A couple of guys I fish with have criticised the way I strike, saying I am more likely to lose fish.

My method: Once I see the float move and am sure it's a fish (usually 1 or 2 seconds) I tighten up very quickly and will strike.

Their Method: They wait 5 secs to watch the movement of the float, then another 5 whilst slowly reeling in and then strike.

They usually lose more fish than me! Mine are usually hooked in the side of the mouth towards the back, but easily removable. I have twice seen them draw blood trying to remove the hooks that are so far down the Pikes throat.

I am not meaning to slag these friends off, as they are both good fishermen, very careful with their care of the fish and taught me most of what I know. However, I think that they wait too long and this can in the long term harm the fish. Taking in the fact that they lost more than me on the last session I can't see why they do it.

Your thoughts?

I've only ever hooked two pike before and on both occations I could actually see the pike take the bait into its mouth (very clear water and close to bank) so i struck almost straight away.

I guess these anglers are stuck in their ways. and maybe they have lost pike in the past when they tried to strike early and as a result are put off by it.

they are both good fishermen, very careful with their care of the fish and taught me most of what I know.

Their Method: They wait 5 secs to watch the movement of the float, then another 5 whilst slowly reeling in and then strike.

Sorry mate but if they wait ten seconds before reacting to a bite then you need someone else to teach you.... and they need a lesson too.

In the old days, when people fished for pike for food, the most reliable way of ensuring that you landed a pike was to wait until the bait was swallowed, so that the fish could be hooked in the soft tissue of the gullet, rather than risking the hooks sliding out of the pikes bony mouth.

The advice then was to count to 10 before striking (or walk around the field first!)

Unfortunately that outdated lore is still passed down.

Nowdays, nothing could be worse, or a more condemning proof of appallingly bad angling practice, than a deep hooked fish, caused by a delayed strike.

If there is any indication that a pike has picked up the bait (a bleep on the buzzer, a float that has bobbed) the fish has the bait in its mouth, so strike!

Very occasionally the hooks won't set, but that's life! Far better than a gullet hooked fish.

And you won't suffer dropped baits nearly so often than those who wait, so you'll usually bank more fish than thems that wait, safely too!

Tight Lines - leon

I don't have any experience yet but I would always strike with the premise of safety of the fish first, as has been said above it seems the good side-effect of this is banking more fish

You've proven the above with catching more than them and also finding it easy to remove the hooks, result is fish is back in water very quickly and you have caught

Yes they did teach me, but that was the one bit of their advice I ignored, and believe me I have been harping on about it to them, and believe me I will continue! I don't believe I need somebody else to teach me as I use the right method!

I am glad to read all of the above messages as I felt / pretty much knew that I was right to go with my instincts and ignore their advice.

Thanks,

Simon

When to strike a Pike run? I wish it was as easy to give a hard and fast answer.My strike can vary from truley instant to delaying it for some considerable time.Not very PC to admit to this but neverless the truth.

Many factors influence my decission but they all add up to one thing ensuring that the bait has been taken positively enough to ensure a hook hold but not swallowed.

Size of bait,type of bait,the method being used,the water,weather conditions and time of year all influence this decission.A lot of this can only be gained through practical experience.

That said though the instant strike must always be the starting point.Wether you instant strike or not another priority must be to learn how to deal with a deep hooked fish.This isnt as daunting as many make out but is best learnt under the watchfull eye of some one with experience.I say this because believe you me instant strike or not youy will eventually have to deal with it.Incidently dispite strongly disagreeing with the safty of some of the rigs shown I thought the article by Ian Welch in Anglers Mail October 9 demonstrated unhooking well.As I always say though no substitute for actually being shown.

A good thread, in the sense that this is being talked about.

It is almost inevitable that even if you are ultra-careful that sooner or later a fish will take the bait further down than you would like.

It's good to have the confidence and the knowledge to deal with that (as has been said, being with an experienced piker is the best best) and also to carry the right equipment to deal with the situation - long handles forceps and bolt cutters etc.

I now tend to tighten up and give a sharp 'tug' as soon as the float begins to move off or, if legering, the line begins to spill off the reel. Quite often the movement is preceeded by a period of the float 'bobbing' or small line movements. I reckon the movement is what the fish does to push the bait back into its throat: the sooner you stop it doing that, the better. As most of you know, I won't use treble hooks or snap-tackles any more, preferring a single or double hook in the tail of the deadbait: that way, even if the pike has swallowed the bait, the chances are that the hook will still be visible. A single hook rig makes unhooking a pike only slightly more difficult than unhooking, say, a roach. As for missed fish, if you do pull a bait out of a pike's mouth, by striking too early, don't reel the bait in at all: quite often the pike has another go at it!

In very clear water, several times I've watched as a pike has slowly drifted up to a deadbait and taken it, without hardly any indication on the float.

It has just sat there and snaffled it in situ.

So much for waiting for a run to develop!

Tight Lines - leon