[10]
GENERAL TECHNIQUES & LURE CONTROL
Being
aware of where your lure is, and what
it is doing, gives you a big advantage
over the angler who blithely casts and
retrieves without a clue. The only times
he is aware of his lure position is when
he can see it, or it hits something on
the way back. One way to learn how to
gauge the distance from the rod of your
floating lures is to stop the retrieve
and see if the lure pops to the surface
were you expect it to. A simple little
idea, but one which can help you avoid
snagging up on close in ledges. Quite
how you gauge the distance out is hard
to pinpoint, it becomes instinctive, but
probably has something to do with the
angle at which the line enters the water.
A highly visible line is a big help in
following the path of your lure. When
I am fishing I am constantly altering
my stance in order to put myself in the
optimum position to work and guide my
lure, and to make a strike. This will
change, not only from cast to cast, but
even during a retrieve, in order to bring
the lure along the path I want it to follow.
Having
previously mentioned that rod position has
a major influence on hooking success, it
is worth mentioning here that it also affects
how deep or shallow your lures will run.
The simple rule is that the higher you hold
the rod the shallower the lure will run,
and fairly obviously the opposite applies.
With a little thought it is possible to
work lures over sub-surface features without
losing lure speed by raising your rod top.
This is a critical aspect of lure control.
Lure speed is often crucial. By holding
the rod tip very high I have worked diving
lures inches below the surface to come over
the top of weed that pike have been lying
up in. A more normal, low, rod position
resulted in the lures fouling weed within
a couple of cranks of the handle. This doesn't
make for a good position to set the hooks
from, but it has got me takes that I wouldn't
have had any other way with the lures in
my box at that time.
Not
only does the rod position, and hence the
angle that the line enters the water at,
affect running depth, but so does the diameter,
and density, of the line being used. Thick
lines cause lures to run shallower, and
conversely fine lines make them run deeper.
This is of most benefit to anyone who has
to fish as deep as possible in order to
get takes. Selecting the finest lines available
in your chosen breaking strain will enable
you to achieve maximum depth, with least
effort. It will also not be necessary to
crank diving baits like mad to get them
down, giving a slower running speed which
is often beneficial when pike are lying
deep. The lifting effect of thick lines
is most noticeable when trolling which is
one reason why lead-cored and wire lines
are often favoured for deep-water trolling.
Hi-Tech braids increase running depth too,
being so much thinner than monofilament
of the same breaking strain.
Not
everyone fishes for pike in running water,
but it is worth noting that water flow also
affects a lure's fishing depth. It all comes
down to the velocity of the bait relative
to the water. A spoon cast upstream and
retrieved with the same reel speed will
fish deeper than if it was cast down stream
as its speed, relative to the water, is
slower when cast upstream than down. The
same applies to spinners and spinnerbaits.
Diving plugs work in the opposite fashion,
running deepest when cast downstream.
It
is not always desirable to fish your lures
as deep as possible in order to catch pike,
though. There is an old adage that goes;
"Spin slow, spin deep". I think that this
was coined by lure manufacturers who want
your lures as close to the bottom, and the
snags, as possible! Seriously, this can
be a good approach when the water temperature
is low and pike lethargic, refusing to move
far to feed. However, the usual reason given
for working lures deep and slow is that
it presents them to the pike for the longest
time, is way out of line. It sure sounds
fine at first hearing, but think about it.
A pike's field of vision is in the form
of an upward pointing cone, wider at the
top than the bottom. Surely, then, a pike
will have longer to regard a lure that is
passing over it higher in the water? Of
course, working lures deeper might be successful
because the pike has less time to inspect
it. Having to make, literally, a snap decision
or the lure has passed. Working lures higher
in the water has the benefit, to my way
of thinking, of giving a pike more chance
of seeing them. For a deeply fished lure
to pass through a pike's cone of vision
it must pass close to the fish. Fished shallower
it can cut the cone further to one side
of the pike. I am certain that lures passing
way over the heads of pike are more likely
to be spotted. There is less need to put
a lure within inches of a pike for it to
notice it, and higher lures will be spotted
from a greater horizontal distance, too.
Baits high up in the water will cut through
the cones of vision of more pike than deeper
worked lures. As most animals, and I expect
pike too, have peripheral vision that is
attuned to perceive movement I suggest that
baits moving through the edge of a pike's
circle of vision will be noticed quickly.
