TIP 6: WAIT FOR A CHANGE IN WEATHER OR LIGHT...
Let’s go back to November 2021 for this story. It was after the second Covid wave, a very tough period for our business. In the first year, travelling to the Netherlands was even forbidden, and in the second year things were still far from easy with all the restrictions in place. To make matters worse, the French boating licence was no longer recognised by the Dutch authorities because France had not endorsed all ICC resolutions. Then I received a call from Marc, a French customer who had been travelling to the mighty Volkerak with his own fishing boat for more than 20 years. “What should I do? I hear that in Holland they’re sending boats back and issuing fines. Can you guide us?”
The first guiding day produced some fish, but nothing special. It was freezing cold and typically November: very dark and gloomy. So on the second day, I chose quality. But things didn’t start well. On the first spot, we made a long drift of about 700 m without the slightest sign of life. Then I restarted the drift in the opposite direction, but again no bites. I began the drift for the third time, but I could sense the guys’ morale dropping to zero. Still no action. I tried to keep the motivation up and told them I was absolutely certain the big ladies were here. Stubborn as I am, I started the drift for the fourth time. French customers are often excellent anglers, but sometimes also impatient :-) But again, no bite. The guys replied: “Hans, what kind of guide are you, there’s no fish here!” Just then, I noticed a small opening in the dark cloud cover — a ray of sunlight pushed our way by the wind — and I said:
They agreed, and we started the drift now for the fifth time! And then, on that very first spot, what I had been hoping for all along finally happened: that little bit of sun and light triggered the ladies to feed. Barely had that sunlight warmed our day when Marc’s rod bent over completely! An explosion at the surface revealed a serious pike! A hellish fight followed, and only after several minutes were we able — to everyone’s joy — to land the magnificent specimen: a fat, mighty Volkerak pike lady of 125 cm!!! After all his years of fishing, it was also Marc’s personal best. Pure joy on the boat.
When we released the lady, we drifted only 15 m further — and again FISH ON!!! A second Volkerak queen of 116 cm posed for the photo. The pike kept coming, but the weather turned completely gloomy again. At the end of the drift, the guys let me cast a few times, and I also managed to catch one: the third metre‑plus pike from that “fishless” spot: 103 cm
A spicy detail: on the second spot that same afternoon, a 118 cm also came aboard — and all this while, when we returned to the harbour, we heard that the (few) other boats had blanked that day!
CHANGE OF LIGHT !!!
A very gloomy November day — but still an absolute top day!
Unforgettable memories.