witham pike

[steve17]

hi all, i only generally pike fish in the colder months and am hoping to get out on the river witham for a sesh or two before the close season but so far this year iv been strugglin to catch. i know theres a good population of fish in there of which there are some decent sized pike (good heads of doubles and a few 20's with the rare 30) but this is all within 20 min walk across the fields from my house.

iv only ever had pike to 17lbs from my local stretch of river but as i say i dont pike fish all that much.

 

my usual tactics are lures/spinners when its sunny and clear or roving deadbaits if its overcast and windy, down the margins with two rods fished with inline floats and sprats as bait. i generally leave the deads 15 - 20 mins before winding in and moving 15 - 20 yards downstream.

 

seeing as im struggling is there any thing i should do different tactics wise? there are a few features such as drains (inlets) bridges overhanging trees and a sewerage works but im still not really catching.

live baiting is not allowed. anyone any suggestions to help me bag a pike or two before the end of the season?

Edited March 2, 2006 by steve17

[Anderoo]

I've had a crap pike season this year. I'm blaming the conditions! It's DEFINITELY not my fault

[PIKE]

hi all, i only generally pike fish in the colder months and am hoping to get out on the river witham for a sesh or two before the close season but so far this year iv been strugglin to catch. i know theres a good population of fish in there of which there are some decent sized pike (good heads of doubles and a few 20's with the rare 30) but this is all within 20 min walk across the fields from my house.

iv only ever had pike to 17lbs from my local stretch of river but as i say i dont pike fish all that much.

 

my usual tactics are lures/spinners when its sunny and clear or roving deadbaits if its overcast and windy, down the margins with two rods fished with inline floats and sprats as bait. i generally leave the deads 15 - 20 mins before winding in and moving 15 - 20 yards downstream.

 

seeing as im struggling is there any thing i should do different tactics wise? there are a few features such as drains (inlets) bridges overhanging trees and a sewerage works but im still not really catching.

live baiting is not allowed. anyone any suggestions to help me bag a pike or two before the end of the season?

 

 

If you find where people are catching roach, dace ect try there as the pike will not be to far away.

 

 

Try deadbaiting with something other than a sprat.Eg Mackerall

If you think that they are to big you can use a knife and fish with just the tail end.

Edited March 2, 2006 by PIKE

[steve17]

Theres usually course fish all along the river, not actaully seen anyone fishing for them so far this year though. Will try different baits then thanks for the advice.

 

any other thoughts?

[UK-Fishing-Tackle.co.uk]

I'm in Lincolnshire and we've fished pretty well (always have) with Lamprey over conventional dead baits, in what are relatively small chunks (say 4").

 

If you usual bait isn't working, might be worth a shot - available from tackle shops.

 

They bleed well, - it's definitely their attraction!