[mark]

does anyone have any general tips for pike fishing like rigs, bait,lures etc
hoping to go to a local lake with a few in it soon.
thanks

[russ]

if your new to pike fishing and have never caught one i would go with someone who has .
the reason i say this is if you get one and struggle to unhook it you could potentially damage or even kill the pike as they tend to be more sensitive than most fish believe it or not
once you have been shown how to handle them properly it is a great buzz catching your first one !

[booth91]

yeh good call russ. dont attempt to fish for pike if youve never done before. a more experienced pike angler will show you the ropes first.

[connor]

good advice there about going with someone with a bit of experiance, in the way of tackle, a good carp rod and reel with 15lb line and a decent wire trace of 18" a good bait is smelt or eel section great on the canals, good pair of long nose forceps and a normark filleting glove its like chain mail, and a unhooking mat!, lure wise good old copper spoon gets them going on most place's, ondex great for pike & perch rapala plugs fire tiger is a good colour to start with. good luck

[kermit]

I would agree with much of what has been said above regarding going with a more experienced pike angler.

As for lure choice.... well, that thread could go on for days! Try to take at least one lure that imitates the typical prey fish on the water in question. Some of the Storm soft baits are excellent for this. As a general rule, save the very gaudy lure colours for more coloured water (but then again, all rules are there to be broken). If you are after a good place to get lures from and some very helpful advice, then give this place a go Pike fishing lures from Baxter Angling

There are also a few other things well worth bearing in mind, which I have written in a previous post. Please forgive the copy and paste, but here goes:

However, please forgive me if I'm about to tell you something you already know, or if the following comes across in any way patronising. This isn't my intention at all.

Piking in summer requires a lot more care than in winter to ensure fish wellfare; generally oxygen levels in the water are lower in summer and pike sometimes struggle when caught under such conditions. Therefore, summer piking rule 1 is to have the fish out of the water the absolute minimim length of time.

Summer piking rule 2 concerns deadbaits. In winter pike tend to be relatively lethargic due to cold water temperatures and will take a while to eat a deadbait. This gives you a bit of time to let bites develop before striking. In the summer this is not so - deadbaits will tend to vanish into Mr Pike's belly much, much quicker. Therefore, summer deadbaiting is not something I'd recommend - particularly if you are a relative newcomer to piking (I've no idea if this applies to you). In summer deep hooked pike area real possibility as the bait can be in the pike's stomach before you've even noticed a bite. When this happens, removing the hooks can mean having fish on the bank longer than is ideal (see rule 1!).

For me personally I do most of my piking in autumn/winter. I occasionally do some summer piking, but this is always with lures. The chances of deep hooking are virtually nill, plus lure fishing is ace fun when the fish are warm enough to get chasing lures My deadbait gear is left well alone over the summer and I'd recommend others do the same. Ultimately, how and when to fish is down to the individual, but please bear in mind the above.

Mike.

Hope this helps,

Mike.

[peterpike]

dont forget your unhooking mat too bud.it is best to go with someone who is clued up on unhooking pike,because if you dont know how to,it can be fatal for the pike and not too healthy for your hands too!i travel up to north wales piking in winter myself.some very nice fish to be had

[Callum91]

very good advice given above!!!... i went piking and had 2 my 1st session but luckily there was a lad who had handled them before and told me how to unhook and picture them properly, got some good pics but theat was a while ago now but here is this pic

[mark]

cheers for all the great advice i have found someone to go fishing with but now where ??
i live in north wales does anyone no of any good places ???
thanks again
mark

[kermit]

Originally Posted by mark

cheers for all the great advice i have found someone to go fishing with but now where ??
i live in north wales does anyone no of any good places ???
thanks again
mark

I believe Welsh Water do day tickets for Llyn Aled - but have no idea on the quality of the fishing. It's a big and desolate venue though, so could be a bit tricky.

There is a small reservoir right on the side of the road near Llyn Aled. I can't remember the name for the life of me, but it might start with a 'B'. It is close to where the Llyn Brenig 'triangle' of roads starts (get a road altas out nd this will make sense!). This is day ticket and contains lots of smaller pike. I believe Foxtons tackle do the tickets and may be able to offer advice on other venues.

Plenty of other venues out there in North Wales to be Googled. As of tomorrow, the Dee is available as well.

Mike.

[peterpike]

bala,day ticket,big fish

[connor]

Originally Posted by mark

cheers for all the great advice i have found someone to go fishing with but now where ??
i live in north wales does anyone no of any good places ???
thanks again
mark

try a canal if you have one local to you, you'd be surprised at what they throw up! as well as good perch and be mobile if bait fishing just give it 15 mins in a swim and move on, i find lure fishing more suited to a mobile approache good luck.