lure conditions?

[Guest Keith Finn]

Pinkeye,

Spinnerbaits big and small, tried them and not a sausage from this Lake.

Floating and surface lures, not even a follow.

Sinking and suspended lures, not even a rap.

I am getting to the point where I am thinking that there are no pike in there at all!!!.

From what the locals say, even though they never see anyone Pike fishing or see one caught, that there is a decent head of Pike present.

"Starting to get frustrated and thinking of moving somewhere else"

Keith

[Guest Leon Roskilly]

Originally posted by Keith Finn:

"Starting to get frustrated and thinking of moving somewhere else"

Keith

 

The pike should have moved out of the shallows by now, and will be well spread out.

 

Where are the silverfish shoaling?

 

(In my local lake, they start the season at the shallow end, and move down the lake to deeper water, being mostly at the far end by Autumn).

 

As you wander round the lake with your lures, chat to other anglers and ask them what they are catching, ask especially if they've seen any sign of pike.

 

Locate the silverfish shoals, and the pike won't be far away.

 

If the lake contains a natural unculled pike population, it's likely that there will be fewer, but larger individuals, than a culled jack filled lake.

 

Look for ambush positions, sunken trees etc.

 

Try 'weedless' lures across the top of weed beds, and through lily pads.

 

The pike are often in places where it is hardest to work a lure (and where you are most likely to lose a lure on a snag )

 

Look for features by casting a spoon, and counting it down. Draw a map of the water in front of you, and enter each count on the map. That will show your where the dropoffs and holes are. Er, always strike when the spoon stops descending - you might not have hit bottom!

 

If the pike are there, you will find them.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Guest jonn]

how about this theory then-

 

would fish be clever enough, say they could detect atmospheric pressure, to detect falling pressure-and so the approach of bad weather, and then 'binge' feed, like they do on a more long term basis when stocking up for winter during the autumn?

[Guest MTP IN VA]

Originally posted by jonn:

would fish be clever enough, say they could detect atmospheric pressure, to detect falling pressure-and so the approach of bad weather, and then 'binge' feed, like they do on a more long term basis when stocking up for winter during the autumn?

 

First, understand that I'm not a pike angler, not very many of those boys where I come from. In regards to predatory fish in general it's been my experience that they will feed more AFTER a front carrying rain as the bait moves to the shallows to feed on the offerings washed in. BUT if a strong cold front moves through they will go deep and simply refuse to feed.

 

Oh and yes, from what I have read, fish do sense atmospheric pressure changes through their laterial line.

 

John, good advice there, sometimes even the smallest change in retreive speed or direction will trigger a strike from a fish following the lure. Also, if you ever see a fish following the lure back to you, DON'T just reel it straight in. As soon as you can, drag the lure in a 'figure eight' pattern in front of you...sometimes this will induce the fish to strike...but hang on!

[Guest Newt]

Originally posted by Pinkeye:

I bought a spinner bait as they seem to have no special skills needed, just a cast and steady retrieve, nothing!!

 

Spinner baits - like any other lures, will catch the occasional fish if chunked out and hauled back in. However, they will do lots better if you make a few changes in the way you are fishing them.

 

The warmer the water, the larger spinners on the bait. During the middle of the summer, double spinners are better and if they are different shapes, better yet. A Colorado (basically a round shape) combined with a willow leaf is hard to beat. You can buy the spinners and attachments from most sporting goods stores in the US.

 

Whenever possible, throw the lure onto something out of the water (bank, stump, rock, whatever) and begin your retrieve by letting the lure drop into the water and sink for a bit. Watch the line closely and if it moves or twitches, strike.

 

Try a number of retrieves until you find what the fish want that day on that water.

 

I'd start with a "slow roll" where the lure is in occasional contact with the bottom and pulled in just fast enough to keep moving. Steady though. Then try the same but with the occasional change of speed.

 

Next would be a medium speed - to keep the lure in the middle of the water column. Again, try both steady and irregular.

 

Then try starting with a very fast retrieve - make the lure splash along the surface for a couple of feet. Then just stop it for a second and begin a slow retrieve.

 

Also, there are days when the fish simply want you to cast out, let it sink a bit, and then rip the lure back in as fast as you can crank. Rod tip low or even in the water to keep it from surfacing.

 

During all of this, get to know several things. If you cast and let it sink to the bottom, note how long the fall takes. If you later get one that is either faster or slower than you expect, strike as you may well have a fish on.

 

When retrieving, note the amount and speed of vibration you feel from the spinner. If it changes (especially seems to stop) you either have a fish or a piece of trash. Strike and find out.

 

When retrieving, be a serious line watcher. If the line does anything strange like move to one side, or twitch, or aything, strike as you likely have a fish.

 

Try a variety of colors as they have strong preferences on different days. If you've bought lures with removable skirts, you can just change the skirt color.

 

Try adding something to the hook to increase the bulk of the lure. Over here, we have both soft-plastic and cured pork chunks for the purpose. You can get them from Bass Pro or Cabelas for very little money.

 

If the fish simply aren't having it from you or others who are fishing with different lures or baits, try going smaller.

 

If you are fishing a spinner bait at night, go with a dark color - black is best - and ignore all the retrieve variations listed above. Just a steady retrieve so the fish can locate your lure. Also, if you are fishing it on or near the surface, do not set the hook when you hear the strike but wait until you feel pressure as they will often either miss the first time or will simply make a slash at the lure to stun it as they would a bait fish and then circle back and eat it.

[Guest jackmaster]

Without burdening you with loads of rules that may or may not apply to your waters , the starting point on a bright sunny day should be any shadows on the water. cast a spinnerbait into the sunny side of the shadow and bring it through the shadow ,try one cast retrieved high in the water and on subsequent casts feel your way deeper a foot or two until you hit the bottom .If there are no takes find the next patch of shadow and repeat, this should produce at least some follows and probably some fish on the bank they may not be big but you will have some fun.

[Guest Newt]

Shucks jackmaster, them weren't rules, them were tips. And besides, I weren't burdening John who started this thing. I were laying that load on pinkeyes. Poor fella thought spinner baits were simple so he weren't near confused enough.

 

The "shadows" thing is good but the same holds true for underwater shade offered by logs, stumps, rocks, and the like.

 

An additional "tip" is to use the most sensitive rod/line you can to maintain a good "feel" for the action of the lure. I like a good carbon rod and either braid/fusion line for shallow (it floats a bit) or fluoro for deeper as the sinking action of the line helps get a lure deep. To make line watching easier, I prefer to use the hi-vis fluoro which is lots easier for me to see above the water and nearly as hard to see under the water. Of course your wire trace will always be heavy enough to sink some and easier for the fish to see than fluoro.

[Guest phonebush]

pinkeye,

I am older and thus wiser, Trust me, they only catch anglers' pocketbook.

Phone

[Guest Newt]

Originally posted by phonebush:

pinkeye,

I am older and thus wiser, Trust me, they only catch anglers' pocketbook.

 

Which "they" are you talking about?

 

And who carries a pocketbook? Maybe Lyn could but for most of us, it would look really strange anywhere; much less when fishing.

[Guest MTP IN VA]

Originally posted by jackmaster:

Without burdening you with loads of rules that may or may not apply to your waters

 

Shucks Newt, I reckon he's a sayin' your one a dem dere dang hillbilly Americans...whatcha think 'bout dat.

 

Seriously though, don't under estimate us jackmaster, lure fishing is our thing...it just may surprise you how much of what we do applies to your waters. Besides, free advice is always worth what you paid for it!