When your struggling ?

Hi

Just a post which i hope will result in some good old forum discussion, suggestions etc

When I'm carping depending on how hard the water is i generally know when to recast, freshen up the swim with bait or when to leave well alone - i won't always be right of course but i get it right often enough

Now when i was sat in the gloom on saturday i tried to use the same thoughts and apply them to my piking. The questions which popped into my head were;

a. Am i better off recasting regularly or leaving my baits alone ?
b. Would twitching occasionally affect my results?
c. Should i be popping a bait up?
d. Would injecting baits with oils make them more attractive?
e. Any other methods i should consider?
f. Investigate different parts of the lake - plumb carefully looking for features

My conclusions were to vary my deadbaits - lamprey, sardine and mackerel, try some with oil and some without, pop at least one bait up each session, twitch a couple of rods and leave the others static and also have a serious look at drifter float fishing ............... most importantly record everything i try - what works and what doesnt and see if a pattern emerges.

So guys what works for you - what tricks do you use to get the runs coming - what has worked and what hasn't?


Any thoughts?

Healdy

I'll be really interested in the results on this - great post Healdy.

I think you have covered quite a lot and after us both discussing this at the park, we really were in thought about what we could have done!

well mate as you know im a fan of injecting, i also like to freshen the baits every now and again which worked for me last time if you remember. its a big old water your on and if your in the wrong spot your pretty much sha**ed, i dont think we know enough about it yet so any more info you can get hold of is a bonus

just depends who,s doing the cutting....

A good post all the same healdy,
trail and error springs to mind,

Woody

I know what you mean but i am not looking to reinvent the wheel just thought it would be interesting to hear what tricks people have tried what has worked and what hasnt.

So come on .........spill the beans


Healdy

Here is my take on Pike fishing Healdy.

Catching large Pike is 70% luck and 30% skill, Pike over 20lbs dont feed every day infact they can go a couple of weeks without feeding especially still water Pike because they dont loose energy like river Pike that have to fight a current or flood conditions. A 20lb Pike will eat between 5 and 8 times there own body weight each year and still put on bulk fat and muscle, so 4-5 good tench can go a long way. We are mostly Saturday/Sunday boys so the chances of catching a large Pike actively hunting prey is slim. Now not to put a dampner on Pike fishing there are things you can do to give you a better chance of catching the better fish.

Weather

I would class the best day to go Pike fishing as an overcast, dry, with a good ripple on the water, Pike hate bright light, especially in clear water because Pike rely on there for ambushing and bright light gives them away too easily, thats why Pike like snags, bridges and hanging around under boats because they cant be seen. The ripple on the water is another outline breaker for the Pike which works in its advantage in its underwater world, look at the light pattern underwater the next time there is a ripple especially on clear water then look at the markings on a Pikes back
Other factors are the wether conditions before or after your Saturday, ideally you want a weather change so 2 weeks of cold weather then two days of warmer weather is ideal and a dream during winter,another good condition are the days running upto a flood, river Pike will feed hard just incase its there last meal for a few weeks, and just as the rivers run off for the same reasons.

Venue

There is no point putting hours into fishing a water that has a couple of 20lb Pike in it, life is too short mate so get on a water that has a lot of 20lb Pike in it and the your chances will improve. Underbank is a good venue that has a track record but its only going to do you the odd 20lber with some doubles mixed in because has not got the baitfish to sustain a lot of big Pike. Trout waters do spring to mind due to the amount of bait available for the pike, they grow big very quickly and die young due to there unnatural growth rate but they do hold a lot of very large Pike. Rivers should never be overlooked either, at least 4 Yorky rivers have produced 30lb Pike and a good number of 20lbers over the years and they are easy enough to fish and prebait, but you might have to cover some miles to find the better less pressured spots.

get the two things above spot on and you will catch big Pike but if I was struggling on Saturday I would have tried every peg for 30mins because you have to track the pike down on big waters and by being dissaplined and sticking to the 30 min rule you will find new areas that contain Pike and possibly drop a few on a Pikes nose. Injecting oils and popping baits up may help your chances but finding large feeding Pike is the key

Thanks Woody

Some good stuff .


My favourite comment;

I would have tried every peg for 30mins because you have to track the pike down on big waters and by being dissaplined and sticking to the 30 min rule you will find new areas that contain Pike and possibly drop a few on a Pikes nose. Injecting oils and popping baits up may help your chances but finding large feeding Pike is the key

Now that is food for thought


Healdy

Woodchucker wrote:Here is my take on Pike fishing Healdy.

Catching large Pike is 70% luck and 30% skill, Pike over 20lbs dont feed every day infact they can go a couple of weeks without feeding especially still water Pike because they dont loose energy like river Pike that have to fight a current or flood conditions. A 20lb Pike will eat between 5 and 8 times there own body weight each year and still put on bulk fat and muscle, so 4-5 good tench can go a long way. We are mostly Saturday/Sunday boys so the chances of catching a large Pike actively hunting prey is slim. Now not to put a dampner on Pike fishing there are things you can do to give you a better chance of catching the better fish.

