Basic Guidance on Pike Lure Fishing

[Maceo]

I'm building up to trying a little spinning on my local river soon.

I've bought a Shakespeare Targa 9ft Spin rod off e-bay (£7.50 new - bargain!), I've bought a carbo-flex 20lb quick-change lure trace, a Mepps No.4 spinner and a lipped lure thing with a joint in the middle. I've loaded up my regular reel with 20lb mono line, right up to the rim.

I have some regular forceps, but I guess I might need more in the way of unhooking equipment. I think I have some long nosed pliers in the tool box and by the sounds of it, a glove might be needed too.


The books I've read so far haven't been very helpful to be honest. They seem far too advanced for me and assume a lot of terminology that I don't really understand.

I plan on putting this rod together and then attaching the trace and the lure and then chucking it in and slowly reeling it back in. What would you say would be the most important thing I could do as a beginner to improve the technique and maybe catch something? I understand the lipped lure should float and dive as I reel it in. What sort of speed should I go or should I try various speeds? Should I cast it in straight across and bring it back towards me, or cast it up or down stream and pull it in from there?

What about the spinner? I'm not sure from the books whether this Mepps No.4 is a 'spoon' or a 'spinner' or what it is to be honest. The explanations I've read haven't been good. What sort of depth should I try to reel it in at?

Is an anti-twist thing necessary for the rig to stop the line getting twisted? One of the books talks about hooking a clod of earth and walking backwards around a field to untwist the line - I don't like the sound of that! The river is about 6ft deep in the middle at the moment and there are a few overhanging trees and reeds around.

Thanks in advance, as always, for any advice. One of the books I have suggests buying £100 of lures just to start with, but that's not realistic for me. These two I have will have to do for now.

[jackopup]

Hi , re , Mepp fishing
i make them in their hundreds
they are spinners designed to look like injured bait fish
Fish them at any depth you like , Vary it
when you wind back to the reel do it slowly & you will fish near the bottom
or reel in quickly & your lure will fish near the surface
or a steady pace & you will fish mid water
NO need for a swivel
Best nylon to use is Maxima
Also a trace if pike are your target
on a river I would not use over 10 lb breaking strain nylon
your drag on the reel when used correctly will ensure your nylon does not break
As for other methods of fishing i am no expert but try a little plug such as a
Shakespeare big S lure if you can get one
they float but as you reel them in they dive to various depths
Get your self a pair of 8 " long forceps for river fishing
check out my hand made lures at
cannibalspinners.co.uk
Hope this helps

[the pyromaniac]

With the swimming bait (the lipped one) you'll get a great action out of it, especially if you twitch the rod about one or twice a second while you're reeling. Pike (and a buncha other predatory species iin both fresh and saltwater) will go absolutely ballistic over it!

[Maceo]

Cheers guys. I'll let you know the results in due course.

I checked out the cannibal spinners page by the way and they look very good - to my untrained eye anyway! If this is a success I might well be in touch....

I liked the photo of "St Marys & loch of the Lowes" by the way. Looks like a very beautiful place to fish.

[jackopup]

Hi st marys loch is 740 acres , 3 miles long , 1/2 mile wide at places & is in excess of 150 foot deep in parts, its the largest loch in s. Scotland , Nobody really knows what size of fish lurk in there due to the vastness of the loch
there is a population of artic char That live Very deep , It has salmon in the loch year round & some very large Ferox trout & of course Very big Hen pike
.
The loch of the lowes is joined to st marys by a river of only 300 meters long So they are both really one loch
Not expensive to fish either

[Maceo]

150 feet deep! Jesus, Mary & Joseph, imagine hooking something big right on the bottom in there!

Those sort of figures show how widely fishing varies around the country eh?

You'd need pretty much sea fishing rigs in there I imagine.