Wobbling deadbaits

[Newt]

Leon - these days you can buy a variety of lures, hard and soft, that are neutral weight and designed to suspend when you stop retrieving them.

 

With current you have to play a little and probably add a little extra weight or little extra float to make them suspend properly or to give a very slow, head down angle, sink.

 

Many have a diving lip so you can quickly get them to the depth you wish before stopping and letting them just drift around.

[Peter Waller]

Budgie, I have once had a pike pick up a static shad, whilst I was undoing an over-run. Nice fish, an interesting few minutes of my life! Have never tried to lure a pike on a static intentionally though.

[Jim Murray]

Surprised no-one has really mentioned the "wobble-bars" sold to push down the baits' throat, thus avoiding any extra weight up the line. Although I haven't tried them myself, I had heard that they provide a major benefit to the baits' action.

[Chris Bishop]

Never got on with bars or putting a bend in the bait. Bars make them sink too quickly and wreck they fluttering action. Putting a bend in them ditto.

 

Solid baits like trout or chub last longer, put the top hook through both lips and use a swan shot or two on the trace to sink it if you need to get it down.

 

Looks all wrong but a wine cork or small polyball on a link of nylon on the bottom hook just less than the depth on shallow drains and pits gives a different presentation especially over dying weed, you can twitch them along slowly without fouling the weed.

 

Use hooks matched to bait size, I usually go for a couple of size twos, tap it along with the rod to the side and watch the line for takes because they often come towards you and you'll just see the line sag as it slackens.

 

Under rated method with everyone going lure-mad but much more subtle and deadly on the right day.

[Steve Burke]

Budgie, I've had a couple of pike pick up stationary shads in the margins (Masterline Head Cases) at Wingham.

 

I've also had several more pike take these lures after giving them a tiny twitch following letting them sit on the bottom for over a minute. In each case it was after watching pike follow in the shad without taking it. In desperation I tried letting it sink to the bottom. Each time the pike just sat there inches away from the shad - until I moved it! By no means did it happen each time though. Whether the pike would have taken the shad if I left it long enough I don't know. As I said only twice was the shad taken when stationary. Intriguing (and often frustrating) to watch though!

 

Both lures and wobbled deadbaits have their pros and cons. However, Leon's post has reminded me that I don't wobble deadbaits nearly as often as I should (thanks, Leon!). Most times it's when I'm static deadbaiting. When I say static though, I mean I'm static, the baits may or may not be. I'm almost always moving one or more of the baits, either towards me or up or down in the water. Sometimes though I do speed things up and repeatedly cast and retrieve the deadbait, although even then I'll experiment and leave it stationary for a while.

 

Interesting topic! Is it just me, or do others find pike topics make them think?

[Anderoo]

Well, I've enjoyed reading all the praise for wobbling If you haven't given it a go, do. It's a top method. Like most good methods, it's incredibly simple. Just make a dead fish look like a nearly dead fish. (Incidentally - and this is not a sly dig at matchmen - this is a good method to try after a match when all the fish have been returned. There are always some which are either dead or dying, so it's kind of like groundbaiting )

 

In response to questions about pike taking static lures, I was once fishing a blue/silver toby spoon at the Relief Channel in Norfolk, and saw a pike follow it all the way to the bank...I ran out of water and let the spoon flutter to the bottom and watched in amazement as the pike hovered and watched it for about a minute, then slowly and deliberately up-ended and sucked it in It's the only time it's happened to me. I mean, a fishy-looking soft plastic I can understand, but a slither of metal?

 

Steve - pike topics certainly do make me think, but because lure fishing is so popular these days I feel out of the loop (I do hardly any lure fishing, and I couldn't even name the lures I do own ).

[Dick Dastardly]

Thanks Pete and Steve.I asked as I reckon a very high percentage of my takes occur just as I move the bait after it has remained static for a while.It is obviously a case of the movement being more important than any scent etc.

