Woodchuckers guide to lure fishing.

As a lure angler I have been lucky enough to catch predatory fish from canals, ponds, rivers, stillwaters, large glacial lakes.... The one thing that every lure angler has in his advantage is mobility, If the fish are not there you cannot catch them, so you reel in and move to the next area, this gives you a distinct advantage over most other anglers. For the readers who have never caught on a lure, I will give you a little insight into what generally happens.

Cast out your lure.
Retrieve the lure.
Bang Crash Wallop
Fish on

I would be lying if I said this happened to me every time I went out, however it only takes one good take from a pike to hook you forever as it has me and most people that I take out.

Equipment

Rods

Not as important as you would think, however the style of lure fishing that you do and the time of year that you do it does really pick the rod for you. I am known for jerkbait fishing which generally weigh between 2-8oz, trying to chuck these with a 13ft flimsy rod will end in tears and an early lesson. The rod I use for this type of fishing is a 6'6" baitcasting rod with a trigger grip to take a multiplier (reels will be covered next) These rods have a stiffish action which helps you impart action into your jerkbaits and large plugs (ie shad raps and depth raider) I also use mine for trolling lures while on boats (One of my favorite ways of lure fishing)
If your wanting to lure fish your local canal these rods are a little bit overkill so I have a lighter outfit for these sessions which doubles up for trout, perch, chub and zander.
If you would prefer to use a fixed spool reel, then you will need a spinning rod which generally have a lighter and more through action as the stiffness of your rod is not needed for imparting action into your lures (spinner baits and smaller plugs) depending on the casting weight of your rod you can also use larger plugs as above however if you like to enjoy the fight from your fish I would recommend you keep the casting weight down to 2oz max.

Reels

Multipliers

There are so many good reels on the market these days that its hard to say which to go for, I use a Shimano Cardiff 401A loaded with 80lb braid for my jerkbait fishing, The multiplier is the finest tool in a lure anglers armory because you can fish so accurately with them, the clutches are silky smooth and the fish when hooked are attached directly to the spool unlike fixed spool reels. If you are taking the sport up seriously I suggest you buy one and dont be put off with what your mates say, I could teach you in 15mins.

Fixed Spool Reels

I do use these reels on my small spinning rods but generally because its easier to cast small spinners and plugs with fixed spool reels. Again I use Shimano reels but this is a personal choice only. As long as they can take 150 yards of 30lb braid and they have a good clutch, then they will do the job.

Line

I stopped using nylon the second I used braid it really is as simple as that, the non stretch, instant contact of braid makes it far superior to nylon for using lures, pike really do hammer into lures sometimes, however zander and perch are really subtle and would not be felt as easy on nylon if at all.

A word of warning, when using braid

Buy the best that you can afford, in the long run it will save you a fortune in lures, trust me.... when I started fishing, the local trees looked like xmas trees with the spinners and plugs hanging from them, now I just pull the tree down only joking
Its also worth mentioning that your clutch must be set on the light side because you can easily pull the hooks from a fish due to the lack in stretch.

I use 15lb braid on my ultralight spinning and baitcasting outfit

I use 30lb on my deadbaiting outfits

I use 80lb on my jerkbait outfits

I know 80lb seems strong line to catch pike on, that will at there max grow to 50lb but the reason we use braid of this strength is simple, when you get a snarl up on your reel while casting a 7oz lure, the lure will remain on the end of your trace and not sale into the distance (£30 lures sailing into the distance is not a nice sight, trust me and anybody who uses nylon on that one)

Traces

An absolute must have item, I use solid 90lb traces for jerkbaits, 25lb on my small spinning outfits.

The traces bought at your local tackle shops on the cards are not good enough, again trust me on that one, the amount of lures I find in rivers with a trace still attached and the trace has failed of this type should tell you everything, either make your own or look at the specialist shops for them. 12-18" are fine, nothing shorter.