Maybe even more quickly than if they were
passing through the centre of the circle.
This is speculation on my behalf, but I
hope this will make you think a little about
the received wisdom of lure fishing. Don't
take my word for this, or anything else.
Think about everything I have to say, and
apply your own views and experiences. You
might reach similar conclusions to those
that I have, or maybe not. Either way, it
remains a fact that plenty of pike have
been caught on lures fished three or four
feet down over fifteen feet or more of water.
On one water I fish this is, in fact, a
regular occurrence.
Because
a pike's eyes are upward facing, lures
do not need to be presented within inches
of their snouts to be noticed.
One
thing that I have noticed playing a big
part in this strategy's success is the
action of the lures used. The best all
seem to have a wide side to side element
in their action. Maybe this is because
they cover a broader swathe of water,
making the lure visible to more pike.
This could easily be the case when it
comes to gliding jerkbaits. And while
a tight wiggle may well give out fish
attracting vibrations, a more pronounced
tail-wag will make a better visual trigger.
Some minnows fit the bill well, as do
the Gudebrod Maverick and Arbogast A.C.
Plug among others. For dawn and dusk fishing
these lures can work superbly too. Given
reasonable water clarity, and fished close
to the surface all the lurking pike will
see is a silhouette swaying from side
to side. Noisy lures are not essential
for pike fishing in low light conditions.
Two doubles (which required the flash
gun for the photographs) caught within
minutes of each other, on a Maverick,
one autumn dawn proved that point to me.
Having
disagreed with the deep part of "spin slow,
spin deep" I'll now disagree with the slow
bit! But not quite as vehemently. There
are two main reasons for adopting a faster
lure speed. The first is to cover more water
more quickly. The second is to give pike
less time to decide about taking a lure.
Covering water quickly is most important
in warm weather when pike are very active,
moving around hunting and will chase lures.
Having had a mid-double chase a jerkbait
being cranked back as fast as I could, because
I wanted to make another cast to a pike
I had seen strike, I am now prepared to
fish lures very quickly at times. I don't
make a habit of this tactic, but it is one
that is worth trying at times. Not all lures
lend themselves to high-speed fishing, so
experiment. Giving pike less time to inspect
lures works best when near ambush points,
so noisy or flashy lures are the ones to
choose here. The plus side to fast retrieves
is that pike that hit your baits are usually
well hooked as both lure and fish are moving
quickly. As the pike turns there is a good
deal of pressure on the hook points. You
don't have to react so rapidly to the take
either. Unless the pike has followed the
lure, grabbed it and carried on towards
you giving that awful slack line experience.
The only other problem with fishing fast
is that pike quite often miss speeding lures
altogether! Pike are not very accurate even
at slow speeds. There is no happy medium.
You either miss the fish altogether, or
hook it well when it turns away.
Whether
you agree with my views on lure speed and
where in the water column you should be
fishing your lures, or not, you will not
be able to disagree that it is a good idea
to present your lures in areas where there
is a pike or two. All too often the advice
to would be lure anglers is to cover as
much water as possible with your baits.
Not a bad plan provided you are only putting
a few casts in each small spot. When searching
for fish, perhaps on a new water, this is
the tactic I adopt in the warmer months.
But repeatedly fancasting an area in an
attempt to locate pike is extremely time
consuming and extremely boring. It is also
a far less productive method for locating
pike than it is supposed to be.
As
a rule I prefer to confine my attentions
to areas that I would be happy to spend
some time in if I were static fishing with
live or deadbaits, and to concentrate my
casts to cover the precise spots where I
hope the pike will be lying or moving through.
I might spend an hour, or sometimes even
longer still, in a small area giving it
a thorough going over with various lure
types. I may even return and try it again
at a later stage, there is always the possibility
that pike were present but not sufficiently
switched on to show any interest in my baits.
I always try and think in the same way as
I would when fishing natural baits. I will
frequently walk some distance without casting
a bait in order to get quickly past water
that I know to be unproductive. I am not
saying that I don't miss out on fish by
doing this, I do, but I think that I catch
more fish in a shorter time by bypassing
such areas. Only experience will teach you
which areas to avoid and which to spend
time fishing. I know one place that looks
hopeless in comparison with nearby swims,
but which outfishes them almost every time,
and produces pike of a slightly larger size
too. Unfortunately, spots like this can
only be located by systematic searching
- usually over a long period of time.
