uninterested pike

[dav]

Hiya guys , done abit of lure fishing for pike yesterday on a gravel pit ,only managed one jack about 2lb ,on a mepps , the problem was the bigger pike , well the ones i could see with my polorized glasses just seemed to be resting up against the margins in about 3 ft of water ,in the shade of the trees ,unintrested in anything i tried to use , they didnt even seem bothered by my presense or the lures pesence that was being fished by them at all angles ,they seemed comatozed , i seen 4 pike in all ,the bigger one i seen first just laid in the same spot for ages then it would slowly reposition maybe facing another way and so on , then another pike would slowly cruise by then also stop within 3ft of first fish , all pike were within 4 ft of eachother just not intrested , could this of been that it was the middle of the day and absoloutly red hot, so the pike were just shade bathing to cool down or somthing or is it more likely that the fish knew i was there and trying to catch them ,as the water is crystal clear ,although i did keep my self well out of the way of them ( i thought ) , it was very frustrating to see your spinner /plug etc cruising past the pike at perfect attack angles and for them to not bat an eyelid .lol, i,m knew to lure fishing for pike ,so any help would be appreciated ........tightlines........

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

hi dav

 

i too am new to lures not to pike tho!

 

i have had it before with baits mate,nornally letting them sink and giving them a twitch works,try it with a lure-a soft plastic for example,a good mate of mine i lure fish with is a lot better than me he was telling me he had a pit fish follow a large jerkbait in,didnt take so next cast it followe again,this time about 3ft from the bank he let the lure drop to the bottom and left it there,this fish circled teh lure for a good 5 minutes constantly try to lift or blow it off bottom it flicked it up and manged to take it in,mate hooked up and landed it about 8lb or so but just goes to show!

 

your right about the reason for them being in the shade,too hot they were probably kooling off,phrahaps there is a nearby food source so they ave already fed? and are possibly digesting or just laying up.

Edited June 9, 2006 by Russell Fitzpatrick

[ColinW]

Have a go at the crack of dawn and you'll probably find them a bit more active. At least you now have an idea where they might be when you can't see them early on due to lower light levels.

[Dick Dastardly]

I dont really agree with any of the posts above.It is certainly very common for pike to be seen "basking" in the shallow margins when the weather is hot.They wont be interested in feeding.You can put any lure or bait (even a live bait) on their nose and they wont bother.Remember pike dont feed /need to feed every day,some believe as little as every 7 days or so.

 

Dont think it gives you any clue to thier location either because they simply wont be feeding in these areas (er hence forth why you cant catch them in the first place!) no matter what time of day.In fact they wont even be in these areas at other times of day!

 

This time of year (well when its bright and hot any way) early morning and evening are obviously best as sugested,but in areas that the pike will be feeding!

 

I have never really bait fished regularly for pike in the Summer but I did used to lure fish a lot for them then.Still do a little bit now but in general prefer both to give them a break at this time of year and target other species.

[dav]

well thanks for the help lads as far as bait , rubbers etc tried the lot , as for giving them a break this time of year ,its the best time for lure fishing for them aint it ??, i know alot of experts say dont fish for pike in the summer due to the fact that they run hard when waters warm ,therefore causing them to be exhausted and causing stress etc ... isnt it the best time to catch em on lures the summer , to see them tail walking , etc (without overplaying them i might add) .plus i sea fish in winter ,,( will i get any stick ),,,, personally i thought that it was just down to the fact that the pike were not in a taking mood either due to the heat and or the time of day , agree with the early morning /evening comment totally,..cheers, the pit in qustion is wykham winter lake , anyone fished it ?? its the third time i have and i think its a lovely water for lurefishing ,abit unsure of how to fish the middle correctly though without spoons or spinners ,i have a feeling thats were the thirtys and fortys are .....tightlines

[Steve Burke]

Dav, the "Pike Police" may critisise you for lure fishing in summer. My advice is to ask them if they fish for pike in March just after the pike have spawned. Then just ignore them anyway!

[Dick Dastardly]

Same as all angling nothing wrong with it if done correctly.Yes it is a great time of year for them.I was just expressing a personal preference.

 

Piking for me is high pressure winter days just as much as carping is warm summer evenings! Ive done th opposite and respect others wishs but for me its just the way it is.

[Steve Burke]

Budgie, my comments weren't aimed at you! Like you, I do little summer lure fishing these days as I too have other species in mind. However, I've closed the Coarse Lake at Wingham for a couple of weeks to allow the bream to recover from spawning. Unless it remains too hot I'll be lure fishing for pike on a couple of these evenings.

[Ken L]

Not a lot you can do in those circumstances.

Sometimes though it's possible to spark a reaction by cranking a noisy little shallow runner arround and then stitching to something a little deeper diving. Crank the new lure slowly towards the fish then crank it down below him and then stop so that it rises back above the fishes eyeline right in front of him. Sometimes he'll just hit it as it surfaces, sometimes a little twitch will trigger a take. Sometimes nothing works.

[big tinca]

Sometimes nothing works.

Agree with this in summer there dos'nt seem to be much point in Pikin in my eyes best just targetin more ''summery fish''

 

Ano it sounds like a sting in the tail but just going on past expierences