Closed Season Pike Fishing

[Guest tigger]

Im blowed if I can remember through either my body building days or fish physiology which causes the biggest/quickest build up of lactic acid,a long period of gentle exertion or a short period of hard exertion? Anyone?

 

 

I think that depends on your size. I reckon if your heavier a short period of hard exertion.

Although with fish I wouldn't like to say.

Edited March 25, 2007 by tigger

[corydoras]

I think that depends on your size. I reckon if your heavier a short period of hard exertion.

Although with fish I wouldn't like to say.

Sorry for being a bit terse, but here is a lin with some relevant reading.

 

http://www.gofishbc.com/tips_articles/catch_release.htm

[Neil G]

Spring probably is the easiest time to catch pike, with them going on their annual binge. Apparently they eat over 25% of their annual intake during May. Being easy to catch might be good for anglers, but can pike withstand the pressure?

 

 

I agree with you on spring being a good time to catch pike.....they seem to be very, very hungry in April/May.

 

When it comes to pressure though it does dpend on waters...the commercials I go to are rarely fished for pike and if they are it's only during what we traditionally know as 'predator season' (October to March). As far as the rivers go around my way hardly anyone fishes them for anything let alone pike so I don't see it being a problem.

 

I agree with Budgie here though....there will be fatalities but we as pike anglers have just got to do the best we can to minimize stress/damage.

[Anderoo]

I do a bit of piking in the summer and I would resent being told I was irresponsible for doing so! There's not much more exciting in fishing than plopping a surface lure around shallow, weedy bays on a lovely summer's evening. This summer I'm trying something completely new and swapping the lure rod for a fly rod. I can't wait!

 

I wouldn't pike fish in the closed season personally but if you choose to do so and you know what your doing, good luck to you.

 

To answer Budgie's question, I don't know but I would expect that a short, hard fight would generate more lactic acid than a slower, more gentle 'lead them into the net' fight. You need nice soft rods to be able to do this properly though. A fly rod for instance...!

[Steve Walker]

I would have thought that trout, salmon and carp would have been a good early spring species to target, and possibly tench

 

The tench on some of my local pits don't seem to really get going until there's some warmth and colour in the water; just reviewing my blog entries from last year, they were pretty cagey to begin with:

 

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.p...&&st=10

[LeighM]

"Bl*ody hell 40 lb briad" I can't see any pleasure in just dragging a fish into the net unless it's purley for the pot. If I can't feel the fish fighting then I wouldn't get any pleasure whatsoever.

I've just purchased a lighter Carp/pike rod to allow more contact with the fish. Every fish I've ever caught even after a lengthy fight has allways swam away happily and in good fettle, none the worse for it's ordeal. I think there's more chance of damaging a fish by scull dragging it in.

 

Using high braking strain braid for pike fishing has got nothing to do with dragging the fish in! Its intended purpose is to avoid leaving a baited rig on the bottom should you snag up or snapping of and leaving the pike with the rig still in its mouth. Either scenario results in a dead pike period!

 

I use 50lb PowerPro braid for baitfishing and 3.25t/c rods. I know that if i snag up, i can pull free and get my rig back as the hooks straighten long before i get anywhere near the line breaking strain. This would not be possible with mono of similar diameter and would pose a real danger to any fish that picked up the discarded rig.

 

On the subject of bullying them in, my set up allows me to land, unhook and release my fish in the shortest possible time. The clutch setting on my reel ensures that if needed i can give out line (especially under the rod tip). Playing pike on light gear might be 'fun', but a prolonged fight will do far more harm to the fish than simply winding them in.

 

If anyone would like additional info on 'Balanced' pike tackle, take a look at the Pike Anglers Club of Great Britains web site (http://www.pacgb.com/)

 

Cheers,

Leigh

[Neil G]

I do a bit of piking in the summer and I would resent being told I was irresponsible for doing so! There's not much more exciting in fishing than plopping a surface lure around shallow, weedy bays on a lovely summer's evening. This summer I'm trying something completely new and swapping the lure rod for a fly rod. I can't wait!

 

I wouldn't pike fish in the closed season personally but if you choose to do so and you know what your doing, good luck to you.

