No Pike before Oct 1st?

[JBee123]

Anybody come up with a decent explanation as to why some fishing lakes ignore the close season but impose a ban on summer piking missing out on some great sport!

 

Am I missing something

[Tony U]

It has always struck me as a daft rule as well but I have no idea where the tradition came from.

I believe it is more common in East Anglia than elsewhere but for what reason?

[ricey]

i was thinking the same thing the other day..

check out this post http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/ubb/ultimatebb...t=015910#000000

[Leon Roskilly]

Pike fight really hard when the water is warm.

 

Returning an exhausted pike to warm water, which contains little oxygen, especially if the unhooking/weighing/photographing has been a longish ordeal, is likely to cause a greater mortality in summer months.

 

So many fisheries with the welfare of their pike in mind stick to the old pike season beginning on 1st October.

 

(It also frees up swims for summer carp anglers!)

 

Tight Lines - leon

[JBee123]

so if people took the time to return the fish properly, allowing it to oxygenate but moving it backwards and forwards through the water then it would be ok?

[Ken L]

"Returning an exhausted pike to warm water, which contains little oxygen, especially if the unhooking/weighing/photographing has been a longish ordeal, is likely to cause a greater mortality in summer months."

 

This argument keeps on being perpetuated but 95% of summer piking is done with lures and results in a safe hookup and a quick return to the water.

Winter piking by contrast is predominantly done with deadbaits in cold water conditions that are likely to lead to a sluggish take and possible deep hooking. Then there is the issue of handling fish that are spawnladen and increasing the risks of their own bodyweight damaging their internal organs when out of the water.

 

I'm primarily a lure angler so I admit that I have a vested interest in this issue. Really though I don't mind how people enjoy their fishing so long as the "Winter good/Summer bad" brigade don't end up destroying my sporting oppertunities by perpetuating their myths.

[Peter M]

i think it should be left up to owners/managers to make a venue by venue risk assessment on each water. a small shallow lake may be more of a risk than a large deep lake. However, it would be good if the EA or some other body could assist in drawing up good pracice guidlines so proper assessment can be carried out and sensible rules imposed.

[Dick Dastardly]

Although I choose not to pikefish in the summer I know others who do.I would not want to see a blanket ban but cant agree with Kens post.

 

It doesnt matter what method a fish is caught on this doesnt affect the two problem factors of the fish fighting harder and in lower DO level water.Sugesting that lure caught fish are always hooked cleaner/unhooked quicker than bait caught fish isnt true either.

 

As with allpike welfare be it summer/winter or lure/bait good angling is the key.This encompasses both good hooking and unhooking.

 

The comments re winter bait fishing are rubnbish,sorry but that sums it up.As allready said I dont summer pike fish through personnel preference but as Ken says I wouldnt like to see his fishing interfered with.Im sure he is competent and carries it out in a responsible way.

 

What isnt responsible is dismissing the very real problems or trying to defend it by spouting rubbish about winter/bait fishing.

 

For those of you who dont know I both lure and bait fish from October untill the end of March.

 

There is enough problems with division in angling as there is with out trying to divide piking into summer v winter or lure v bait.

 

The reason people said about pike not being at their safest in summer was purely in answer to the origonal question re the traditional season.

[tonystone]

A gravel pit that I fish operates an all year round pike fishing policy, no one really fishes for them tho!!!

 

I think that bait fishing for pike should be banned during the summer as pike will take baits quickly and swallow them.

 

I tend to lure fish for them in the summer, and unless its a fish worthy of weighing and photographing then the fish doesnt really come out of the water, prefering to unhook in the water and letting the fish swim off none the worse.

Then come october I start bait fishing again until around march time. I only pike fish through the winter where as I fish for other species in the summer.

 

I think that if the angler is competant enough to handle fish then they should be allowed to fish when they want with the methods they want.

[Dick Dastardly]

Thats pretty much my view Tony but allow me to play Devils Advocate here,how would we be able to ensure that only "competent" anglers were to fish for them?