Better weather for pike fishing at last..?

Is the thaw expected to set in over the next couple of days going to give pike fishing a jump start..?

That's the question we reckon thousands must be asking themselves tonight after a dour week when unseasonally low temperatures have seen waters frozen over from the Fens to the Glens.

Mike Ashcroft sums it up for many on the Cheshire Predator Group's blog.

"Four tentative dropped runs between us told us that the Pike are just not in the mood at the moment," he writes.

"We both agreed as soon as this weather breaks the Pike will really turn on."

Let's hope he's right. This season's not been an easy one for many pike anglers, if the impression you get from the forums and blogs is anything to go by.

Sprats might not be the most in-vogue bait compared to more exotic offerings like blueys and lamprey these days, but the Newcastle Journal reports:

"Pike anglers have suffered badly with the deep freeze seeing many traditional waters frozen over and unfishable.

"However piking is still continuing on the few rivers that hold the species and sprat has been the in bait for Tees fish around the Stockton and Yarm areas."

The web-based weather forecasting service Metcheck has this to say tonight: "Another cold start with some frost is expected across southeast England on Sunday morning, but the milder conditions will be moving in as the southwesterly winds freshen here, although it will probably remain dry throughout the day.

"Further rain at times will affect many northern and western areas, but temperatures could well make double figures for the first time in a long time."

You had to look hard to find anywhere with temperatures predicted to bump double figures. But five degrees is better than minus-five - if only because you don't need to go our dressed like Eskimo Nell and can at least get your baits in the water without them bouncing off the ice.

The BBC is also tipping milder weather - but warning heavy rain could bring a risk of flooding to some areas.

Many tip the first day or two of a thaw as the time to hit stillwaters, especially gravel pits.

Whether it's the slight increase in water temperatures or the oxygen boost from the lid coming off and the wind moving the water, it seems to get pike which have been lying dormant on the feed.

From the current freeze-up, the experts reckon we could find ourselves at the other extreme come the last week of January, when temperatures will be much milder than normal.

A week or two of that could see pike heading for their spawning areas early in some lowland areas.

Skaters take to the f-f-frozen Fens

ROCK HARD PIKE FISHING: Ice sets in as temperatures plummet.

Tha'ss a bit hard for pike fishing in the Fens - so get yer skates on...

Ice skaters took to the frozen Welney Washes today for the first time in more than a decade, the Cambridgeshire Times reports today.

The vast wetlands, between the Delph and Hundred Foot River, on the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border, were once the home of great skating contests, when skaters flocked from across the country to challenge Fen folk to races.

Many anglers are hanging up their rods, as waters up and down the country freeze.

Temperatures are tipped to dip as low as -10C tonight - colder than the Antarctic, as an unseasonal cold snap grips much of the country.

Forecasters predict warmer weather by the weekend. But many pikers are faced with an unexpected break in their winter campaign unless the ice clears.

Click here for a report from the Daily Mail on the cold snap.

***To check the forecast where you're hoping to fish, click here to access the excellent Metcheck service. Just enter your postcode, county or the nearest town and click on the tabs for an advance forecast.

Metcheck also allows you to set up e-mail alerts, to receive the following day's forecast for your chosen location direct to your inbox each afternoon.

Proper pike fishing weather's coming

Brrrrr... There's going to be a seriously Siberian feel to the weather over New Year.

So if you're one of those people who thinks pike fishing's better in the cold, you're going to be in your element.

Forecasters reckon temperatures could dip to nearly minus 10 over the next few days.

Click here for one of many weather stories.