start of the pike season

[azrael]

pike fishing for many will officialley start from the 1st october and end at the end of march

 

is the first of october your start to the season or do you fish for them at other times?

 

are you a pike angler? if not why do you not pike fish? none available? scared? just not like them?

 

will you be doing anything interesting this year with your pike fishing?

 

are you going to be fishing for them for the first time this season?

[Dick Dastardly]

Ive been known to do the occaisional bit of piking! Im not a lover of summer piking so my "season" normally starts with a two week session in Norfolk on the Broads. I tend to fish through to April for them but the bulk of it is over by mid March as by then Im to busy with the Spring tench and bream fishing.

[Anderoo]

I used to spend my winters pike fishing when I lived in the fens, when I moved to S London and then to Oxford I discovered chub and perch and since then the pike haven't got much of a look in.

 

I haven't seriously fished for pike for ages now, but I am starting to get the urge again. Trying to fit it in with all the other fantastic fishing is very hard though! I thought about having a proper go at the reservoirs if/when I got fed up of catching zander, but that hasn't happened yet.

[Barry C]

Wont sleep tonight, too excited.

Tackle all ready and bait in the fridge.

Although not ideal conditions must go on the first day even if I stop for a while afterwards.

[Ken L]

There's a season ?

With dates ?

How strange.

I love to chase pike on lures in clear shallow stillwaters from early spring to early summer but them leave them alone as the plant growth gets excessive. the water warms up and the disolved oxygen levels drop,

I move onto the rivers at that point chasing trout and then chub with plenty of pike as a by-catch. Low oxygen levels are much less of a problem on rivers and the fish recover well.

As the first cold nights of September arrive and the chub drop back into deeper water, I will switch my river luring to targeting pike directly.

At some point, as the water temperatures drop, I'll give up on the lures and switch to bait fishing during the worst of the winter.

Personally, I wouldn't fish deadbaits yet because not only are lures more fun but with the water still being relatively warm, there's to much risk of deep hooking for my taste - a little roving livie is different but increasingly, my local associations are banning live bait.

[John Weddup]

, my local associations are banning live bait.

 

In East Anglia I am involved with a few clubs and join many. Some allow livebaiting and some do not. When asked why they ban it as it spoils my perch fishing the answer is always that pike anglers abuse the rules and bring lives in from elsewhwere. Most then also ban dead bait fishing with coarse fish as its easier to bailiff.

 

I used to think this was a bit over the top and anti pike anglers but believe you me they are right.

 

Pike anglers seem to be the ones who are most happy to break fishery rules to get that big one. Pike forums even seem to condone this sort of behaviour as if its normal practice.

 

Pike angler forums seem to have a set of rules.

 

Don't name a water (unless of course you tell me as I am famous)

 

Don't break rules (unless theres a big fish present)

 

Don't fish in the summer let them rest and feed as oxygen levels are low. (but of course if I am famous its ok and I will get praised by everyone for catching a 30)

 

So much hypocrisy in pike angling it makes carp anglers seem like really nice helpful anglers.

 

John

Edited September 30, 2013 by John Weddup

[Ken L]

In East Anglia I am involved with a few clubs and join many. Some allow livebaiting and some do not. When asked why they ban it as it spoils my perch fishing the answer is always that pike anglers abuse the rules and bring lives in from elsewhwere. Most then also ban dead bait fishing with coarse fish as its easier to bailiff.

 

I used to think this was a bit over the top and anti pike anglers but believe you me they are right.

 

Pike anglers seem to be the ones who are most happy to break fishery rules to get that big one. Pike forums even seem to condone this sort of behaviour as if its normal practice.

 

Pike angler forums seem to have a set of rules.

 

Don't name a water (unless of course you tell me as I am famous)

 

Don't break rules (unless theres a big fish present)

 

Don't fish in the summer let them rest and feed as oxygen levels are low. (but of course if I am famous its ok and I will get praised by everyone for catching a 30)

 

So much hypocrisy in pike angling it makes carp anglers seem like really nice helpful anglers.

 

John

 

I suspect you could replace the word "pike" with any one of a dozen species and the same would be true.

But what do I know, I'm an angler who catches pike and not a pike angler.

Species obsession has always been alien to me.

[MICK SMITH39]

I am a pike angler,I used to live bait and yes pike anglers do get up to all sorts of things,i used to do them myself,I don't livebait any more and I wont pike fish in the summer,Dont know if I am a hypocrite or what, I like to think I have learnt the error of my ways. IMO livebaiting should be banned, I cannot understand how they could have brought that law in that someone can take up to 15 fish of a certain size to use as bait,(or have I got that wrong)just to keep pike anglers happy,surely 3 or 4 would have been enough.A couple of pikers livebaiting on a lake all thru the winter taking 15 livebait each time would almost empty the place surely.And one of the worst things that can happen to a pike imo is a carp angler putting a rod out for pike at night while they are asleep in their bivie.

[Dave H]

I have been waiting for the Pike season too. A trip to the Medway is on the cards although i do prefer December to start or did so in the past. I think i am really going to miss the fens though. It’s a great place for pike fishing if you know the spots..

[MICK SMITH39]

Yeh, but you must have had the fens at its best mate,prob not a lot to miss now.