If
I find a swim where I would choose to anchor
a livebait close to a feature of some kind,
in the knowledge that the pike are going
to patrol along it, then my aim is to keep
my lures as close to the feature for as
long as possible. This doesn't necessarily
entail working them slowly though, as a
lot of quickly fished casts will achieve
the same end result. In American parlance
this might be referred to as "keeping the
bait in the strike zone". The strike zone
is, basically, the place where you expect
to get takes! Of course, if this is the
far bank of a drain there are problems.
The ideal situation would be to fish parallel
with the bank, but working a lure slowly
is the next best option. Any feature that
you suspect pike might be using as ambush
points are worth investigating using a dead-slow,
twitching retrieve. If you think that pike
are actively hunting then cover the open
water in a faster manner.
Sometimes
lures fished close to or in amongst weed
or other structure will be ignored, while
those in the clear are hit time and again.
The reason is simple. There are no pike
in the weed, that's why the prey fish are
there. The pike are stationed close to the
food source, but not so close as to cause
alarm, waiting for something to stray from
safety. Make sure it's your lure! At other
times the prey fish taking shelter will
be small pike. If you are repeatedly catching
pike of two pounds or less, from an area
that is offering them a hiding place, lures
fished near by but away from the cover might
well produce a bigger fish.
The bank you are fishing from is always
worth investigating even if there is only
a foot of water, and here casts parallel
with the bank are possible in many situations.
Don't try to make the longest cast you can
first time though. Start with short casts
and gradually increase their length. This
way you avoid spooking too many fish if
you foul up on weed or whatever - or cast
on to the bank itself and have to pull the
lure free. It always hits the water with
an almighty splash and a huge lump of vegetation!
I have caught quite a few pike on casts
of less than ten yards, sometimes quite
a lot less.
When
working my way along drains and canals,
in particular, I have lost count of the
number of fish that I have caught casting
back to the swim I have just vacated. Even
though I have been working lures over the
same patch of water, a lure brought through
in the opposite direction will often produce
a take. Many times on the first cast. Has
the pike been woken up by the initial activity,
and provoked into striking when the lure
goes past the other way? I haven't got a
clue! All I know is that this tactic works
time after time - and that's good enough
for me.
Not
all waters allow the use of boats, and not
everyone has access to them in any event.
They do, though, open up areas that are
inaccessible by other means. I have caught
a number of otherwise un-reachable pike
by wading in shallow bays. This tactic is
not without its attendant problems. Being
many yards from the bank means that you
have to carry everything with you, which
limits lure selection. Luckily only surface
lures, spinnerbaits, spoons and very shallow
runners are required in these bays so only
a few baits are needed. Even so, I have
considered making a floating lure tray to
tow behind me, complete with anchor to stop
it drifting away. A landing net is not needed
and the biggest difficulty arises when you
want to weigh and photograph a fish. The
best answer is to go wading with a friend.
Wade quietly and slowly to minimise the
number of pike you spook. In weedy bays
they will lie in very shallow water when
the water is warm. The fun aspect that this
approach offers is tremendous. Takes under
the rod tip are exciting enough when your
feet are on dry land, but when you are up
to your waist in the water it is multiplied
many times. Add to this the fact that fish
can run behind you while you play them and
I think it is even more exciting than fishing
from a boat. It's a pity that there aren't
more opportunities for this kind of fishing.
When fishing lures close in, from the bank,
it should go without saying that stealth
is paramount. It isn't always essential
to creep about on all fours to avoid alerting
pike to your presence, but a low profile
is a good idea on waters with little bankside
cover. Most important is to tread quietly
and move slowly. There have been a lot of
occasions when I have been fishing a spot
for some time when I have made a sudden
movement and a pike has bolted from right
under my feet. It must have been there all
the time, probably aware of my presence,
but un-alarmed. Maybe I wouldn't have caught
it, but at least I know my approach to the
swim had been right. As well as avoiding
undue noise and movement, it is wise to
keep your shadow off the water. Have you
ever seen small fish scatter when a bird
has passed overhead? All it takes is the
shadow of some harmless fowl to trigger
this reaction. Pike are no different and
treat any large shadow as a possible threat.
They might not shoot away, being more likely
to glide slowly into deeper, safer water.