Nets

I use a QED Huntsman net which has large gauge lureweave mesh, this is almost impossible to become tangled with a flying treble, standard carp nets are not suitable for this type of fishing as a the first a fish roles in one, you will find out. If this is the only net you have then take a pair of scissors and a set of bolt cutters, as this maybe the only way you will free the fish.

Tools

Another MUST have, You will need Long nosed pliers, the fox ones are great, bolt cutters to cut the hooks on lure, long forceps as a back up only, sharp scissors, a file to sharpen hooks, set of good scales, weigh sling/unhooking mat, camera , plasters and you then have everything to go wondering around the waters with confidence

Personal Options

I always take Polaroid sunglasses as they allow you to see following fish and fish that are sat in the margins

Food and Drink is a must on 12hr lure fishing sessions.

Waterproofs are another item that I usually take with me.

I know you think that I am going to now tell you which lures to fish with, but I am not, what I will say is that you will get what you pay for with lures ie Lidl specials will not be as good as Rapala lures ect.....

I would recommend that you buy a small selection of spinners, a small selection of plugs that run at different depths, color I find not to be that important but a selection will help when to going gets tough.

I hope I have covered everything but please ask any questions that you would like answering and I will see what I can do.

I hope that you enjoy my branch of the sport and I hope to see you on the bank soon.

Tight Lines

Woodchucker

You make it sound so easy!

badger wrote:You make it sound so easy!

It is :oops: :oops:

Well I've got all the gear and no idea. So after easter is over we can meet up at the res and you can give us the benefit of your knowledge!

I have my new rods and reel to try out so this time I am just going to bring the essentials and not all my kit like last time!

Top write up 8)

Woodchucker wrote:

badger wrote:You make it sound so easy!

It is :oops: :oops:

saw your pic in grahams :tongue:

That was a cracking fish Dan, I caught it on Loch Derg in Ireland, shade over 19lb :shock:

I have been on the Leeds/Liverpool today with little sucess, yet again the Polish have been taking the pike and perch :evil:

bastards ain't they !!!

My mate did a 19lber out of it last year as well

Woodchucker wrote:My mate did a 19lber out of it last year as well

what the leeds liverpool canal ?

he wasn't a massive body building jock lad was he ?

caught up rodley ?

i met i big jock fella and he showed me a pic on his phone of a 19lber he'd caught.

Armley :shock: , I will try and dig the picture out :shock:

I was on the canal on saturday there were 3 polish with a bag of pike theyd caught!!They should be told when they come in the country,WE HAVE PLACES CALLED SUPERMARKETS!!!!

channa wrote:I was on the canal on saturday there were 3 polish with a bag of pike theyd caught!!They should be told when they come in the country,WE HAVE PLACES CALLED SUPERMARKETS!!!!

lol correct tho, it made me think when WC mentioned there was a pole down ardsley res who said if he didn't catch a pike his wife would go hungary .... he should have been told get your self to netto full bag f shpping for £3 and if he said he had no money i'd have give him £3 just to Fook off

No but they have enough money to get over here don't they??LEACHES!!!!

channa wrote:No but they have enough money to get over here don't they??LEACHES!!!

Leaches there good for catfish are they not

Next one I find keeping their catch may just find out what it's like to be bait!

when we next go there if i see any of them fu**ers i'm gonna throw him in !!! and cut his lines

I know its hard lads but, the problem that I have got is that I have both firearms and shotguns which means that I have to be whiter than white. I give somebody a good dig, the police will take my guns without even thinking about it. :evil:

Doubt theyd be able to eat a full one hahaha.!!

just blast there balls off and they would,nt say owt... crazy fool

Woody do you think this lure will be any good for catching pike :D

Hey, they made a lure that looks like me! :lol:

colour I find not to be that important

Colour does matter and its part of the attraction finding what works on the day. I could quote numerous occasions where a certain colour has scored. Even when the same lure but different colour hasnt even produced a follow in.

Cut a bit of wood or metal up and I will catch a pike on it, when they are truly up for it they will take anything

when i was in us and a thay did all sorts off ones even with spongebob on