Weather

I would class the best day to go Pike fishing as an overcast, dry, with a good ripple on the water, Pike hate bright light, especially in clear water because Pike rely on there for ambushing and bright light gives them away too easily, thats why Pike like snags, bridges and hanging around under boats because they cant be seen. The ripple on the water is another outline breaker for the Pike which works in its advantage in its underwater world, look at the light pattern underwater the next time there is a ripple especially on clear water then look at the markings on a Pikes back
Other factors are the wether conditions before or after your Saturday, ideally you want a weather change so 2 weeks of cold weather then two days of warmer weather is ideal and a dream during winter,another good condition are the days running upto a flood, river Pike will feed hard just incase its there last meal for a few weeks, and just as the rivers run off for the same reasons.

Venue

There is no point putting hours into fishing a water that has a couple of 20lb Pike in it, life is too short mate so get on a water that has a lot of 20lb Pike in it and the your chances will improve. Underbank is a good venue that has a track record but its only going to do you the odd 20lber with some doubles mixed in because has not got the baitfish to sustain a lot of big Pike. Trout waters do spring to mind due to the amount of bait available for the pike, they grow big very quickly and die young due to there unnatural growth rate but they do hold a lot of very large Pike. Rivers should never be overlooked either, at least 4 Yorky rivers have produced 30lb Pike and a good number of 20lbers over the years and they are easy enough to fish and prebait, but you might have to cover some miles to find the better less pressured spots.

get the two things above spot on and you will catch big Pike but if I was struggling on Saturday I would have tried every peg for 30mins because you have to track the pike down on big waters and by being dissaplined and sticking to the 30 min rule you will find new areas that contain Pike and possibly drop a few on a Pikes nose. Injecting oils and popping baits up may help your chances but finding large feeding Pike is the key

This goes for a lot of fishing to be honest. Tim and my self were out pike fishing Saturday the river looked perfect. One problem could not see a fish (any fish) it was to bright just killed it. Another day that part they would be hanging them self s.


For me i have often found a dead bait fished static and a lure brought past it can win you an extra bite. Also i do move a lot I think pike are one of those fish if there not going to come to you you go to them. Last of all like all my fishing you want results put in time and pre bait this also goes for pike roach carp you name it.

I have caught 100's of pike in my time you get the spot right and there on the feed it can be one a chuck. same spot next week and you cant pull out a 2lb jack. Just apply what you know about fish they follow the rest. on a river you just need to think if i was a pike I would be sitting there as a fish comes past and 90% of the time you will be right. Tim will tell you how quick i have had bites on the river through the right bait and the right spot.

Me and Ryan fished the Wharfe on Sunday, nothing happened from 7am until 3pm when it started dropping dark, then we had run after run, the low light levels given them the confidance to feed, the perfrct trigger.

Woodchucker wrote:Me and Ryan fished the Wharfe on Sunday, nothing happened from 7am until 3pm when it started dropping dark, then we had run after run, the low light levels given them the confidance to feed, the perfrct trigger.

spot on it was silly bright Saturday I said to Tim I don't think we have a chance but Hay Ho had worst days great lad great surroundings as I always say its not always about the fish.

some great info there lads and a few things a have tried which seem to have triggered a bite.

casting regular... i've sat on a bait for upto an hour or more then decided to bring it in and recast to the same spot and had instant takes.

tweaking baits.... when i fish a bait suspended of bottom i will always give it a pluck and i've had a few fish withing moments of doing it

observing..... i always watch the water. if i notice a lot of fish topping or scattering then its safe to say a preditor wont be far away and i'll bang a bait out towards the area.

extra attaction...... i early always have 1 rod with a feeder full of mashed fish in it and so many times that rod has out fishd the others.

staying mobile..... not something i have done a lot in all honesty due to the way i like to fish but it is a big advantage. i fished 3 different swims the otherday and covered a lot of water from each but on waters with open swims then leap frogging your rods is a good way to get around without actually uping sticks and moving all at once.

my take on the pike of late though is they are still very active and not really up for the deads. its just my theory but with the mild conditions i think baits popped up, suspended or livey's will score very well.
the other week i had a pike about 8lb in my peg. it was sat wiating for me to bring roach in (i think). every time i stood near the edge it came out from the weeds expecting an easy meal. i tried allsorts to tempt it and a few times it got very close but i just never triggered its instinct to attack. it did hammer a skimmer i threw in though and hammered it good style.
i used to think pike usually attacked due to thier preditory instinct, almost uncontrollably but i think they are much more calculating than i gave them credit for. if things don't quite look right or the fish wants something your not offering then its pretty much an uncatchable fish.
all my efforts over my next few session will be aimed at live baits, regular casting and generally an active aproach. when the temps really plumet i may sit on baits for longer