No doubt switching off in the process. There
are some stretches of one canal that I only
fish in the mornings as this is when the
sun is in my face, luckily the towpath switches
over at one point giving me water that I
can fish in the afternoons.
Shallow bay wading.
It
is not just clear shallow waters that need
care in your approach. I mention elsewhere
how important I consider lure silhouettes
to be in all water conditions, and the same
applies to your shadow. I am sure that shadows
on the water are very visible in most situations.
Contrast is very noticeable under all light
conditions, and shadows are pure contrast
- light and the lack of it. Obviously light
intensity plays an important part, and on
overcast days there is less to worry about.
Maybe this is part of the reason that such
days are often productive, pikewise.
Pike
that make their presence known in one way
or another can be a blessing or a curse.
In as much as they let you know that there
are pike around and, to some extent, interested
in your lures they are better than nothing
at all. However, they can be extremely frustrating
at times. We all like the times when every
fish we see has a lure in its mouth, but
some days pike all over a water will be
in a following mood, other days it might
just be the odd fish. I make a few suggestions
for turning follows into takes elsewhere,
the most obvious one, and one that is worth
repeating is to change your lure. If this
doesn't work, try switching back to the
one that prompted the first follow. Sometimes
the pike will take it. Other times it can
be worth simply flogging away with the one
lure until the pike takes. There are no
hard and fast solutions, but resist the
temptation to try every lure in your box.
This is the least successful option. Far
better to admit defeat and go look for another
fish. One that is interested in eating your
lures!
It
is a strange aspect of lure fishing for
pike that you can catch them outside of
their normal feeding spells. Anyone who
has done a lot of piking with static methods
will tell you that pike feed best at certain
times of the day. These vary from water
to water, and at different times of the
year. As a rule morning is the best time,
and the middle of the day the worst, especially
so in the warmer months with their longer
days. Despite this I am quite confident
of fishing lures at any time of day, which
proves to me that lures trigger strikes
from pike that are not actively feeding.
Three o'clock in the afternoon, with a clear
sky and the sun beating down would see me
getting an undisturbed sleep if I was fishing
with static baits. But this picture can
be turned into non-stop action if lures
are in use. Not every time, of course, but
often enough. Along with a lot of lure anglers
I like bright sun and clear water, preferably
with a nice ripple on the water. When the
sun is low in the sky this can be good for
static fishing, but in mid-afternoon it
makes for superb lure fishing conditions.
Get out those flashy chrome baits and do
the business.
If
you accept my premise that pike are triggered
into hitting lures, then it is plain to
see that they offer an excellent way of
catching a few fish in a short space of
time. For pike nuts who have only limited
amounts of time to go fishing, lures are
the best option. I hate having just a couple
of hours to pike fish with natural baits.
Only if I know exactly where the pike are
on a water, and precisely when they are
feeding will I contemplate a brief session
with natural baits. Lures, however, are
another matter altogether. On my local waters
I will quite happily have an hour chucking
lures about at any time of the day, and
be confident of catching something so long
as conditions are not completely against
me. I am the first to admit that unless
your local water holds a lot of big fish
this approach will not get you the monsters,
but it will give you a lot of fun, excitement
at times, and relaxation.
Depending
on how long the trip you are making, and
what kind of water it is to, you have to
make decisions about which lures to take
with you - and how many rods you will need
too. For a short session of an hour or two
walking around a local stillwater all that
will be needed is one rod and maybe a dozen
or less lures. But a full day, or more,
afloat on a large lake four rods and a hundred
baits will not go amiss! For long bank sessions
I frequently carry two rods, both in order
to deal with different lure types more efficiently,
and to ensure a back-up in the event of
mechanical or other failure. When using
just one rod it will be the one that will
easily cope with the heaviest lure I have
with me. This may well see me fishing a
spinnerbait on a jerkbait outfit. At least
this is possible, whereas fishing a jerkbait
on a spinning outfit is not. My two rod
approach would be a heavy jerkbait rod for
these lures, stickbaits and crankbaits,
and a heavy spinnerbait rod for minnows,
spinners, spoons and some topwaters. In
the boat dedicated rods are used for their
intended purposes.
As
an aside, I find it best to take lures off
traces when moving swims. This applies when
on foot or in a boat. Hooks tangle in all
sorts of things when you leave the lure
hanging from a rod eye or keeper ring. My
only exception to this rule is one rod when
I am in a boat alone on the occasions when
I'm not trolling between swims. Say I am
moving into a quiet bay for example. In
this instance I will have a rod set up with
a minnowbait or some other stealthy lure
like a Slug-Go. This rod is ready to go
should I detect a pike that I can cast to.
