feel and sometimes see the pike hit your bait. Even a jack can make you jump out of your skin sometimes.

Needless to say, I thought I'd be on a roll, but managed to blank on the same drain on Saturday.

I did the same on Sunday, managing to lose one and miss a couple on baits.

It's up and down out there at the moment, but it's still better than staying at home, putting up shelves, mowing the lawn or whatever people who don't go fishing do with their spare time.

King's Lynn Pike Anglers Club kicks off its winter meetings next Wednesday at the Wm Burt Club in West Winch (8pm).

The speaker will be Ely-based angler Mark Barrett, who's had some amazing specimens from the Fens in his time, including monster zander, carp from drains and, of late, some impressive rudd. All are welcome at meetings – you don't have to be a PAC member to attend.