How long does it take for a pike to die?

[Guest sslatter]

I got turned on to rigs using big (1/0 & 2/0) barbless singles for deadbaiting for pike after reading about them in the angling press in about 1970, and have used them ever since, and have never felt the need to go back to trebles. They work well with smallish deads (up to 5" approx) and unhooking couldn't be easier. If ever I use a bigger deadbait, I add a small (8 or 6) single about 4-5" from the main hook (which is snap-swivelled to the end of the trace), purely as a baitholder. They work really well. I think it was an article by Jim Gibbinson where I first read about them, but I can't be sure.

[Peter Waller]

It might be nothing more than coincidence that pike that have died through spawning related matters still hold stainless traces. I guess is that such traces reduce the ability of a pike to survive spawning problems. I have to say that the few pike we have opened up were not checked for spawn. To be honest neither of us actually know what we are doing! A hook in the wall of a stomach will, as I understand it, eventually become the core of a lump. A trace that is not not attached is surely another thing. All interesting guesswork.

 

I must say that many pike that I, and friends catch during the winter have rigs in them that we have removed.

 

It is noticeable that some pike float when they die, many simply sink, I'm sure.