I'm wanting to catch my 1st pike, i have all the nessesary gear, i'm just wanting to know what good spinners / lures / plugs to use. I'll be fishing still waters. I'm only aiming for little jacks also. Thanks

Paul

ondex (size 5 - 6), Jelly Shads, Silver/Copper spoons.

These are very basic lures and easy to use.

I'm only aiming for little jacks also

Paul - the pike may have something to say about that.

Generally you can expect smaller lures to catch smaller fish but not always. So if there are any larger pike in the area, you need to be prepared for them.

I'm reminded of a gent in my area a few years ago. He was fishing for crappie (max size maybe 3 lbs and rarely that large) with 1/8 oz jigs in fairly deep water around some bridge pilings.

He got hung on a log, he thought. Pulled for a break (crappie anglers use light tackle so the jig was tied directly to a 4 lb mainline) and the "log" started moving. A little over 2 hours later they put a 56 lb catfish in the boat.

Some tips for new lure anglers here

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/authors/leon06.htm

Tight Lines - leon

Paul,
Catching a first pike is the easy bit. Handling it properly avoiding damage to the fish is the tricky bit. It's important that you are shown the basics by an experienced Piker.
Have a look at Lyn's thread about the "fish in"
perfect opportunity to learn the right way. Budgie is as good a teacher as he is a pike angler.

Have a look at http://www.pacgb.com

I took a friend out piking so he could catch his first pike, it was over 30 pounds! Sad though, he hasn't anything left to aim for so has taken up carp fishing, silly sod!

Paul, if you are anywhere near my stretch of the Aylesbury arm of the Grand Union, I could guarantee you a small-ish pike on any outing between October and March, as the canal is full of them! I'd say that choice of water is your main consideration, but that many waters described as pike fisheries are of the 'fewer fish but larger fish' type. I'd encourage you to deadbait and lure-fish, using two rods, at the same time: lures work on some days but not on others, whereas deadbaits seem to work all the time. If you floatfish a deadbait, you can cast your lure in the area of the float, so manage early bite-detection. When you're lure-fishing, use as slow a retrieve as you can manage without snagging up, varying the retrieve rate as you go. Watch the water carefully as your lure comes into view: quite often there's a long, dark shape swimming behind it which, if you pause reeling in, will decide to snatch your lure.

Pangolin - as a novice myself I couldn't in all honesty recommend fishing 2 rods at once, especially float and lure (maybe lure and ledgered dead with bite alarm at a pinch, but I wouldn't much fancy that either).
Last thing Paul needs is to have to deal with unhooking his first pike from the lure line with a floated deadbait still out there threatening to start 'performing'. Too much stress when the guy needs to be calm.
Sorry to disagree so publicly, but I think it's important.

cheers

Glenn

I have to say that I think two method piking is less than desirable. Not just for the reasons outlined by Glenn but because lure fishing needs 110% attention and dedication for it to work, and it does work. The same might apply to deadbaiting, it certainly does to livebaiting and bite detection whatever the method. Not picking on you Pangoline, honest! Surely you can't possibly give your all to two different methods at the same time?

Posted by Peter Waller "I took a friend out piking so he could catch his first pike, it was over 30 pounds! Sad though, he hasn't anything left to aim for so has taken up carp fishing, silly sod!"