Ugly Hillend Pike

Hillend tends to be too busy for my liking at weekends so I decided to wait until about 6 O'clock tonight before I went up to the Loch as most of the day ticket folk would have packed up and gone home by then.I parked next to the Eastercroft Care Home and wandered over to the Big Moss. A bitter North East wind was blowing in towards me so as you can imagine it was not the most pleasant of locations to try and get a good line out. I persevered and moved all the way round the Big Moss. I then decided to make my way over to the Yachting Club and decided to walk out on the pontoon so as to get the wind at my back and then cast in towards the dam back. After about ten minutes or so I felt the jag jag jag of which I was certain was one of Hillend's wildest fish, a Pike. It took me some time to get him in as he went right under the pontoon and behind me . I didn't know what to do. I thought I was going to break my rod or cut my new fly line as it took a fair length of line from my reel as it went in the opposite direction from where I needed it to go.I just had to hang on for dear life and put as much pressure on the fish as I could dare to try and coax it back from under the pontoon. Lady luck was on my side as it eventually swam back from under the pontoon and before too long I was able to net him. After a quick photo call I placed him back in the water and manged to get the video function on my camera ready to film his release back into the Loch.If I'm being totally honest I would say that it was not the best looking Pike I have ever seen as he was actually quite an odd shaped ugly looking chap!