 This week I'm fly fishing for Pike at Chew Valley Lake. A man made reservoir, nestled at the foot of the Mendip Hills in Somerset and providing Bristol City with its water. With over a thousand acres of water to explore, it offers some of the best pike fishing in the country. It is renowned for big pike and the current lake record stands at 44lb 6oz, just 2lb 7oz less than the current British record. I was due to fish here a month ago with Sam Pitcher but bad weather forced us onto the Somerset levels where I managed to catch a new PB pike. Seeing a pike grab my fly by my feet was heart-stopping stuff but seeing big pike follow a Chew Valley Lake is not that unusual. They're getting them to take the fly, it's another matter all together. They are educated catch and release fish and pike don't care for lures or flies they've seen before. About 49 gents? Thanks. That's a lucky one isn't it? That was always lucky. Yeah. 49 got hold of him too. Definitely lucky. Morning. Good morning. What do you want to hop in? Thank you. That's the plan. So Kit is an echo reel, a grey 10 weight, 9 for 10 weight and I'm using an airflow ridge die 3 line. The leader is just loop-to-loop, 25 pound fluoro, 240 pound AFW wire, tall loop-to-loop with a clip on the end and that's some weird dodgy pack of fly that I tied. It does seem to catch fish. I'm going to start off here. I can't tell you where it is for obvious reasons. So Heron's Green. That's the road bridge. This is her grand plan chair. She made it herself. It's very comfy. I bet it is damside or comfy. I'm just starting to sound like a plank of wood. High. High. All the boats are booked but there's not a soul in sight. Which we love. Which probably means we're in the wrong place. We don't care. Very few pike have been caught in the weeks leasing up to this day and in the first two hours we got absolutely soaked by a relentless drizzle. I've been accused of only going fly fishing with Sam because he's left-handed. But it's not true because he also brings lunch. Good job. Oh and we've caught bugger all. I did have one, a little one, fell off. Yeah the winds died down, it's lovely now. Excellent. So Sam pitches now into his first ever Chew Valley pike. We were just saying how the boats are ignoring the reed line so we're coming a bit closer. There's a lot of trout in here but there's some first cast, isn't there? First cast, it's brilliant. This is when you see a monster come and eat it. Well the fly works, Charlie. I must admit it's very satisfying catching one on one you've made. Definitely. Do you want me to net it? Were you happy to do it? Well done Sam. That's wicked. I'm happy with that, that's off the marks, that's good. Are we going extra-large pickle gherkin or cucumber? I've had gherkins bigger than that to be honest. There you go. Homemade fly, well done. That looks terrible. Was your first Chew Valley pike mind? Well done. Happy? Yes. Let's get a bigger one. It doesn't feel big, no. It's kiting a little bit to the right. It's swinging around the other side to me, it's easier than that. I'm not sure what size it is yet. Don't let it lower you because it could be bigger. It could be bigger. It's sitting a bit deeper. It's sitting a bit deeper, isn't it? It's sitting a bit deeper, yeah. Yeah, now it's woken up. It's kiting, mate, that's good. Yeah, it's a better fish. That is a better fish. Good job, mate, good job. I don't want a hook to bend down because it's quite a small hook on a fine wire. Did you see that swirl? Yeah. That was a massive swirl. I've got to say it with this West Country accent. That was a massive swirl. A swirl. I'm just trying to turn the boat. I think it could be, yeah. Yeah, he didn't know his hook though, did he? No. Flo's hair band. No. Take your time, you've got all the time in the world, mate. Is that patty you have? That's what's done it. It's turning the boat. Yeah, that's good though. Going under it, I'm not trying to play it out there then underneath it. Yeah, let it run as many times as it wants, mate. Do you smack it real hard? No, that is a good fish. Bloody hell, he's a good fish. Is it? Yeah, just saw him. Well, play it like any other, mate. Ooh, that's a good fish. Let's go, that's the boat. That's all right, that's all right. That's not all right, certainly. Just blow your rod a bit, you're fine. You should come back out, you're all right. As long as you don't get the motor. Yeah, that's what I was worried about. Don't bully him though. Oh my God. I'm not saying what I'm thinking out loud. Oh, he almost did me then. You're playing your proper, he's trying. Such a different experience on the fly, isn't it? Yeah. It's like they're in control until they're not. Be careful, don't tread on the line. Yeah, don't tread on the line. It's all right. That was fishing out into the deeper water, wasn't it? Yeah. I still don't want to know. I don't want to know. He's having a little break. Try it. Here we go. Here we don't. I'm not stabbing, mate. No, that's fine. He's timing, definitely, because he's coming back in quicker. I'll see if I can just get his head up. Well done, Sam. Yeah, just keeping an auto, isn't it? I thought that was just talking about it. You want to hit it like proper? No, it felt like a little jack. Oh, well done. That's bigger than 20. That's bigger than 20, isn't it? Did you get it? Thanks for unhooking it. Oh, my God, mate. Nice one. Mate, that's 30? Yeah, it could be. Mate, that's 30. I don't need to be busy at the back. Having had that done before. Sorry about your hands. She's ready. 24.14. That was the thingy. I don't know what a 40 must look like. Cheers. Oh, my God, what would a 40 look like? It is hollow. That's what it is. Well, we persevered. We had some lunch, and we moved into the shallows and drifted out into slightly deeper water. Charlie had a bite, and he thought it felt like a jack. But after a minute or so, it woke up. It wasn't a jack. Yep, ready. I'm filming. Beautiful. How are you feeling, Charlie? Buzzing. What a fish, mate. I'm glad I had that putty. It's like I do a little video of the fly that I caught that fish on. So we've got Flo's hairband at the top. Some rat minky around the body, and a minky tail. It looks amazing in the water. Doesn't look so amazing now. That's what it looks like in the water. Not better. So, explain what's just happened, Charlie. Um, Sam's been trimming his flies. He's just been getting into fly tying. And he was laughing at his fly that we've called the Badger. My weight is in him a pork pie and a pound that I can catch a pike on it. And there we go. Ooh. Two. Good little one. Wow, the Badger. The Badger. The Badger's been christened. He's a beautiful looking fish. He's got a lovely dark head to him. He's got so much fur in him. A bit of teeth in there. The quality of those teeth compared to the pike that you get. Just twisting one. Cool. He's a cracking little colour. I've never known such a toothy pike. He gone. The Badger. Oh my goodness. And that was that. A lovely day out fishing. We saw lots of areas that we've yet to properly explore. And a dropped perch that felt quite big actually. And that will need another look. I hope you enjoyed the video. Please subscribe or comment. It's lovely to hear from you. And thanks for watching. Trout fishing next, I reckon.