Mapperley Reservoir, part of the NCB Area No.5 fishing club, £5 per rod day ticket lake.

A bitter, cold day at Mapperley Reservoir in late December 2024, I went fishing with a pal of mine Ben, targeting the pike.

We fished the peg nearest to the dam wall, on the car park side of the reservoir, Ben kindly gave me the choice of which side of the peg I wanted to fish.

My rods were cast out towards the left-hand side of the peg, in the direction of the wall.

I was running low on dead baits, and used a sardine on the left-hand rod, and lamprey on the right. Both baits fished on the bottom with a ledger rig set up.

A slow day, which can be expected this time of year, we managed to get a take from one pike of 13.3lbs, the only fish to be had that day.