River Thames pike tactics?

[david t]

I suppose the pike season isnt too far away now, got me thinking about the thames again, and how ive never really done as well as ive expected down there.

 

I fish the Thames around Clifton Hampden, Benson, Dorchester etc, where its fairly wide and often over 12ft deep in many places. I know there are some good pike there, but its all too easy to blank down there, or maybe just get a jack or two. In contrast I always tend to do better on the smaller rivers, like the Thame for instance, probably because my style of fishing is more suited to those rivers. Maybe the problem is that I tend to use small river tactics on the big river, ie, mainly sink and draw or trotted livebaits.

 

I see a problem or two with these, firstly, sink and draw, while its good, I think on larger deeper rivers its easier to accidently draw the bait too far up in the water, or just due to the nature of the river and the bank, its easier to miss out alot of water (vertically speaking), and send a bait 6 foot over a pikes head, which is maybe less of a problem in a small river with smaller swims. Maybe the size of the water would mean that trying to cover every bit of water is daft, maybe its better to concenrate on 3 swims over the course of the day, rather than 20 swims.

 

I think this year my plan of attack will be different. I think I will go for a slower approach, by fishing for roach or chub in one swim at a time, using either maggot and stick tactics or bread crumb feeder tactics, and sit a legered roach at the back end of the swim and just wait.

 

Im sure ive fished my way past many quality pike on the thames, so there has to be a way of getting them out!

 

Any one else had any luck or bad luck with thames pike?

Thoughts appreciated.

 

Cheers

David

[Anderoo]

Much the same experience here David, fishing the river around Oxford. Outside the real hotspots of boatyards etc., it is very hit and miss, with the odd small pike here and there on lures (summer) or wobbled deads (winter). Although I've tried really hard in the past, I've never had a take on a static or trotted dead. I've picked a few micro pike up on perch baits in the autumn.

 

I think the way to do it is to fish good size lives paternostered against big features (especially sheer banks, reedbeds and trees), give each spot an hour, and move down. I don't like using lives so I've pretty much given up on the Thames pike. I think anything else is a compromise really.

 

You just know there are some HUGE pike in there though!

[david t]

Yes, Im sure there are a few 30 plus fish in there, has to be.

 

I think lives are the way forward, yes, its not ideal, I try not to cast them to death, rather just keep them in the water as much as possible. Ive paternostered a fair bit, although I often feel you have to use too much lead to keep the bait in position, especially in a steady flow, which might give alot of resistance, but there is no other way really. Legering might be ok, but you have crays to contend with then, and I often think some baits will just lay out of sight on the bottom mostly too.

 

Hit and miss, but one day it will pay off!

 

Cheers

David

[Anderoo]

When the autumn/winter flow starts you'll probably be limited to the near bank, but the upside is that you can be really accurate and know bite indication is working well. Fishing into/across the flow is very hard work and easy to miss a take (in my experience anyway).

 

If you want to get a bit 'cheaty' you could wander along with a smartcast and find the bait fish shoals first...

[david t]

Oh, no, dont think I will be using a smartcast, I might use the sonar on a boat at sea, but I think I will have to be abit of a traditionalist on the rivers!

 

Yes, bite detection is quite good with a paternoster on the river I find.

 

Cheers

David

[JV44]

David the trotted lives thing is a winner but far better from a boat imo as you can moor to get just the right line down the edge of overhanging trees or to trot down the side of an Island for eg ,If bank fishing and it isn't a raging torrent then the near shelf just past any of the cabbage type weeds for a paternoter bait is the way i would fish it .

Find that its either a case of wading through jacks until a decent fish turns up or more likely blanks ,Personally think big river Pike are thin on the ground .

We are out on the boat at the moment and after coming down the Thames and having a few jacks and Perch on Lives and the fly rod in the evenings we are now on the river Wey [stunning waterway by the way ] and the same tactics as the Thames are working here to so think in short its simply a case of much more water for the fish to hide on somewhere like the Thames .

Prefer floodwater conditions as i find the fish easier to find then when they have acclimatised to the dirty water,I know a guy that fishes around Clifton and he has had some right lumps out so there are some in there at the bigger size but few and far between Steve.

[larsagi2010]

I suppose the pike season isnt too far away now, got me thinking about the thames again, and how ive never really done as well as ive expected down there.

 

I fish the Thames around Clifton Hampden, Benson, Dorchester etc, where its fairly wide and often over 12ft deep in many places. I know there are some good pike there, but its all too easy to blank down there, or maybe just get a jack or two. In contrast I always tend to do better on the smaller rivers, like the Thame for instance, probably because my style of fishing is more suited to those rivers. Maybe the problem is that I tend to use small river tactics on the big river, ie, mainly sink and draw or trotted livebaits.

 

I see a problem or two with these, firstly, sink and draw, while its good, I think on larger deeper rivers its easier to accidently draw the bait too far up in the water, or just due to the nature of the river and the bank, its easier to miss out alot of water (vertically speaking), and send a bait 6 foot over a pikes head, which is maybe less of a problem in a small river with smaller swims. Maybe the size of the water would mean that trying to cover every bit of water is daft, maybe its better to concenrate on 3 swims over the course of the day, rather than 20 swims.

 

I think this year my plan of attack will be different. I think I will go for a slower approach, by fishing for roach or chub in one swim at a time, using either maggot and stick tactics or bread crumb feeder tactics, and sit a legered roach at the back end of the swim and just wait.

