Pike - Pike Fishing

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Pike - Pike Fishing

I thought I would put up a post on what I consider one of the best if not the best fish that swim in our freshwaters. But sadly sometimes miss treated fish

Pike are often thought of as the sharks of the freshwater. They are predators and hence feed on other fish and marine life

Pike – Overview

The Fish
Pike Esox lucius grow to very large size the record is 46lb 13 oz held by by R. Lewis

They are predatory fish and feed off fish and freshwater mammals. Small pike are also known as “Jake Pike”





They hunt by site, smell and sensors which are located on their head and along their dorsal fin. Pike are ideally coloured to blend in with their surrounds so that they can lie in wait for their pray to pass.


What to catch Pike on - Baits / Lures

Pike will eat almost anything and here is a list of what is commonly used to catch pike

Pike Bait Freshwater fish –
Roach Dace Perch Rudd and many more ( fished as live bait or dead bait )
eels ( usually cut up into sections )

Pike Bait Saltwater fish baits -
Mackerel , sprats and herring ( these are the common baits and are great as you can buy them from your local supermarket when freshwater baits are hard to catch )

To see how to mount your baits | Click Here |

Pike Lures
From spinners, plugs, flies and soft plastic lures a pike will take them all when they are used correctly
| Click here to read more on Lure Fishing |

Other Pike baits
If a pike is hungry it needs to feed hence pike can be taken on lobworms maggots ect


Pike will attack small birds and water rodents , I have personally seen small ducklings being take by pike


Pike – habitat

Pike can be found in every type of water –canals, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams ect

Basically if there are fish like roach / dace in the water then you can be 90% sure that a pike will be there too.

Pike love to hang out on the edge of reed / weed beds underwater obstructions over hanging trees ect

When looking for a ideal peg to catch a pike just think “ if I was a pike were would be a good place to ambush some fish “ and you will not go far wrong

Handling Pike
Please please treat them with respect and return them alive and well

To unhook pike you will need forceps a good pair of gloves and an unhooking mat

I will break this down and expand on each little section time

If you would like to write a little post on Pike fishing please do , it will be great to read it

[fishypaul]

Wonderful info Richard ,we can't get enough of this sort of article,
i have been Pike fishing for more than thirty years and have seen all manner of mistreatment heaped on this wonderful fish,
I have seen gags that would probably hold open a sharks mouth used,these things needed two hands to pull them shut,- - HORRIBLE !,
I have seen so-called Pike anglers so afraid of the fishes teeth that they feebley prod the hooks from a yard away and get absolutely nowhere,they often resort to cutting the trace and leaving two trebles in the mouth,leaving the poor old pike to slowly starve to death because their throat is sewn up with hooks.
ive seen kids kicking a pike back into the water because they are too afraid of the fish to pick it up and put it back properly,

all these attitudes are due to the fishes awesome reputation as a predator,we've all heard fairy stories of Pike eating dogs and biting paddling children etc,its all rubbish,but it makes the uneducated afraid of what is a wonderful fish.
Carp are the fish of the moment,nobody would dream of mistreating one of them,i wonder what the attitude would be if the carp had sharp teeth and the pike didnt,

As Richard said forceps and unhooking mat are a must,some long nosed snips are advisable for deeply hooked fish but that would be a rare event if everyone adopted a policy of striking as soon as you get a take,
the old idea of letting the first run stop and the second one start before you strike goes back to the days when Pike were often killed for the table so a gut hooked fish did'nt really matter,
i would much rather strike early and perhaps lose the odd fish then risk a gut hooked fish which may not survive.

I have seen people putting the hook of their scales in the pikes gills to weigh them,lets all treat them with respect,use a wet weigh sling ,weigh them quickly and get them back into the water,hold the fish in the water,give it time to get its bearings,let it swim off when it is ready

i only meant to write a couple of lines,but i am passionate about Pike,i will be out again soon to search for the holy grail( my first thirty ) so close a few years back with a 29lb 10 oz monster.

hopefully through this forum we can help give the much maligned pike a better reputation

[Norfolkboy]

Great info lads, will help a lot of people! They are an awesome fish and one I really like.

There have been cases of "mistaken identity" where water bailifs have had there hands bitten by pike, when splashing them around to wash them. This source of info was taken from Charlie Bettels site, so I personally do belive it. Obviously these cases are very rare

[FlyingFox]

great post richard!! not into pikeing myself but looks like some brilliant info for the peeps who do!!
That picture of that pike shows what a great preditor it is....can see why so mant peeps are scared of em! lol i know i wouldnt go nr a big one if i caught one!!

Ollie.

[Old Smoothound]

Great post Richard

I haven't been Pike Fishing for a few years,except on the Fly. I think I have the gear still will look it out and see if i still have all the snap tackle etc, may well give it a go later on maybe January sometime.

Cheers
Shaun

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Yes I have seen only on guy fish for pike on the fly and my god when he hooked up ne it was mad

[JuanPablo]

hi guys as u probably know by now I am predominanently a sea angler but my friend has promised to take me to Bosherston Lake in Pembrokeshire next weekend for some piking with my bass plugging gear!! Cant wait to be honest - has anybody fished Bosherston? I know it has a good reputation but wondering what sorta depths and plugs will work best!!

Thanks in advance

[Fishman]

Wow, great post. I haven't fished for pike since I was a kid when we use to go to the Pocono Mountains.


Bob

[nimue4]

You guys in the states really do have different ways of doing things to us guys in the UK, go to the mountains eh?
We ,without exception, go find some water to go fishing. lol.
Regards, Jules.

i heard a story from my uncle who fishes at a lake were i live were there is pike he was roaching at the time and he said there was a woman walking her dog alond the bank and she was throwing sticks in for the dog and the dog jumped in and on the way out it was bit by a pike.. the dog had a large cut on its leg and it wouldnt stop bleeding.