pike and Frogs - revisited

[Matt Shaw]

I finally got the chance to try out my recently purchased rubber frog lures last night. I visited Ulley Country Park (South yorks). I found a peg that was surrouded with lillies in about 1ft of gin clear water, there was about five jacks present. I cast out the frog onto the lillies and the nearest fish took notice straight away. I plopped the frog over the lillies and as it hit the open water, the pike hit it like a rocket. I was actually scared for a second by the speed and ferocity. It gave a good account of itself. 5lb 10oz, returned to fight another day, my frog on the other hand has gone into retirment with only two legs!

 

Have you witnessed a take before? Tell us about it.

 

Matt

[The Flying Tench]

I've seen a few takes on wobbled sardine, but it's always been a last minute sudden thing, not as dramatic as yours where you could see the fish in advance. I've also had a greedy pike attack my swim-feeder as I wound it in. I had a box of plugs in the car, but no steel trace, so it was a bit nerve racking, though I caught it OK.

 

It sounds a brilliant venue where you can turn up and see 5 pike in one swim! There's one swim on the Kennet under a bridge where i can often catch a pike in about 5 minutes, but beyond that I'm not very successful lure fishing for pike. I do OK for chub and perch on the river and canal, but not usually pike. Part of the trouble is that, when I don't get instant success I switch down to smaller lures, so I'm my own worst enemy - its the old thing of confidence.

 

On the lakes here in Newbury, which are quite deep gravel pits, I haven't cracked it at all. Do you find, generally speaking, that shallow lakes are easier for lure fishing?

[Peter Waller]

The most exciting is when you don't see the follow! All of a sudden three feet of pike comes clean out of the water, like a Tridant Missile, no warning whatsoever, right alongside the boat! Heart stopping stuff.

[Newt]

johnclarke:

... On the lakes here in Newbury, which are quite deep gravel pits, I haven't cracked it at all. Do you find, generally speaking, that shallow lakes are easier for lure fishing?

It is more a matter of needing very different lures to effectively fish deep water vs. shallow water.

 

I love to fish soft plastic lures and have some 1/2 ounce hook & weights like the picture below that do well with a worm design soft plastic on them. In winter I'll use one of 6-7 inches but in high summer when the normal prey is larger, I switch to 10 inch or even 12 inch. The shape of thh hook allows you to put on the soft plastic lure and have the hook point barely out and touching the lure body. Pretty well snag proof but when a fish chomps down, the lure body sinks out of the way and the hook is nicely exposed.

 

I use these head/hooks from 1/8 to 1/2 ounce depending on conditions. For water in the 20-40 foot range, the heavy one gets down quickly and is easy to keep the lure in contact with the bottom.

 

 

But I love the surface lures. Have a collection of frogs, mice, etc. for heavy weed. And buzz baits for weed or wood but not quite as thick.

[Andy Macfarlane]

I have to agree with Mr.Waller on this one. I would much rather not see the Pike homing in on the bait. The anticipation of a potential hit can be more heartstopping when you know fish are present, but you just cannot see them.

I had a fish earlier in the week that made me jump out of my skin. I saw the fish cruising around after dinner time and threw a Smelt on to have a bash at wobbling for it.

You can see the resulting capture here:

 

http://host65.ipowerweb.com/~anglingp/cate...cat_id=2&page=7

[Newt]

The problem (and I love it - wonderful problem) with surface lures in clear water is the difficulty of not striking when you see the fish hit the lure. Gotta wait until you feel the thing and that can be really hard to do. Slash, splash, and no pull means the fish probably just tried a pass to stun the lure and you get nothing with a strike.

[Ed Matysiak]

Last summer i was pike fishing one evening using a Halco Nightwalker surface lure. As the lure moved over the shallower water i watched a long black silouet come straight out of the water. To tell the truth i p**sed myself. It was so still and quiet the take had my heart racing !

[The Flying Tench]

Newt, re you entry 9 June, I'm interested in the weighted hooks you show. Can yu buy them in ordinary tackle shops?

[Newt]

johnclarke - I can buy them locally but I have no idea about the UK.

 

Easiest would probably be to mail order them from the US - http://www.basspro.com stocks them with Gamakatsu hooks.

 

 

The online catalog doesn't say but you get the things in a package. Number depends on the size/weight. I'm not sure but it's 4 or 5 or 6 per package I think. In case you haven't ordered from the US, you will wind up paying about a pound for each dollar of listed price. VAT, shipping, duty, etc.

 

[ 13. June 2003, 12:43 AM: Message edited by: Newt ]