Size matters, so pile on the pounds

To mistake a 25lb pike for one half the size is against all the sacred tenets of angling

John Bailey is the piscatorial equivalent of a Badedas bath. Things happen to him. He's been eyeballed by tigers, nearly died in a helicopter crash, tangled with the Russian Mafia and discovered dead bodies – all on fishing trips.

Bailey spends much of his time fishing in the world's wild places rather than his native Norfolk. He was a pioneer of rediscovering mahseer fishing in India; he was the first Brit to find the elusive taimen in Mongolia; he has lived with the caviar hunters to fish for giant sturgeon in the Volga Delta.

He's a fine, sometimes exquisite writer. He's a wonderful photographer. He's generous, good-looking, well-read, an excellent fisherman and so fit that he runs marathons for fun.

He's also hopeless with money, a rabid Manchester United supporter, listens to pan-pipes music and is the world's second-worst card player. And, I can reveal to anyone thinking of joining hispike-fishing trip on the Belle Isle Estate on Ulster's river Erne, he is not a man to trust when it comes to estimating fish weights.

This stretch of Fermanagh lough is a pikey haven. I fished there a couple of years ago and four of us shared a catch of 74 pike. The biggest was a 27-pounder, but they have since been caught to 35lb. The average angler, and those who just want to hear a few good yarns, can join Bailey and film-maker Andy Nicholson on a three-day pike trip there this month. But let me warn you: Bailey never carries weighing scales. And if my experience at Belle Isle is anything to go by, it's time he started. We went spinning and caught a couple of little ones, then Bailey's rod bent round. "Feels a bit bigger, this one," he said. After a couple of minutes, he added: "It could even be a double [a fish of 10lb or more]."

And so it was. A quick glance as it filled the landing net left me in no doubt that it was, in fact, way over 20lb, certainly 25lb, perhaps larger.

Now we all find fish weights hard to estimate. But to mistake a 25-pounder for one of less than half that size is against all the sacred tenets of angling. So for those going on the trip (there are still a couple of places), I'd recommend you guess what your catch weighs, add a few pounds to account for scales inaccuracy, then add a couple more if John Bailey's in the boat with you.

Trip details from Andy Nicholson, 01948 871 282 or email: andy@anglingnews.net