 

Im sure ive fished my way past many quality pike on the thames, so there has to be a way of getting them out!

 

Any one else had any luck or bad luck with thames pike?

Thoughts appreciated.

 

Cheers

David

 

 

I sadly have not fished the waters in question. But I have done a fair bit of Pike fishing over the years and discovered a few secrets and had a few share some with me.

 

The places I have pike fished is: The shropshire union canal, The river Dee, and the Lower Basin (When the canal reaches the Dee) Although all are quite different to what you usually fish, the clue is... Different.

 

I could place my camcorder on a tripod and prove to you that on the canal I could do 15 identicle casts on a silver spinner.... Not so much as a bump... I put a blue one on and ''Bang'' first hit I am in, second, third.... I have managed 6 casts and got a pike every single one... I change it over to Silver again.. Nothing! This is an identicle spinner (Just different colour)

 

I was under the impression Pike were colourblind (I am not sure how true this is) but colour makes a HUGE difference on different waters.

 

The river Dee... Yellow/Green.... You will catch way more pike on a Yellow/Green spoon (Spinners do not work there for pike) Just perch....

 

Are you displaying a good variety of lures/spoons/spinners/colours on each water?? It could be a specific colour will give you much more luck on a specific water.

 

Maybe the time of day is significant?? What fish do the pike normally eat (What is most common) in the water you are fishing? And also when is that fish more active? And where do you find these fish (Depth)

 

I understand my answer has 1000 options to choose from. But maybe lay out your lure collection and firstly organise them by colour (See if any colours are missing) Then by depth (Surface lures, mid range, bottom heavy lures)

 

Once I realised Blue spinners catch well on the canal I went onto E-Bay and purchased like 15 of em! And the pike just kept rolling in all season. I had friends ask ''How do you catch them?'' thinking they were doing something majorly wrong... I said ''Put this on and see''and I had a phone call that night, they had two pike over 15 mins and then lost what they believe to be a Zander when their rod firstly snapped mid way and then the treble hook straightened! I didn't know they were in our canal but I assume its always a possibility.

 

But yea, give the above a thought... It may help you have an amazing season... Or may not! Who knows, but keep tryng and casting... As long as you have a bait/spinner in the water you have a chance

[Newt]

Excellent advice about trying various colours of a good lure.

 

If conditions are pretty static (water colour and temperature and flow are pretty constant) then the same colour may well work day after day as long as you move around. However, the fish's preference can also change hourly or according to conditions in a certain location.

 

Retrieve speed and pattern (steady, stop/go, sink & draw) can also have an effect so that a white lure retrieved slowly might produce little or nothing but the same lure burned along as fast as you can manage might get strikes. This time of year you cannot retrieve faster than a pred can locate and strike at a lure.

 

And then there are days when anything you toss out will likely get strikes and days when nothing you do will produce a result.

 

Some very general lure fishing advice:

 

At any given time, some fish will be actively feeding, some will feed if it is easy, and some will have lockjaw. When you start in an area, begin with active lures (flashy, lots of vibration, etc.) and work the area to try for any actively feeding fish. After a bit, switch over to more of a finesse lure and slowly work the same area for the fish that aren't active but will feed. Then move on and repeat the process.

 

In general, use darker colours for more coloured water and if the water is clear, use as near to transparent as you can manage. You want the fish to know the lure is there but you don't want them to see it clearly. The same goes for spinners on the lure - more flash in darker (cloudier, muddier) water and less in clearer water.

 

If you can have two rigged rods, use somewhat different lures on each. When you see a take that misses, immediately cast back to the same area (beyond where the strike happened) with the other rod & lure.

 

Take a page from the fly fishing folks and 'match the hatch' when possible. If the main forage fish are 2" long, silver, and slender, a lure that matches that size, shape, & colour but a tiny bit larger is a likely possibility.

[david t]

Thanks for all that advice.

 

I dont do alot of lure fishing on the thames, well, I do abit but certainly its not the tactic which I use most often. I dont do it too often because I tend to lose lures too often on certain stretches of the thames, particularly those with alot of sunken trees, but when I have used them, ive done ok.

 

I understand what you are saying with regards to colour, ive often found, particularly with canal pike in my area, that red is a killer, or more accurately a touch of red. I had a lovely roach pattern Rapala countdown, which I modified by whipping a bunch of red hair to the end treble, and it caught more than anything else. Alas, said lure is somewhere in the murky depths of the middle severn near welshpool now, attached to a sunken log.

 

On those waters where I will be less likely to lose gear I do intend to lure fish this year, and I do like to chop and change with size and colour, even down to something as small as no2 mepps.

 

I guess the whole venue/colour thing could have something to do with the clarity or colour of the water on the venue, as different colours will only reflect certain colours in the spectrum, depending on what type of light is filtering down though the water.

 

I dont mind wading through the jacks, they are just as welcome, better than a blank. I reckon its just a matter of waiting and wading through the smaller fish like you say.

 

I like clifton, but I often think its not as good as it should be, its also hard to fish when the river is running high, little in the way of sheltered water then. I did though catch a real cracker of perch approaching the 4lb mark from Clifton, which surprised me, as I always thought somewhere like Medley/Portmeadow was the venue for the big perch.

 

Many thanks again, I am grateful for your input.

 

Cheers

David