Pike Fight

[GrahamM]

Had a couple of decent pike on Friday, one of which didn't fight at all and the other not a great deal better.

Both were carrying lice and both had recently fed well.

Has anyone else caught pike in similar condition that fought poorly?

 

[BUDGIE BURGESS]

Yes I have had this too Graham.The following is based on observation rather than any scientific knowledge- During periods of prolonged cold water the Pikes metabolysm apears to slow right down.They lay up on the bottom (hence the leeches).I believe that they can go some time like this and due to the slower met rate they do not need to feed so regularly.However at some point they must.The fighting qualities(or indeed sometimes lack of!)of Pike seem directly related to water temperature.When the water is warmer they fight a lot harder.Just compare the fight of a summer Pike to a winter Pike.Even a noticable difference between pre Xmas and after.Now the Pike season is slightly extended(instead of 15 March I now Pike fish untill start of April) I feel that you can see a definate improvement in their performance at the end of the season.All fish seem to feed less (or is it less regular?)during the cold but their fighting qualities do not seem to be affected wonder why that is?

 

[Chris Bishop]

I think it depends a lot on the water. They fight just as hard in some of the drains which have a heavy run-off and faster-moving rivers, on lakes I'd go along with the cold = bream impression theory.

Having said that I've had some real mental ones this season - I reckon they generally fight best between 10 and 20lbs.

 

[Chris Bishop]

Graham,

Top result - was it on that wire..?

Mental pike: Had one on the Middle Level which hit a lure just as I was about to lift it from the water and actually carried itself into three inches of water at my feet with the momentum of the attack, turned around, tailwalked and shot off. To add insult to injury, it went mad in the net and completely smashed it to bits - this was around 10-11lbs I guess.

 

[GrahamM]

No, not had chance to try that yet Chris. It was all a last minute thing and just chucked everything into my rucker and went. I used a couple of traces that were already in my rig bin - 20lb Berkeley Big Game Steelstrand Uncoated.

If I'd put a lot of thought into it

 

[GrahamM]

Sorry, hit the submit button prematurely!

I was going to say:

If I'd put a lot of thought into it and got loads of different kinds of dead and livebaits I would probably have blanked.

Sod's Law in reverse.

 

[Philip Inzani]

Dont know if you guys have found the same but river Pike seem top put up a good scrap....best fight I ever had was from a double on the Wye that went absolutly beserk, leaping clean out of the water a couple of times,tail walking the lot.

 

[Ron Clay]

It may also be due to the clarity of the water. Recent drain caught pike of mine have fought like oversized condoms, but the water was the colour of tea. Any species of fish seems overall to fight better when they can see where they are going I think

 

[Rob Brownfield]

I think a lot depends on the method too. All my fly caught doubles and twenties have all gone airborne and fought like tigers, even in winter, (3 days ago being the last double, caught on the edge of an ice flow), but on the same water, deadbait caught fish have slugged it out for a bit, then rolled on there backs.

Could it be that the fly caught fish hunt more actively, and are therefore more alert and lively, and the dead bait fish are more sedate and just mooching along the bottom?

What do u guys think?

 

[GrahamM]

I've caught pike on deads that have fought really well in both cloudy and clear water. I think those fish I had last Friday hadn't long been on the move looking for food. The lice on them suggests they've been laid up for some time.

 

[Ron Clay]

With the interesting comment on pike, I think I will start a new thread

 

[Carp Angler]

Please don't crucify me for this...........................
I don't fish for pike because the fight has to be the most unlively and dourest of any coarse fish.
Admittedly I've only fished for them in the winter and I know they're supposed to be more lively in the spring/summer, but I'm fishing for the emerging carp at this point.
Your thoughts chaps, and please be gentle...........

 

[Ron Clay]

The way a fish fights is not always the main reason why we fish for them. My favourite British species is the roach, and no one would rate these as a fighting fish. All I can say carp angler is that you must have been unlucky. I have caught many pike that have fought like wet sacks. I have also caught some that have given me one hell of a scrap. The hardest fighting pike have been those taken from clear Irish lakes on lures.

 

[GrahamM]

Generally speaking pike are not a great fighting fish, compared pound for pound with many other species. If it wasn't for having to cast heavy baits and striking home treble hooks it wouldn't cause me undue stress if I had to fish 8lb line for them in open water.

Course, such light tackle isn't necessary anyway, considering the end tackle is wire and trebles.

Thankfully, not all pike are poor fighters. I've had some real scrappers on the Scottish and Irish loughs, and two pike in particular, one on Lomond and one locally, gave me two of the best scraps I've ever had. The Wye and Severn pike I've caught have been real fighters too.

Those bursts of acceleration are best, which is what they're built for with the dorsal being set well back near the tail, but as you would expect, they can rarely keep that up for long.

I love fishing for them because you have to approach fishing for them so differently than most other fish, and they're so primitive.

When that drop-off drops, or that float slides away, on a water where you know there are 20lb-plus fish, it's a thrill that many times is second to none.

But like with any other species I couldn't fish for them all the time. I need fresh challenges on a fairly regular basis and one species can't provide that. Not for me anyway.

Maybe that's why I've never got the best of any species which I may have done had I channelled all my efforts into the one.

But that's never been my sole reason for going fishing.

 

[Ron Clay]

What Graham says virtually echos my own thoughts on angling. When I lived in Africa, I put in a great deal of my time fly fishing for the different species. Here, I spend most of my tome fishing for roach. They are such a fascinating species and nothing looks as impressive as a big roach coming to the net

 

[Carp Angler]

I agree with most of your points, yes I fish for big roach quite alot(my last 4 sessions on the Avon) but my reason for fishing for these is the difficulty associated with the location, feeding, bites etc etc.
Perhaps, as you say, I've been unlucky. I haven't fished far and wide for pike, it's just the ones I've caught have been reasonably easy to catch and didn't give much of an account.