Bite indication when piking

[Anderoo]

I agree,detecting bites on a river legering deads can be trickey but as long as you're paying close attention,even with using bite alarms(fronts),there shouldn't be any problems.Certainly a lot of times the pike do NOT move off with the bait.The initial indication is a blip on the alarm and then i tend to focus on the nodding rod tip.They seem to munch it on the spot .I tighten up quickly and have never had a deep hooked river fish,and contact most.

As far as the choice of D.B as a method goes,on my tidal in winter,lives ,although allowed,are very difficult to catch on the day.When i have used them alongside deads,i can't conclusively say that they outfish them,especially for the bigger gals.Because the water is generally coloured to a certain extent,lures or wobbled deads,tend not to work so i resort to an oily smelly sea deadbait.Sardine is my choice.Hopping the rods every 15 minutes or so searches out the fish.

 

I forgot to add that the problem is compounded by debris hitting the line - once the line is out of the clip it pours off the reel and gives you a real screamer. To tighten up enough to prevent that happening, I don't feel confident that a pike will give me enough indication.

 

Eel section is one of my favourite baits for this kind of piking, but it's not really on to use them any more.

[jeff smith]

I forgot to add that the problem is compounded by debris hitting the line - once the line is out of the clip it pours off the reel and gives you a real screamer. To tighten up enough to prevent that happening, I don't feel confident that a pike will give me enough indication.

 

Eel section is one of my favourite baits for this kind of piking, but it's not really on to use them any more.

 

Again,debris building up on the line particularly on tidals can be a problem.I tend to finely adjust the tension in the whole set up using the baitrunner and let it build up.Obviously when a whole dead sheep or oak tree snags on your line,then you've got to do something about it,but a reasonable amount of rubbish doesn't seem to effect sensitivity.I have to admit here,that i tend to fish fairly close in-usually max of three or four rod lengths out.

I really don't think rear mounted drop off alarms are suitable for strong river currents.I guess with pike bite indication,it's a case of adapting to the conditions.

 

Agree on the eel section.Lamprey is the only 'coarse' bait i've had success with.

[Anderoo]

Again,debris building up on the line particularly on tidals can be a problem.I tend to finely adjust the tension in the whole set up using the baitrunner and let it build up.Obviously when a whole dead sheep or oak tree snags on your line,then you've got to do something about it,but a reasonable amount of rubbish doesn't seem to effect sensitivity.I have to admit here,that i tend to fish fairly close in-usually max of three or four rod lengths out.

I really don't think rear mounted drop off alarms are suitable for strong river currents.I guess with pike bite indication,it's a case of adapting to the conditions.

 

Agree on the eel section.Lamprey is the only 'coarse' bait i've had success with.

 

Yes, you're quite right - it's down to distance really. I was remembering a couple of situations where I've been trying to anchor a bait to the opposite margin. I should have made that clear!

[jeff smith]

Yes, you're quite right - it's down to distance really. I was remembering a couple of situations where I've been trying to anchor a bait to the opposite margin. I should have made that clear!

 

I said TEND fish close in,but there are occasions when further out or far bank(30-40 yds) even is preferable.In these circumstances i prop the rod right up high,almost beachcaster fashion and keep as much line Off the water as possible.A twelve foot rod and a long sturdy front bank stick helps here as does braid mainline.It looks a bit unorthodox,but does work.This might give you a better idea of what i'm up to;http://www.mikeladle.com/catch/catch123.html

[Chubstar]

No method is perfect for pike fishing, I use a large single in the root of the tail (half herring) with a treble in the flank.

 

One of those conscience things again...................

 

Den

 

 

I like the idea of the single hook in the tail root, do you use it on other deads or just herring?

[Neil G]

Yes, you're quite right - it's down to distance really. I was remembering a couple of situations where I've been trying to anchor a bait to the opposite margin. I should have made that clear!

 

Well that's usually problematic on rivers...so much so that I rarely bother fishing the opposite bank these days!

 

Some of the rivers I fish are 15 ft deep plus...when that's flowing through with debris etc it takes a s**t load of lead to hold bottom and the indication becomes sketchy

Edited January 21, 2008 by Neil G

[Steve Burke]

As Budgie says there's no best method, but there are bad ones.

 

For instance, I've seen well-known anglers boat fishing with floats out of sight behind them, relying on a baitrunner to signal a take. I ask you!

 

Another well-known author claims the most sensitive method of deadbaiting from a boat is to fish open bail arm and clip the line into a rubber band! What happens when the pike comes towards you!

 

The same writer suggests going spinning with one rod, then fishing another rod with a baitrunner on a slightly slack line and no other method of bite detection! Same again - what if the fish comes towards you!

 

I've also seen bank anglers floatfishing but not watching their floats. Of course they've read that floats are the most sensitive form of bite detection there is. They aren't if you bloody well don't watch them!

 

Then there's those who use a rear drop-off indicator but set it up incorrectly or use one that's too light. To be effective it's essential that it's heavy enough to drop back if the tension on the line is lessened. In fact, if I ran a tackle shop I'd refuse to stock anything other than heavy indicators.

 

And people wonder why I don't allow pike fishing at Wingham!

 

So what do I use myself? It would take too long to cover every eventuality, but here are the ones I use most.

 

When boatfishing at anchor I always use surface floats. What's more they're visible from where I'm sitting. Anchored boats sway and thus create slack line. So ledgered or sunken-float paternostered rigs are a no-no.

 

When bankfishing stillwaters the only surface float I commonly use is a drifter, again watched very carefully. It's not that I'm against floats, it's just that I want to watch the water and the wildlife.

 

For ledgering and paternostering I point the rods directly at the bait if I can, and then fish with the line tight. That way the pike only has to sneeze and I know about it. I accept what Budgie has to say about getting lots of false knocks when livebaiting, but these don't bother me. Indeed, they often give me an early indication of a take. They don't bother others either as I sit next to the rods and turn the volume right down.

 

The line is kept tight by a Fox Pike Swinger on the rear rod rest. The latter is set behind the reel and so minimises the risk of line springing off the spool when fishing open bail arm. The indicator is set horizontally well below the reel so I can quickly see if there's any movement up or down. The sliding weight is positioned accordingly. In fact, without an indicator with a sliding weight it's very much harder to fish one of the most effective rigs, a sunken float paternoster.

 

I use a Good Fishing front alarm that means when fishing open bail arm, rather than using the baitrunner, all I get with a take is one or two bleeps. Carp anglers who may be asleep may need a continuous sound to wake them. I don't sleep when piking and sit near my rods, so a couple of bleeps is all I need.

 

It's well-known that pike waters get fished out very quickly. I strongly suspect that one of the reasons is poor bite indication.

 

Is it any wonder when many fishing writers can't get it right!

Edited January 23, 2008 by Steve Burke

[Neil G]

No one should be sleeping when piking!

 

TBH I'd like to get to the stage where I'm experienced enough to use just lures and flies....bite indication is just one ball-ache associated with deadbaiting!