I once spotted a small fish skitter on the
surface close to a reed bed. Unsure as to
the presence of a pike I cast a white grub
on a jig-head straight to the spot where
the fish had shown itself. Three turns of
the handle and a pike was hooked. If the
rod hadn't been already rigged with the
lure, the pike might well have moved on
by the time I had clipped a bait to the
trace.
It
would be nice to come up with a plan of
attack to use on every spot you fish. Start
with this lure, then try that one and next
another. This kind of routine might make
logical sense, but it is very tedious. In
any case, every spot is different, and the
moods of pike change from day to day. My
first lure choice might be made logically
after weighing up the situation, and the
second choice might also. It is just as
likely to be made on the grounds that the
second lure is completely different to the
first one. It is usually a good idea to
use a quiet lure initially to avoid spooking
the fish, but don't worry about trying to
wake the pike up if they refuse to co-operate.
Even though a pike might not actually strike
at a very noisy lure, a propbait say, it
might take the next lure you throw.
Try
and put the first lure you cast out as close
to where you think the pike are. Don't waste
time fishing shallow if the fish are lying
deep. If it is sunny the pike might be in
cover taking shelter, but if it is windy
too they might be actively hunting in open
water. Always let the pike dictate the lures
you choose and how you fish them, rather
than working your fishing in with a random
selection of lures. While you will catch
a few pike by sticking to one lure all day
long, you will catch far more by swapping
lures to fit specific swims. The other extreme
of changing lures every few casts is also
generally unproductive, as you rarely spend
long enough using the right lure in the
right place. It can be all too easy to get
into this latter trap when nothing is showing.
Don't. Stop, and take stock of the situation.
Weigh up the conditions, the features, where
in the water column you think the pike are
feeding, and how they might want a lure
presented to them. Select a lure on these
grounds and persist with it. If you have
thought things through correctly, and there
are pike present, then eventually you should
catch one. And where there is one pike,
there will very often be more. If you don't
get another fairly soon, move on looking
for a spot that is similar to the one where
you did catch.
Some
days pike want lures that are a particular
colour. The type of lure being almost incidental.
Other days they want a specific action,
the colour being irrelevant. Why this should
be, and what makes it so, is one of the
many mysteries of piking. It is however
well worth being aware of if someone is
catching on a particular lure and you are
blanking in style. First go for the action
match, as there may well be a relationship
to a feeding depth that the lure is reaching.
If that fails go for the colour match, aiming
for a lure action as close to the successful
bait as possible. Always try and think the
pike onto your lures. Random lure choices
work at times, but the reasoned selection
is the better option. Even so, if you are
flogging away with a logically selected
black crankbait, to no avail, try the same
lure in a lighter shade. You might have
got the action right, but pike don't read
the rule books so the colour could be way
out. Many times, though, switching back
to the original pattern provokes a response.
I don't know why either!
I
have no intention in going into detail about
the weather and how it relates both to pike
and lure fishing. This is because most of
us have to fish when we can, and make the
most of the prevailing conditions. So to
lay down hard and fast rules is rather pointless.
If the rules were spot on, then the occasions
when free time and ideal conditions coincided
would be very rare indeed. Far better to
fish when you are able to, and work hard
at enjoying yourself. However, lure fishing
is undoubtedly most enjoyable in shirt-sleeve
weather, which often suits the pike too.
Given warm, but not hot, water pike will
be pretty active. Someone more pedantic
than I would quote temperatures, but terms
like "warm", "cool" and so on are good enough
for me! In all pike fishing it is changes
in conditions, be they temperature, light
level or whatever, that are likely to provoke
or curtail feeding spells. Many's the time
that the sun coming from behind a cloud
has coincided with the first signs of pike
activity. Equally many times the sun disappearing
has done too!
As
a general rule, a breeze that ripples the
surface of the water is preferable to a
flat calm. A stronger wind can be even better,
so long as it doesn't hamper lure presentation.
Rain, on the other hand can knock sport
cold - literally. A sudden influx of colder
water will tend to put pike down. That's
not to say that pike cannot be caught on
lures in the rain. They most certainly can,
but I have a feeling that the noise of the
rain might affect their hearing. It might
be an idea to go for lures with more vibration
to them. This is the only time I would suggest
that 'noisy' lures might offer an advantage.