 

Interesting that Chris also mentions not rating wobbling bars or putting the classic "bend" into the bait either.Ive used various mounts including the highly rated (on the continent any way) Drakovitch rig but always come back to a straight and simply mounted bait.

 

Me too Steve.I really believe its because most pike discussions are based on practical experiences that we are trying to make sense out of rather than theories dreamed up in a bivvy through boredom!

[benhben]

Can someone give me any tips on how to wobble dead baits. I enjoy lure fishing but its beginning to slow, but wobbling dead baits could increase the catch rate.

 

Whats the best bait and techniques to use? Cheers.

[Anderoo]

Can someone give me any tips on how to wobble dead baits. I enjoy lure fishing but its beginning to slow, but wobbling dead baits could increase the catch rate.

 

Whats the best bait and techniques to use? Cheers.

 

Hi benhben, I'll tell you how I do it but I'm sure everyone has their own tricks

 

I use an 11ft 2.25lb tc rod which is nice and soft. This means I can cast light, soft baits easily without casting them off, and can impart lots of movement into the bait. Because the casting weight is limited, make sure your reel is properly filled with line. I usually use 10-12lb mono - any heavier and your distance is limited. Not that I cast very far out, but I do want to be able to cast a decent way down/up the margins. That's where I catch 90% of my pike. Travel very light because you'll be walking a long way.

 

For baits I usually use sprats, which no-one else seems to like because they're very soft and quite small, but they're very silvery, very cheap, and if they're fresh they'll last a fair time. They seem to have a better action than the tougher baits like roach and trout (more 'flitting'), although one of those can last ages! But everyone has their favourites. Sprats are more streamlined than most other baits so they look more natural when twitched upstream against a current, IMHO. The tougher, heavier baits can end up 'spinning' and looking wierd.

 

Because this type of fishing is appealing to the pike's vision, clear(ish) water is best. It works very well in low, clear conditions (which we have right now!) and, even better, when a river is fining down and clearing after heavy rain. In the summer, try wobbling a dead across the surface at dusk. (Remember to wear clean pants ).

 

What you want to mimic is a dying fish, so make the retrieve erratic. Try it in the margins before you start, and imagine a pike is following the whole time (kind of like fly fishing). Use the rod tip to 'knock' and twitch the bait, then let it fall for a few seconds, then 'knock' it 3 times in a row, short pause, then a quick pull...etc. Try to maintain a relatively steady depth. If you get no takes, try fishing deeper, or shallower - or faster, or slower. Add/remove swan shot as required. Try a reeeaaallly slow retrieve, giving it a twitch and letting it fall to the bottom, leaving it for a couple of minutes, twitching it again, etc.

 

Most of my takes come along the margins, so I concentrate on casting up/down stream and drawing the bait along my own bank, with a few casts to the far margin. Look for usual pike holding features like weedbeds, reeds, branches, slacks, etc.

 

When a pike takes, it's usually quite gentle (after all, you'll fooled it into taking a 'dying' fish, so it doesn't need to be aggressive - although sometimes you'll get an unexpected arm-wrencher). One second you're twitching the bait, the next it all goes solid. Keep the line fairly tight and hold the line with your spare hand and feel for 'knocking' or 'nodding' on the line and/or rod tip. As soon as you feel that, wind down and pull into the pike. If there's no nodding, you've probably caught on some weed, etc It's about the only kind of fishing where hooking some weed makes your heart jump

 

Tackle is simple - a trace on the end of the line. That's it!

Edited November 7, 2007 by Anderoo

[benhben]

Cool thanks mate. Think I might give it a try tomorrow on my local canal basin thats quite shallow but is known to hold decent pike. Just another question how do you keep a soft fish like a smelt to stay on the hooks whilst cosntant casting? I tried deadbaiting with sardines once and couldnt cast at all. ive got some of that bait elastic stuff, but that would stop the bait breaking off during a take, making unhooking difficult.