Pike fishing - when to strike?

[Neil G]

There's no cut and dry answer to this one I'm afraid. It will depend on a lot of factors (like what method you're using, how deep you're fishing (if float fishing), how deep the water is, whether it's still or running water, how aggressive the pike are that day, how big your bait is), so if in doubt, bend into the fish and hope you're not too early - if you are, you can probably leave it a little longer on the next run.

 

If you're float fishing with a bait off the bottom or fishing a paternoster, the float will most likely go under. If you're fishing on the bottom, the float will often pull across the surface, especially in shallow water. When floatfishing, NEVER use a self cocking float, and never fish more than the length of your trace overdepth, otherwise sensitivity will be compromised. When lure fishing or wobbling baits, you'll know instanntly when a fish is on, although takes on wobbled deads can be delicate affairs. 'Runs' on leger rigs can be full-blooded or the tiniest of twitches, not even pulling the line from the clip. I'd suggest always using an alarm for piking, even when float fishing (except when using something like a roving livebait, when you'll need to watch the float constantly) because your eyes will wander and you can easily miss the first indications of a fish.

 

If you're reasonably sure a pike has taken your bait, reel down to it until you can't reel and more, and bend into it. If you pick up the rod and hold it at a right angle to the fish you will often (not always though!) feel the rod tip knocking - in that case, a pike definitely has the bait in its mouth.

 

I'd recommend using smallish baits when piking so you're not tempted to wait for a pike to get a big bait in its mouth before striking.

 

All this is much more obvious in still water.

 

If you're piking in the warmer weather, don't mess about. Get them in quick, unhook them quick and get them back safely.

 

I totaly agree with you on the above

 

Self cocking floats are definately a no go...I prefer to make my own 6-8 inch long deadbait pencils that are very sensitive.

 

I does sound as if you have a problem with jacks...I fish a local water where I've lost quite a few fish and my answer to it was just to size the baits down changing from half mackerels to smaller filleted ones or sprats. This seemed to reduce the amount lost but I never fish with snap tackles so I did still loose a few!

 

At the end of the day if you are unsure wind down and strike....if you loose the fish it's most likely to be one of these smaller fish 'mouthing' the bait anyway.....better that scenario than having the problem of a deep hooked fish on the bank and the possibilty of a damaged fish.

Edited April 17, 2007 by Neil G

[ColinW]

A few weeks back we were fishing a Loch up in Scotland and had shed loads of runs and missed every one of them. We tried striking on the run and leaving it for a few muinites before striking but still failed to hook any.

 

Could be eels.

[Leon Roskilly]

Unless the hooks move across the pike's mouth, they will not engage.

 

Try a little experiment.

 

Tie something without hooks to your line, hold it in your hand and get your friend to strike.

 

You are liklely to be very suprised at how very little of the force of the strike transmits to what you holding in your hand (especially if using mono at a distance of 30 yards or so!)

 

Now instead of something held in your hand, think.

 

Would that amount of force move the hooks in a pike's mouth clamped down on the bait?

 

 

 

What probably happens is that the pike opens it's mouth at some point after the strike, allowing the hooks to slide across the mouth and engage.

 

But only if sharp enough.

 

And most trebles out of the packet simply aren't sharp enough.

 

 

 

Try scraping them across your fingernail, if they fail to dig in, merely sliding across, the same will probably happen in a pike's mouth.

 

Carry a hook sharpener and keep the points needle sharp.

 

 

 

Another experiment, try pulling hooks of a treble through a piece of chamois leather, so that the barb goes through and the chamois is hooked on the bend. How much force do you need to apply to get the hooks fully into the chamois?

 

 

Now try it again with the barbs flattened.

 

Hooks with barbs flattened (or barbless) are much more likely to penetrate when they do find a hold.

 

 

If you aren't getting hook-ups, look to the sharpness and penetrating power of the hooks that you are using, rather than the length of time before striking.

 

Pike will often drop a bait when they start to feel resistance, so you are more likely to suffer dropped bites when you leave the strike too long.