Most of the pike I have caught on lures
in the rain have fallen for crankbaits and
spinnerbaits. In strong winds, when wave
action might be thought to have a similar
effect to that of rain on a pike's hearing,
I prefer to increase lure size to make a
more visible target. Light patterns are
broken under water in a big wave, thereby
concealing lures from the pike. The parallels
between the two conditions are fairly plain
to see, and the responses similar too. Make
your lures stand out.
When
waters are cool it is a general principle
that lures should be slowed down, but worked
closer to pike that are lethargic and unwilling
to move far to feed. I am not convinced
that this traditional theory is totally
correct. When pike are feeding hard, which
they will do in winter but less frequently,
they will pursue prey just as actively as
they would during the summer. I have seen
enough pike chasing lures in January, February
and March to know that this is the case.
Unfortunately for us such active pike are
far fewer in number on any given day in
the cold months than they are in the warmer
ones. It has to be said that river pike
tend to be more active than their stillwater
counterparts during the winter, and as a
result are more likely to respond positively
to lures at this time of year. However,
I am becoming more and more convinced that
lure fishing for stillwater pike is a viable
proposition. In winter - provided you think
about where you are going to fish in advance.
If you know of a spot that holds a large
concentration of pike, then spend a good
deal of time working over this area. A few
hours giving it everything you can. Winter
pike will not feed all day, but this short
window of opportunity could occur at any
time. If you don't know when feeding time
is, all you can do is keep at it. Treat
your lure fishing like you would static
bait fishing, or combine the two methods.
I don't pretend that winter lure fishing
on stillwaters will be easy, but I reckon
that sticking at it is the answer.
Another
approach, which might seem a little odd,
is to choose a water that is pretty uniform
in depth, and maybe even shallow overall.
My reasoning behind this is quite simply
that the pike could easily be evenly distributed
throughout such a water. There is less requirement
to search various depth bands for the pike
as they are more than likely to be close
to the bottom. Shallow waters are easier,
in terms of practicality, to fish with a
wide range of lures at a wide range of speeds
and to put lures close to as many pike as
possible. Perhaps it is wrong to assume
that winter pike are lethargic. Certainly
they don't feed as often, but when they
do feed they are every bit as active as
during the summer. A prey fish is going
to require just as much catching in cold
water as it will in warmer conditions. Slow
is generally best for lures when water temperatures
are low, but not always. More so than at
other times of the year, putting your lures
as close to the pike as possible is imperative
in winter. Particularly on shallow waters
of less than eight feet or so pike may be
prepared to come up two or three feet to
a lure, whereas a lure fished six feet down
over twenty feet might be ignored. This
is why I suggest that shallow waters might
be a good bet for a spot of winter lure
fishing.
I
know quite a few pikers who, although quite
content to lure fish in the summer, put
their artificials away come October. If
you really want to come to terms with lure
fishing, then you must keep at it all year
round. I always think that if you can learn
to catch pike when the going is tough it
will make life easier when things are not
as difficult. This applies to all methods,
not just lure fishing, but the use of artificial
baits is the one area of pike fishing where
we all still have a lot to learn. Perhaps
as jigs and so on become more widespread
in use we will see them coming to the fore
in winter lure fishing, as they have for
muskies and pike on the other side of the
Atlantic. I am sure that winter lure fishing
will become more and more understood over
the next few years.
A January double which took a twitched
Super Shad Rap after following in a slowly
cranked Grandma. Despite the low temperature
this stillwater fish was active.
As more and more pikers are discovering
how effective lures can be for short session
fishing I can see a change in attitude to
piking in the U.K. Many people these days
have commitments that prevent them going
for the all-out, full day session piking
approach. So the attraction of successful
lure fishing is obvious. I know of people
who have turned to golf because they got
tired of the crack of dawn starts associated
with pike fishing. Had they turned to lures
the story might have been different. Sure,
you can have a dawn to dusk day's lure fishing
if you want, but it is not as essential
as it is for static bait fishing. There
just seems to be less pressure on you when
you are lure fishing. I can also see that
as the method gains in popularity how it
can become a sport that the whole family
can join in with. There are no messy, smelly
baits to deal with and early starts are
not essential. Perhaps lure fishing is going
to become the future of pike fishing in
this country as more and more bait bans
and rod limits come into force. Let's hope
they don't ban summer pike fishing. Not
that pike can't be caught on artificials
in winter, of course.