 

To answer Budgie's question, I don't know but I would expect that a short, hard fight would generate more lactic acid than a slower, more gentle 'lead them into the net' fight. You need nice soft rods to be able to do this properly though. A fly rod for instance...!

 

Sounds great...pike on the fly is a rare but exciting side to piking.

 

I specialise more in deadbaiting for pike but am definately going to try and get out with lures a bit more this summer as it's a nice method where you can cover a lot of water.....I just find loosing lures at £10 a pop a bit upsetting!

Edited March 26, 2007 by Neil G

[ColinW]

"Bl*ody hell 40 lb briad" I can't see any pleasure in just dragging a fish into the net unless it's purley for the pot. If I can't feel the fish fighting then I wouldn't get any pleasure whatsoever.

I've just purchased a lighter Carp/pike rod to allow more contact with the fish. Every fish I've ever caught even after a lengthy fight has allways swam away happily and in good fettle, none the worse for it's ordeal. I think there's more chance of damaging a fish by scull dragging it in.

 

You'll feel them a lot more on 40lb braid than 14lb mono! You aren't going to "skull drag them in" any quicker on a given rod and reel whichever is your choice of line. If you can break 14lb mono by pulling with your rod in a normal fish playing action I'll be amazed. So, given that you can't break 14lb mono and you definitely can't break 40lb braid, what's the difference? If anything, you'll have to have a lighter touch with the braid, because there's no shock absorber to prevent clumsy technique pulling the hook loose.

[Neil G]

Using high braking strain braid for pike fishing has got nothing to do with dragging the fish in! Its intended purpose is to avoid leaving a baited rig on the bottom should you snag up or snapping of and leaving the pike with the rig still in its mouth. Either scenario results in a dead pike period!

 

I use 50lb PowerPro braid for baitfishing and 3.25t/c rods. I know that if i snag up, i can pull free and get my rig back as the hooks straighten long before i get anywhere near the line breaking strain. This would not be possible with mono of similar diameter and would pose a real danger to any fish that picked up the discarded rig.

 

On the subject of bullying them in, my set up allows me to land, unhook and release my fish in the shortest possible time. The clutch setting on my reel ensures that if needed i can give out line (especially under the rod tip). Playing pike on light gear might be 'fun', but a prolonged fight will do far more harm to the fish than simply winding them in.

 

If anyone would like additional info on 'Balanced' pike tackle, take a look at the Pike Anglers Club of Great Britains web site (http://www.pacgb.com/)

 

Cheers,

Leigh

 

Good points and exactly the reason why I'm going to step up my tackle for the spring/summer when all the weed growth kicks off.

 

I have caught fish in the past with other peoples rigs in.....usually the line snapped off above the trace swivel so clearly snapped off/snagged.

[Guest tigger]

Using high braking strain braid for pike fishing has got nothing to do with dragging the fish in! Its intended purpose is to avoid leaving a baited rig on the bottom should you snag up or snapping of and leaving the pike with the rig still in its mouth. Either scenario results in a dead pike period!

 

I use 50lb PowerPro braid for baitfishing and 3.25t/c rods. I know that if i snag up, i can pull free and get my rig back as the hooks straighten long before i get anywhere near the line breaking strain. This would not be possible with mono of similar diameter and would pose a real danger to any fish that picked up the discarded rig.

 

On the subject of bullying them in, my set up allows me to land, unhook and release my fish in the shortest possible time. The clutch setting on my reel ensures that if needed i can give out line (especially under the rod tip). Playing pike on light gear might be 'fun', but a prolonged fight will do far more harm to the fish than simply winding them in.

 

If anyone would like additional info on 'Balanced' pike tackle, take a look at the Pike Anglers Club of Great Britains web site (http://www.pacgb.com/)

 

Cheers,

Leigh

 

I fish with 25 lb fireline and 25 lb fox Graviton, two Shimano Diaflash rods, 12 ft, 2 1/2 test and 3 lb test and a pair of shimano 8010's which I find to be a heavy sey up. I've just aquired a 11 ft 6 in 2 1/4 test Whisker Kevlar Tournament to hopefully let me feel a bit more of the fish.

To me your set up is overgunned and theres no way I would get as much pleasure using such a heavy set up as I would a lighter but still a sensible one.

At the end of the day it's gotta be your own preffered set up so good luck with yours.