Edited April 17, 2007 by Leon Roskilly

[BoozleBear]

How do you polish water?

[Grandma]

I never strike straight away, I usually leave it for a good 30 seconds or maybe longer sometimes before striking and I can't remember ever deep hooking a Pike.

I used to fish a reservoir when I was a youth and the water was polished so you could see the fish take your baite very clearly if they where close enough in and they usually where. We all fished with a bung in those days and it was like the film "Jaws" as it would go under then re appear in another spot but you could see what the fish where doing in the clear water. Many times they would grab the baite and just hold it in their mouths for what seemed like forever before turning it round to swallow it at which point we would strike and hopefully hook up with the pike.

Thinking back I reckon it was a good few muinites before we struck.

A few weeks back we were fishing a Loch up in Scotland and had shed loads of runs and missed every one of them. We tried striking on the run and leaving it for a few muinites before striking but still failed to hook any.

We even resorted to letting them run several times thinking if we did deep hook one then we would take it back for an old chap who loves to eat them but they eventually just left it. It was the strangest session either of us has ever had and quite frustrating t'boot.

 

If the pike has the bait in its mouth then subject to all the points that Leon made, you should be able to set the hooks, there's certainly no reason for delaying the strike until the fish has swallowed the bait. You can set the odds in your favour by using braid and a decent rod and keeping the rod bent too the fullest possible extent so that the line stays as tight as possible.

[Guest tigger]

How do you polish water?

 

 

Mr Sheen

[The Fox]

Sounds like you should try smoking a fag and having a cuppa before striking. Five minutes is far too long for any kind of normal situation, I'm assuming you're not using 4lb jack livebaits? I'd say that you're either striking wrongly, not matching your hooking arrangement to your bait size, getting takes from very small pike or getting takes from something else. It dosen't sound like they're wising up, otherwise they wouldn't be dragging your float around for 5 minutes.

 

Let us know how you're fishing, there might be an answer.

I gave up smoking six years ago. I'm not the only angler to experience this. Perhaps when i said five minutes in reality it was probably no more than a couple of minutes, it felt like five minutes though.

 

I was fishing size 6 trebles to a joey mackerel with a small amount of bait elastic applied to the upper treble, sliding float fished 1-2 feet over depth.

I'm inclined to go with the idea that a small jack was mouthing the bait in this instance.

[Guest tigger]

If the pike has the bait in its mouth then subject to all the points that Leon made, you should be able to set the hooks, there's certainly no reason for delaying the strike until the fish has swallowed the bait. You can set the odds in your favour by using braid and a decent rod and keeping the rod bent too the fullest possible extent so that the line stays as tight as possible.

 

 

I don't let the fish swallow the bait before striking.

I do use Braid and some excellent rods.

[Grandma]

I don't let the fish swallow the bait before striking.

I do use Braid and some excellent rods.

 

Sorry if I came across as patronising. The runs you were missing in Scotland might have been trout? Do you ever try scaling down your bait if this happens repeatedly? If you're getting plenty of runs and not making any kind of contact on the stike, in my opinion it's usually down to fish with small mouths, not necessarily even small pike. The last time it happened to me it turned out to be bullhead in France. I was getting slow runs on half mackeral, I kept scaling down until I ended up with size 8 singles and small cubes of fish and ended up catching loads of the horrible little things.

 

I just don't think it's a good idea to base when you strike on the amount of time that's passed rather than how the take is progressing, basically if line is being taken, then the pike must have the bait in its mouth and therefore it should be possible to set the hooks. What are you waiting for the pike to do, when you're giving it the 30 seconds or 2 minutes? I realise you haven't deep hooked any fish, but someone taking your advice might well do.

[oneillbox]

i try and leave the pike long enough to swallow the bait before striking (usually 45 secs to 90 secs), then the hooks engage in the gullet area of the fish (which is softer than the hard mouthparts and therefore more likely to set the hooks).

 

with a quick hard tug on the steel trace its quite easy to unhook the pike, however deeply they are hooked.