Tag Archives: deadbait

Following a blank after-work zander fishing session last week I was keen to get back out on the bank predator fishing because the rivers were fining down nicely since the rains had stopped.  I headed to an old river haunt which I hadn’t fished for four or five years. A friend and I had some great results there between 2003 and 2005, with quite a few doubles gracing our nets. These were seemingly uncaught fish in pristine condition, which gave me the best fights I’ve ever had from pike. They were long, lean, huge-finned pike which really knew how to use the current to their advantage. The reason we stopped fishing there is that when comparing photographs, we started to notice a few recaptures, so for the benefit of these prime breeding females, we decided to leave them alone. A tip for checking if you’ve had any recaptures of pike is to compare the anal fin markings. Like the rest of a pike’s markings, these are unique to each fish and because the anal fin is relatively large and visible on most photographs, they make a perfect comparison tool. Planning for an early start, I over-slept and didn’t get on …

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Well, after my last post virtually declaring September as a “lost month” as far as my fishing results were concerned, a good fish comes along and gives me a slightly more rose-tinted view of September 2010 after all! I travelled a little farther afield than usual and endured a gruelling day fishing for perch, with very disappointing results. The weather was overcast all day, the river was fairly clear and to be honest, I considered the conditions to be perfect for perch fishing.  However, the closest I came to catching a big perch was a missed take on a spinner early on, which felt like a perch and also felt heavy. Then an hour later I was lure fishing in a shallow, gravelly run when I got an amazing follow. The bow-wave created was huge! It zig-zagged behind my lure and took one final swipe, but missed. I’m pretty sure I saw the mouth of a perch as it made that final grab and I’m also sure that a pike would have had the small lure well down its throat long before that anyway! After a few hours of throwing lures around and failing to catch even a micro-perch, I …

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How to tie a wire trace (instructional video) In this YouTube video I show you all you need to know to tie strong, reliable, safe 2-hook wire traces (also refered to as “snap tackle”) for pike & zander fishing with deadbaits. I go through the tools and components you need and then show you how to tie a wire trace from scratch. I have used this type of quality home-made wire trace for the majority of my pike & zander fishing, for over 20 years and caught countless predatory fish using them. I also wrote a step-by-step “how-to” article on making a wire trace here. Related Video: How to unhook pike safely If you are relatively new to pike fishing, you should also view my video to show you how to unhook pike. These fragile predators need good fish care and handling skills to ensure they are not damaged in the process. Approaching the unhooking process with confidence is a key part of this, and hopefully my short video will help with this. More DIY fishing tackle making tips & hacks I’m quite a hands-on guy and I’m regularly tinkering with things to improve them, adapt them or make them …

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Well, the end of the traditional close season is almost upon us. I had the rare chance to go fishing twice last week and for the first trip I decided to follow my own yearning for a return to the Lincs drains (they can be frustrating at times and I hear many reports of fish thefts and that they’re not what they once were, but I just love fishing them!) for a final try for a pike before the rivers & drains close on the 14th. I made the 70 mile trip East and checked a few of my favourite places out, before settling on a very shallow drain, carrying only 18 inches of water down the centre. The weather had turned and was much sunnier than we’ve experienced for months. This wasn’t ideal because bright weather can put fish off the feed. On the other hand, the water was in need of warming up, so surely the sun couldn’t do too much harm for my day fishing. Plus, there were clouds dotted around and I have noticed pike and perch launch attacks on sunny days, just seconds after the sun goes behind a cloud – as if they have been patiently poised, …

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Well, I finally got myself out fishing last Thursday! After hearing of a few pike starting to be caught around the country, I gave into my urges and decided I’d target them.  After speaking to the bailiff on a stretch of the tidal Trent, I opted to try there. I haven’t really done much fishing in general on the tidal, let alone pike fishing, but I made my decision based on the water clarity being better than the non-tidal stretches, and the changing tides forcing fish to alter their positions, which would hopefully result in them spotting my bait in the process. With such cold conditions being set in for so long this winter, every species of fish will be lethargic – even those more associated with winter – so the fish will need a reason to move, be it hunger or the changing tide.  By doubling the possibilities, I’d double my chances… I thought! S..   L..   O..   W..  was the general pace of the day. I arrived, just after dawn (Hit the “snooze” button a couple of times too many!), to find I had the entire stretch to myself. Awesome; a whole stretch of prime-condition river filled with undisturbed specimen pike just …

