Bonking pike on the nose

[The Flying Tench]

I learnt some stuff on a recent thread about how pike are attracted to deadbaits by the smell, and that it's good, therefore, to position a deadbait where there's a current and the smell will waft downstream, attracting the pike. All well and good, and it worked for me the last 2 sessions. Today, though, there was a temperature drop, and I had no success apart from a jack, wobbling. Low temperature may not have been the problem on this occasion, but I started thinking about how to catch when temperatures drop, and remembered reading how you need virtually to bonk the pike on the nose to get them to take. Now that was probably talking about lure fishing or wobbling, but what do you do when static deadbaiting? Does the smell attract the pike the same as in mild weather, or do you need to cast around more in an effort to get closer to the pike, on the basis that they won't follow a scent so far when it's cold?

[graylingking]

dont fancy bonking a pike any were wife would chuck me out i love fishing but bonkink em come on

[Phil Adams]

The sent of a bait will still attract pike and any other fish in cold conditions. However a fish, like any other animal, may not want to go chasing food/bait during these cold times, prefering instead to preseave energy by remaining in a lathargic state and snatch up food that comes there way.

 

Ive never caught river pike in faster moving water during the winter, probably due to them not wanting to expell energy in the current.

 

I think the best method would be to have one static bait placed near to a deepish feature or a warmer area of water and another bait used to search out different spots.

 

Pike are never to far from prey fish, so its worth finding these areas too.

 

IMO

[Dick Dastardly]

Sorry but my personal experiences stop me agreeing with a lot of what has been said here.

 

Dont know the exact science but I would have thought that oils travel in the water much easier in warmer water.Dead baiting and low pressure conditions have always been synonomous.As to have high pressure and live bait/lure fishing.

[fenboy]

Budgie, You are so right.

Weather changes have a massive effect upon pike. You could be getting big catches while there was a regime of low pressure, but on many waters pike go right off deads when the pressure rises (and vice-versa).

As for pike seeking out slacks, that's a great way of not catching pike on rivers. Pike will be where the food sourc is and if that's in the current, that's where they'll be.

The time to catch pike in slacks, dead arms, marinas and the like is when the prey fish move into them, in times of flood (usually, but not always).

But, most of all, my advice is don't generalise. Pike don't read textbooks. For example, accepted "wisdom" is that pike go deep in cold weather. Rubbish. ALways be prepared to do something different.

But if there's one gold-plated thing I've learnt in the 36 years since I caught my first pike, it's travel light and keep moving. Better you find the pike than wait for them to come to you at ANY time of the year. Anybody who says otherwise is probably influenced by the comfort of setting up camp... and can't be bothered to move.

Me? I distrust the advice of any angler who fishes from beneath a brolly/bivvy/shelter. Human indolence is a massive demotivating factor.

[The Flying Tench]

BUDGIE:

Dead baiting and low pressure conditions have always been synonomous.As to have high pressure and live bait/lure fishing.

[The Flying Tench]

BUDGIE:

Dead baiting and low pressure conditions have always been synonomous.As to have high pressure and live bait/lure fishing.

Ah! That may be why I didn't catch today! But I'd just got it into my head that high pressure was good news for all piking! Or at least rising pressure. I expect Budgie's right, but I'd be interested to see if everyone agrees, or whether there's some debate on this issue. And why should it be so? I guess it must support the idea of pike being in distinct modes, scavenging and chasing?

[fenboy]

As a generalisation, yes. But nothing in life is that clear-cut and there are lots of excelptions... like the days when you catch loads of pike on livebaits then the very biggest falls to a dead. Or the high-pressure days when the pike refuse lives but take only suspended deads. It happens.

But doesn't it make fishing more fun?

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

The Flying Tench:

I learnt some stuff on a recent thread about how pike are attracted to deadbaits by the smell, and that it's good, therefore, to position a deadbait where there's a current and the smell will waft downstream, attracting the pike. All well and good, and it worked for me the last 2 sessions. Today, though, there was a temperature drop, and I had no success apart from a jack, wobbling. Low temperature may not have been the problem on this occasion, but I started thinking about how to catch when temperatures drop, and remembered reading how you need virtually to bonk the pike on the nose to get them to take. Now that was probably talking about lure fishing or wobbling, but what do you do when static deadbaiting? Does the smell attract the pike the same as in mild weather, or do you need to cast around more in an effort to get closer to the pike, on the basis that they won't follow a scent so far when it's cold?

you mean mick browns old method,in his book he describes that sometimes he knows(lets say you dont tho)that there are pike in the swim but cant get a take,so what he does is he trots a dead bait over depth taking a diffrent line every time eventually you will hit one on the nose or get closer enough to provoke a response.A bit hit and miss but it does work...well for mick it did...old book but i think thats what you mean?

obviously not to be done anywere near major sangs or weedbeds.

 

i must say fenboy is spot on,travel light and be mobile.

 

[ 10. December 2004, 08:23 AM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

[The Flying Tench]

Ratty, I think maybe I had read an article by Mick Brown saying that, and it was in the back of my mind. But my question is a practical one: what do you do on a cold day to catch pike? They're less likely to chase lures, the scent of deads won't travel so far, pike are less likely to be moving around.

 

If you know pike are in the swim you can use the MB approach. Otherwise it seems to me you've got a difficult task. I guess all you can do is keep moving, and probably stick to swims you know well and believe to hold fish?