Friendship, A Great Fish and an even better Sandwich

After a week of frustration chasing a new job a small dark invisible cartoon cloud hovered above my head and had been following me all week. But having a good mate like Steve 'Gulper' Lewis soon puts a smile back on my face. Today, Steve got the boat out to tackle a large stillwater he hasn't tackled before but one i know quite well. I was excited because the last time i was aboard 'The Fury' i caught a big lump of a fish. Steve really knows how to work his boat amd present baits perfectly on these big waters. It was an early start as usual. We always attempt to be on any water before light. The temperature was cool but the wind was kind and in the early light we found the roach topping in one bay. We trolled early with roach and lures and almost straight away Steve had a take on one of his super spoons that caught nearly 30 fish this season in Ireland. Sadly this fish shook the hooks but this was a sign to encourage us. We continued and shortly after i watched Steve's bung bounce under violently and disappear. Just as Steve was about to strike the bung popped up. The Pike had cheekily managed to steal his livebait. We started to think it was going to be one of those days. We continued to troll and the baitfish were still topping and then we were given a sign; a large pike swirled behind one of the bungs. So, immediately we lowered the stop knots and put the baits up near the surface and immediately it payed off. Re-covering the same area the Pike had swirled at the bung my reel screamed with a vicious take and i instantly felt the heavy head-thumping of a decent fish. After a short but hard fought battle Steve slipped the net under a fish just short of the magical 20lb mark(photo above); a PB for me on this water. Not long after Steve broke his duck and had an awesome scrap with a very plump jack that was hard to believe(photo above). We worked hard covering alot of water the rest of the day with no further success. A special mention must be given to almost the highlight of the day; and that was possibly the greatest breakfast sandwich ever made(photo above). Steve's culinery skills are well known and have received high regard in past Blog postings but this was outstanding. He concocted one of his famous triple decker sandwiches which was filled with a layer of Pork and Herb sausages and a layer of Deli. cured bacon and 2 fried free range eggs. The ingredients were literally mouthwatering and they were cooked to perfection. As i type this i am beginning to salivate.....................

Gulper Dude! Thanks for being a top mate but even greater thanks for that sandwich.........Awesome day!