Beginning pike fishing

[DAN27]

Hi all

Just started pike fishing today at a local pond and needed a spot of advice.
As it was the 1st time I have used deadbait I followed hooking advice as found on this site but afer 2/3 casts the deadbait(smelt) keep coming off.

This was not a major issue as I had a number but left me wondering should they be fully defrosted before fishing or part. The ones I used had been in the fridge over night and followed defrosted so were soft as you would expect.

Sorry for this basic query but if I'm going to catch one of these magnificent fish I need all the help I can get. Any other assistance would be excellent!

Cheers

[perch_king]

hello mate and welcome to the forums

hook the top treble in the root off its tail and hook the other treble half way down in the side off its body and you should cast all day hope this help

[baitmaster]

i will normally use my smelts semi frozen but as baits becomes soft casting any distance you will get the baits coming off.
a simple and effective way round this or to lessen the chance of a cast off is to use bait flags
heres what they look like


first attach bait as normal and where the hook comes through the wrist of the fish attach a bait flag on the hook make sure it goes over the barb or they will not work properly
doing this will greatly lessen the chance of a cast off

tightlines
kevin

[Greenheart]

I also find lashing the deadbait to the trace using some bait elastic helps.

[fishypaul]

i have had many difficulties with soft baits over the years and now use frozen baits nearly all the time
softer baits like the sardine and smelt are much better for casting when frozen,
they soon thaw in the water and i think it could be an advantage to cast a frozen bait out,i feel that when thawing it releases more juices and aromas that pike find so appealing then a fresh one would
i too use bait flags and i feel the red ones give you the edge,if you want to secure your bait in place with something else ian ( greenheart ) has useful tip in using bait elastic,pva string is also useful,
i favour an elastic band,red in colour again,i have even been known to put three or four round the bait,the colour does seem to have an effect.

best of luck dan,hope you get a biggie before the season finishes