resivoir pike

ive got the chance to fish pitsford res in a few weeks from a boat. ive not got a clue where to start. ive not got much in the way of lures because its 7 inch and over and mine are more for perch. i'm confident enough to handle them in a boat but just dont know how to go about catching them any advice please.

woodchuckers the man with vast knowledge of this certain subject..... and know dought will give you the insight to what you need to do...
infact you could invite him along if theres any room and learn off hand....

i can try and sort some room. i would be nice to see him again.

could be all round

there up to 40lb in there. so fingers crossed for the 20lber i'm after this year.

Hi pal, have you got a list of the rules for the venue?

Woodchucker wrote:Hi pal, have you got a list of the rules for the venue?

there all the same woody

Rutland, Grafham, Pitsford Waters and Ravensthorpe Reservoir.

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/_assets/media/fishing-rules.pdf

stotty beat me to it

cheers mate.

i keep saying i am going to give Grafham a go

Its a shame they dont allow trolling as it is a method that works well on trout waters. Right this could be a steep learning curve Shane.

For me the number 1 tool on any water is a fishfinder, not to find fish but to find your depths and features, pike on these types of waters will stick to features like crap to a blanket so that they can rush out and nail trout when hungrey, now the best feature on most waters is the margin however the weather is getting colder so I would say that the depths to aim for are 10-25ft. You will need need a few lures and the lures needed will be at least one Fox Replicant 8" (Perch or Trout flavour) at least a couple of Jerkbaits (Sinkers) try get at least one in natural and one in firetiger. Now the thing to remember about trout water pike is that they are fat and lazy so this means that unlike river pike that charge around nailing fish left, right and centre, trout water Pike need a bait to temp them into a take and the longer that bait is in front of that Pike the more likely the Pike is to take it so slow everthing right down to snail pace (if you reel the lure in and its not coming up from directly under the boat then your reeling too quickly).

You will need a large net, long nose pliers (Fox do a good set) side/wire cutters which are a must for pike fishing (remember my finger ) take a set of scales, weigh sling and large unhooking mat for the bottom of the boat.

If there is anything else I forget I will post it up later

Stotty wrote:i keep saying i am going to give Grafham a go

Thats the best of the bunch Stotty and some huge Zander

ive never thought about fishing a res before, but like i say ive got the chance to have ago so i must take it up. ive not fished anywhere as big or deep so i just dont know were to start.

Have you access to a fish finder Shane?

Woodchucker wrote:

Stotty wrote:i keep saying i am going to give Grafham a go

Thats the best of the bunch Stotty and some huge Zander

its about 1 hr 15min up the road from me should give it a go

i'm going to stuggle with the lures due to monies being tight so was hoping to use deads. ive not got a fish finder. ive got long foreceps and wire cutters that cut through trebles ( cut through a few on sunday) and got lots of gear to make up traces. no scales either ive never weighed fish. so not doing well really.

blower wrote:i'm going to stuggle with the lures due to monies being tight so was hoping to use deads. ive not got a fish finder. ive got long foreceps and wire cutters that cut through trebles ( cut through a few on sunday) and got lots of gear to make up traces. no scales either ive never weighed fish. so not doing well really.

Big fish angler now you need a set of them

prehaps a bad idea to go. maybe need to get saving first before i do something like this. ive got plenty of kit do what i normally would on rivers and lakes but this sounds like ive got nothing i need.

Trout waters are not easy Shane, I have fished a number of them now and a single take is a major result but the best thing is that that take can be a special fish. Last week I went to Esthwaite water in the Lakes I have had a few fish off it before so I needed to clear my head a bit and managed two 12lbers and a 14lber now on any other natural water the fish would have weighed 7-8lb and 9-10lb but this is what trout water pike are like



I caught these fish trolling a large plug at 35ft deep in 40ft of water, but without a fish finder you will be fishing in the dark

Dont forget armbands too, if that boat goes down, least you'll look pretty

they supply jackets but i have got a man size one if need be.

From what you've said, unless you were to be able to get all the bits your gunna need, I'd take your time, save a few pennies, swot up on the intricacies of fishing big waters, and rearrange it for maybe spring time.
From your blog, and that day with Andy, you've got some decent fishing not too far, you'll learn a lot more from your time on Terra firma, get the hang of everything you need to, and you'll be far more prepared for a boat session, even tho its a whole new kettle of fish (excuse the pun).
All too often we hear of lads (experienced sometimes) having tragic accidents, so its not something to take lightly.

Tim's right really Shane, although I love trout waters they can be hard places and a bit of a rat race at the beginning of the day. If your still interested in a few months have a drive up here and I will take you to Esthwaite for the day and I will show you the ropes

We may even get into a few fish like this.