clever pike

[chris mc]

Wen fishing for bit's i've often had pike sit under my feet and waite for me to put small prey fish back in more so with perch,.

[Anderoo]

When I used to use a keepnet I'd often fish a paternostered livebait next to it, and used to pick up lots of bonus pike. The other advantage was that you could remove them from your swim so they didn't (1) ruin your fishing and (2) ruin your keepnet!

[Steve Walker]

I had a huge bloody great pike grab a half pound chub on the Severn once, just as I drew it over the net. Enormous head and shoulders, gills flared, mouth open, just exploded out of the water and took the fish, snapping the hooklength instantly. Nearly crapped myself.

[dapper64]

I had a huge bloody great pike grab a half pound chub on the Severn once, just as I drew it over the net. Enormous head and shoulders, gills flared, mouth open, just exploded out of the water and took the fish, snapping the hooklength instantly. Nearly crapped myself.

something similar happened to a mate ,he was using a plug, he reeled it in and just about lifted it out of the water when the pike hit it ,It scared the living daylight out of me, the speed it came up was unbelievable.The treble hooked it in the top of its head,it eventually escaped though.

[dant]

I was Chub fishing a couple of evenings ago and had a Chub of I would say in between 4 1/2lb and 5 as it was approaching the net, it went beserk and I noticed a double flash as the Chub tried to make off to mid river at high speed.

About half an hour later a Chub of around 12oz-1lb engulfed a huge piece of meat on a size 4, this was almost a surprise in itself. As I was retrieving the fish everything went solid, bearing in mind I was only fishing 5-10yd's out in clear water it was easy to see why, a Pike of around 8 or 9lb's had clamped down on the Chub sideways on and was refusing to let go.

A bit of downstream manouvering and both fish were in the net... The small Chub had some horrific lacerations accross it's flanks but it was still breathing and had some fight in it, so I let it go...

It's interesting to think that the Pike of 8/9lb was prepared to have a dash at the first and larger Chub which would of been a little over half its weight..

 

I've had Pike attack keepnets and was present years ago when a guy was dangling his finger tips over the edge of a moored rowing boat on Filby Broad only for them to get a pretty serious nip from a jack Pike. I still don't think I've seen anyone move as fast..

Also whilst fishing on an Early Summers morn on Horsey Mere, I looked accross to the reeds to see a Grass Snake making it's way to the shore. Moments later, after I'd turned my head, there was an un-mistakeable swirl exactly where the Grass Snake would of been. Whether it was a successful attempt or not, I can't be sure..

 

I have a lot of respect for the Pike, everything about it's physical make up lends you to believe that it's the top of the food chain kind of fish. It's a joy to watch even the smallest of fish slunk behind a bump in the river bed, lying in ambush mode, with it'spectoral fins turning an almost figure of eight..

Clever fish they most certainly are.

[happypiker]

When i pike fished back in Scotland i quite often put out ground bait when pike fishing to see if the roach coming in to feed were being stalked and then i would lob out a roach on a float to see if there was any extra action to be had. Never really tried often enough to give any real thoughts but i certainly caught a few when employing this method, but i also caught other fish using normal pike tactics on the day, nothing conclusive but worth a go.

I seem to remember this tactic working reasonably well on my trips to the broads but that was back in the day when livebaiting was not frowned upon.

 

happypiker.

[dant]

I do still livebait all be it with amended hooks and bait bands and the like. If I'm fishing in the boatyards and dykes in the winter, I generally always take a pint of maggots along and loosefeed 5 yards or so either side of my bait, as if I was Roach fishing. And/or whilst my Pike baits are out, I'll catch a few roach on a whip to send a few activity signals out...

[Anderoo]

While pike are excellent at following stimulus and taking opportunities, I'm afraid I could never call them clever. I love pike and pike fishing but I reckon they're at the bottom end of the fishy intelligence scale

 

They're hard-wired like a cat - if you dangle a string it has to have a swipe. A keepnet full of vibrating and shimmering dinner is like a shot of catnip!

[Neil G]

My cat certainly isn't 'hardwired' like that lol!

[happypiker]

While pike are excellent at following stimulus and taking opportunities, I'm afraid I could never call them clever. I love pike and pike fishing but I reckon they're at the bottom end of the fishy intelligence scale

 

 

 

 

They've survived since prehistoric times and that takes some doing, bottom of the intelligence scales ??? Like rats, they will survive a holocaust while the rest of us are kentuckied