The
one thing I hate about lure fishing is blanking.
I can sit behind a couple or four deadbait
rods for hours on end simply watching the
world go by, but any more than two hours
casting and retrieving without a sign of
a pike is about as much as I can take. When
the pike are having it', lure fishing beats
all other methods hands down. But when they
are off I find it just about the most boring
method going. One way to beat the boredom
of long fishless sessions is to have a rest.
Maybe a bite to eat and a drink, or even
an hour's shut eye. When you start casting
again you are revitalised and full of confidence
again. Tiredness and boredom are the two
biggest drawbacks to long lure fishing sessions.
I have to say that anyone who can cast and
retrieve all day without stopping, except
for food drink and the call of nature, must
have a screw loose. Fishing should be fun,
not an endurance test. Anyone who knows
me will tell you that during a full day
session in summer I don't cast all day,
nor in winter for that matter. When nothing
is happening I give things a rest. Sometimes
I just hate lure fishing! The one thing
that is guaranteed to keep me going is catching
pike, or even just getting takes and missing
them, or seeing pike follow my lures.
All
this raises the question of what makes a
good lure water. It would be nice if it
was possible to weigh up a water without
fishing it, taking into account the clarity,
amounts of weed, depth variations and any
other factors that might have a bearing
on matters. However, it is my contention
that the critical factor in determining
if a water is good for lure fishing is the
number of pike present. Low densities of
pike make for slow piking with any method,
and make it harder to put a lure in front
of any pike - let alone one that might be
in a responsive mood. The higher the density
of pike in a water the more likely you are
to get your lures in range of them, and
the more responsive pike there are likely
to be on any particular day. Second in importance
in making a good lure water, is a low amount
of lure fishing pressure. Research has shown
that pike wise up to lures before natural
baits, so this much is obvious. I can vouch
for this as one water I have done well on
with artificials sees hardly any piking
pressure. In fact on this water lures have
often out-fished livebaits - so much so
that I have even gone there with just a
box of lures and a couple of rods. Not something
I like to own up to, but a fact nonetheless!
Only after weighing up the number of pike
(and pike anglers) would I start looking
at the condition of the water. Ultra-clear
water is often cited as essential when searching
out good lure fishing waters, but I am always
wary of this as it makes it all too easy
for the pike to spot the angler, and the
artificiality of a lure. A tinge of colour
is preferable in my view because I am certain
that it makes the angler's presence less
obvious to the pike. There are so many variables
to consider that I would suggest that the
best way of discovering if the pike in a
water respond positively to lures is to
go and fish it. Fish it as regularly as
you can in as many different conditions
and learn if and when lures are successful.
To
the committed lure only pike angler, what
follows will seem heretical, and may well
seem out of place in a lure fishing book
to the rest of you too. I have already stated
that I treat lures as just another kind
of bait, so I see no problem with fishing
them alongside livebaits or deadbaits. This
way of fishing lures has a number of advantages
for the angler whose aim is to catch pike.
Sometimes the lures will draw pike in towards
your swim where they might take one of your
static baits. I remember winding a Kwikfish
past a paternoster rig, so close to it that
when the float disappeared I thought the
lure had fouled the line. It hadn't, a pike
had taken the livebait. Maybe it would have
taken it anyway, but I like to think that
the pike had followed the lure in. At other
times the pike will prefer the lures. Maybe
the static baits, live or dead, attract
the pike in but they require the triggering
effect of an artificial to promote a strike.
Another attraction that this combination
approach offers to the angler is the opportunity
to try out an outrageous, or new lure, while
still having another bait in the water.
Fishing an untried lure on its own I find
that I rarely give it long enough to succeed
as my confidence is low. After a short while
there is always the temptation to switch
to a known fish catcher. Such is human nature.
But with a static bait out I am likely to
persevere with the artificial until it catches
something. Hedging my bets I suppose.
The
only problem I have when fishing lures and
baits in the same swim is in deciding where
to position the static baits. Do I put them
in the spots where they are most likely
to catch, and have to fish my lures outside
the taking area? Or do I fish the lures
in the optimum area? This will vary from
swim to swim, and on the mood of the pike.
There are no easy rules, you simply have
to play it by ear.