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Happy 2010 everyone.  Let’s hope that this year’s a productive one, whatever we’re fishing for. As I write, the snow is falling and we already have at least 4 inches piled up outside that has fallen today on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border. This really has been an exceptional cold snap and while short cold spells can mean good fishing for some species, prolonged cold weather such as this tends to slow down pretty much everything that swims. With all of the snow falling into our rivers and lakes and the continued cold temperatures (with many parts of the UK struggling to break above 0°C, even in daytime!) the water temperature will be extremely low and lower than most species require to enable them to feed and digest what they eat. When we eventually do get a thaw, be prepared to head out and fish as you could be in for a red letter day. There will be some very hungry pike, chub, roach, grayling and perch out there just waiting for a warm spell to trigger a feeding frenzy. Location will be paramount to a good day’s sport, but get this right and these species will be crawling up your line to get to your bait …

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As we are now well into the Winter months and the pike season is in full swing, the pike at your favourite venue will – like it or not – have received a bit of angling pressure by now and may also be a bit lethargic in cold winter conditions. So it’s time to think about giving yourself an edge over fellow anglers and give the pike just a little more persuasion to be interested in your deadbaits. Over the years I’ve experimented with various ways of enticing pike into the swim and pricking up the senses of any fish already in the vicinity. Pike, as with all underwater predators, have an extremely complex range of senses and it’s these we need to appeal to. There are various ways of improving the looks of your deadbaits nowadays, with things such as bait flags and “paint-on” additives, which are great in clearer water, but the senses a pike must rely on in all conditions are smell and taste. Whether the water is clear or murky, whether it’s sunny or dark, a pike always has these senses as means of locating food; these two senses are also – very conveniently – closely …

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There are two main, commonly practised methods of making wire traces for pike fishing. The first is a method called “twisting” or “twiddling“. Whilst some anglers swear by this technique, I find it to be unnecessarily fiddly, untidy and unreliable. The other common method is called “crimping“, which is the method I shall describe here. Whilst no hooklength can ever be 100% reliable, I have refined my crimping techniques over the years and nowadays it is very, very rare that one of my home-made pike traces lets me down. Remember, if you’re unsure about tying your own traces, or you don’t have the time or patience, many of the big manufacturers sell ready-tied traces which are good value. The bonus with making your own is that you can customise them to suit your bait size, hook size, rigs, conditions, etc. Plus, if one of your traces becomes unusable through kinking or other damage, you can re-use expensive components such as hooks and swivels. Remember – whether you buy traces or make your own, never fish with a damaged wire trace. A kinked trace will snap under far less pressure than a perfect trace will. Always carry spares ready-tied in a …

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Since catching my first pike eight years ago on a tiny gravel pit, I have become more and more fascinated with this species and their ability to thrive in a variety of contrasting habitats. The versatility pike show has led me to constantly evolve my own pike fishing, in both technique and venue type. Along the way I have tackled rivers, drains, large & small lakes and canals in search of pike, and although I haven’t exactly mastered all of these waters, I can approach the majority of smaller venues, confident that I can make the most of the conditions I’m faced with. One type of venue I had not yet attempted was one of our many large trout reservoirs. When you look at the statistics of large pike caught in the UK from the past 20 years, an astounding proportion of 35lb-plus fish have been captured from trout reservoirs. These immense, deep, mysterious waters – constantly re-stocked with protein-rich, naïve, farmed trout – provide any resident pike with a near-perfect environment for attaining huge weights. In fact, with the sheer volume of water in these reservoirs, you’d be forgiven for getting carried away, when trying to quantify their pike …

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As Spring lethargically began to take it’s hold, my latest session had me in two minds. Should I try for some early season tench, or go for some late season pike? I opted to take tackle and bait with me to target either species. There are two different club lakes I fish, within a couple of miles of each other. One holds both tench and small pike, whilst the other holds pike of specimen proportions. I decided to head in the general direction of these lakes and see what conditions I found when I arrived. I arrived at the first venue at first light and as I approached the gate, I noticed a dark figure scurrying across a field in front of me. It was a badger! One of my favourite British mammals, and one which I have seldom seen in the wild. This sighting gave my confidence an early boost and gave me feeling that the day might turn out to be a special one. I had a good walk around the three-acre lake before I set up any tackle. It was a cold morning and it just didn’t feel right for tench fishing yet. After spooking a few …

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