AndyY

Hi Budgie dont think i said to strike instantly think i said early anyway i just think if a BEGINNER hooks the bait in the head then there is more room for mistakes with less chance of the pike in tis case bing deephooked if they were doing this then i reckon they couldd strike the rod whenever they want im not saying hear the alarm put kettle on light a smoke then strike just they will have more time to learn when to strike and get a feel for the fishing whether that be 10 seconds or 30 seconds just think im givin the pike more of a chance whilst the beginner learns when to strike which comes through experience. It would also be the easiest thing to get across to all pike anglers i.e the diagram on back of baitpacks. poledarks trace in other hand will need to be tested tried by other anglers ok so that done great it works only prob is only people readin this forum (which i believe to be small percentage compared to people buyin bait for the first time week in week out) gona know about it not yer average joe takin up pikin for the first time. i dont understand why u dont see this makes sense and would be very easy n uncostly to promote. Peace Andy

so u say what im tellin ye is rubbish cool yer allowed yer opinion im not gona say ur trace is rubbish but the backwards treble u got just gona do same job as the 1st treble in my trace only my trace still gona have 2 free trebles to hook pike urs unfortunately only got 1 as the backward un which has its own use is now useless for hooking pike i know what method i will promote and use in the future in fact see how baitpacks have the diagram on back showin to hook a bait throught the tail if they turned that around to show a bait hooked in the head the numbers of pike deephooked by newcomers or the person just wanting to give it a go would be dramaticaly reduced within one season but im sure this is to simple an idea for people to get the grasp of hookin baits in the head DOES reduce numbers of deephooked pike I stand by this and will continue to promote this until someone give me any reasons other than its "rubbish"

Hi been reading the forum on and off for the past few years i'm from glasgow area and have mostly targeted pike for the past 16 years but have also caught some nice roach, rudd, perch a few bream and a mirror carp though my pike fishing by far outweighs any coarse fishing. Hoping to catch a tench in the following year fingers crossed eh. My pike fishing is pretty evenly balanced between lure fishing and deadbait fishing but dabble with the fly now n then though usually in spring early summer. So thats it. hi from me n thanks for some of the invaluable info i have picked up by reading the forum.

Hi i do agree with u to an extent and if the trace which seems a very good idea works then great. budgie (Ive no problem with a correctly delayed strike by the way) neither do i from experianced anglers not beginners as to do it correct takes experience. the thread was about a possible answer to deephooking well if people want to try it i think i gave u one. safe unhookin practices has been publicised for years yet i still have to remove endless amounts of other peoples traces from fish. if they fish my way to begin with chances are they will land a few fish not deephooked givin them invaluable pike handling skills so that by the time they get that unfortunate deephooked fish there confidence and handling of pike should have improved somewhat with the pike then having a greater chance of survival wherteas if they go out first trip hook a bait through tail root leave the run a little longer bang first fish deephooked mmmm not a good start eh. i do let runs go from time to time i done this to try my hook setup thats how i know the front treble catches on the outside of a smaller fish and any other fish i simply pulled the hooks free missing the fish completely. i know i may have put pike in un neccesary risk but im totaly confident with my unhooking so if yer a beginner n want to reduce the chances of deephooking use a full bait n hook it in the head catch fish safely n get used to handling them then i believe u be better prepared for any unfortunate situations

why change your trace why not just hook yer bait in the head instead of the tail gona make it harder for the pike to swallow bait head first heres the reasons why ( this is from another forum where someone suggested using singles) heres how i fish and i'm not recommending it to anyone. I hook my baits the wrong way round hooked in the head and not the tail with the other treble hooked on the flank I ALWAYS STRIKE MY RODS EARLIEST POSSIBLE. reason being if a pike has moved the line enough to set off yrer alarm then it gona have at least one treble in its mouth. I also believe this way of hooking makes it near impossible to deep hook a pike as if a run is left to long and the pike turns the bait which it will always turn to swallow head first picture it in yer head the swivel end of the trace is gona be pullin against the pikes scissors (effectively needin to be folded 180 degrees) as it turns the bait creatin resistance (possibly enough for pike to drop bait) which we all know pike dont like if it hooke tail first n the pike turns it head first its then moving the swivel end of the trace towards the front of its mouth no reistance nothing as natural as could be. also if hooked in the head if it succesfully turns the bait the hooks gona be facing the wrong direction ie points facing towards the gut so they may just catch n stop the bait traveling farther down a pikes throat especially with smaller fish ive noticed the trable from the flank almost always catches on the outside of the pikes mouth stopping the trace from being swallowed whereas if hooked i the tail n succesfully turned it gona slide down like a bita spaghetti. also wi the hooks facing the wrong direction when u strike yer more likely just to pull the hooks free from the pikes mouth as the hooks would need to turn before they can catch in. if this happens n ye miss yer fish it yer own fault for striking to late n allowing fish to turn yer bait yes u still mish fish striking early but chances are the missed fish will return a short time later so basically it is in the PIKES INTEREST that ANGLERS LEARN to strike EARLY. to me this is the simplest answer to avoid deep hooking after all its just turning yer bait round n striking ASAP. {edit note: some blank lines added to make easier reading. Newt}