Tag Archives: lure fishing for pike

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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Just recently I managed a days pike fishing on the River Trent and found the fish in a feeding frenzy! I started the day off lure fishing, using a home-made lure which had so far been my most successful home-made pattern. This time out, it wasn’t to disappoint. On my third cast, I felt the familiar ‘bump’, signalling a take from a pike. Before long, I had played my first fish of the day to the bank. Seeing that the hooks were held in a safe position, I decided to hand-land the fish, which I quickly returned. I estimated the weight at around four pounds. The new homemade lure I was using soon rewarded me for my hard work! On the very next cast, I had turned the reel handle only a couple of times when the resistance went solid. Upon striking, the rod took on a healthy bend and the fish stayed deep, signalling that I’d hooked a good fish.Because I use barbless trebles on my lures, I always keep a tight drag, which means that not many of the fish I hook on lures actually take any line during the fight. This fish, however, managed to power away …

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For the past five years I’ve really enjoyed lure fishing for pike, but this season I have had unprecedented success with lures. I don’t know if my lure-fishing ability has improved or I’ve simply had great luck but, either way, the lure has been my ‘fall-back’ method when my success is dwindling using other approaches. So, when I started blanking fishing for barbel, I decided to have an evening exploring a new stretch of river with the lure rod, to save my sanity. I arrived on the river with only an hour and a half of daylight remaining, so I moved from swim to swim quickly, without spending too much time in any one place. I happened upon a very picturesque weir and decided to have a few casts into the fast water. After trying crankbaits for a while, I clipped on a fairly universal fast-water spinner – a Mepps Aglia Long no.3. On this I had the chance of Pike, Perch or Chub and the lure is quite stable and easy to fish, even in a fast current. As always, I used a long wire trace, because there was a chance of hopefully hooking a pike. After a few …

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