Pike lure fishing

[MaCGyver]

Hi im a newbie to lure fishing, can anyone give me any advice what rod and reel would be ideal for pike lure fishing? I have a 8ft 5-20g rod and a 2500 reel which caught me a few perch and my first pike on monday but im thinking i should up the power of rod and reel. I was looking at the daiwa prorex s 120g, and a 4000 reel for using big lures, would this be ok or is it a bit over kill for rivers? Thanks

 

[Ray Roberts]

You should balance a lure rod with the weight of lure you intend to cast. A rod of that casting weight is more suitable for jerk baits. For lighter lures it really won’t flex very well and would be like casting with a broom handle. Also a fixed spool reel isn’t the best choice for a jerk bait type rod, a multiplier is a better choice. Of course you would have to up the braid strength as well to allow you to repeatedly cast heavy lures. I use 50lb braid as a minimum. This also is a major factor in getting snagged lures back. Lures of this size are expensive. A large rubber shad type lure and a titanium trace is probably at least a tenner, proper jerk baits even more. You don’t want to be saying bye-bye to too many of those. I would be inclined to go for a lighter rod personally.


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[MaCGyver]

Thanks for the reply. So which gram rods would you recommend? Im going to stick with 8ft just dont want to waste my money on the wrong rod. Ill look into the multipliers, i do use them for my shore beach fishing.
Thanks again

 

[mikench]

For multiplier read baitcaster.

 

[Ray Roberts]

Thanks for the reply. So which gram rods would you recommend? Im going to stick with 8ft just dont want to waste my money on the wrong rod. Ill look into the multipliers, i do use them for my shore beach fishing.
Thanks again

Check the weight of the lures you intend using and be guided by that. Most rods have a minimum and maximum weight marked on them.


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[David Gane]

Please, please, whatever you do make sure you have all the other necessary accoutrements before you go. At minimum they are pliers, forceps, wire cutters, an unhooking mat, a rubberised landing net and (not everyone will agree with me about this, I know) a glove for unhooking.

Gloves can be controversial but I like to use a latex coated gardening glove to protect my fingers from raker rash should a fish decide not to lie still.

Furthermore, I don't know how familiar you are with pike unhooking. It's not hard to do but there is a technique to be learned and confidence is at the heart of it. If you haven't done it before I very strongly recommend that the first time you go you accompany someone else who knows what they are doing. It is so easy to harm pike while unhooking them and it is so unnecessary.

 

[dorsetsteve]

A 20-60g rod with a 4000 size reel is a nice weight for river piking. Light enough to cast the smaller 3/4” shads but strong enough to flick around small jerk and hard baits. It’s also soft enough to feel Jacks but got the back bone for low doubles. In winter the fish are going to closer to the bottom, more weight and more snags. If your Jack bashing on a still water that doesn’t really hold the big girls 5-20g is actually a more fun rod.

As above though you have to taylor to what your fishing with. A lot of the bigger popular baits especially for winter, for example Rapala Otis or Savage Real Eel are about 90g.

My River Pike set up is a 7ft 20-60g Savage Gear Black pop paired with a Diawa Ninja LT 4000. It’s a great little set up and all in was less than £150.
I’ve then got a light set up which is 5-20g for summer Jacks and Perch. Then a light weight 0-7g for Trout and Perch.

 

[MaCGyver]

Please, please, whatever you do make sure you have all the other necessary accoutrements before you go. At minimum they are pliers, forceps, wire cutters, an unhooking mat, a rubberised landing net and (not everyone will agree with me about this, I know) a glove for unhooking.

Gloves can be controversial but I like to use a latex coated gardening glove to protect my fingers from raker rash should a fish decide not to lie still.

Furthermore, I don't know how familiar you are with pike unhooking. It's not hard to do but there is a technique to be learned and confidence is at the heart of it. If you haven't done it before I very strongly recommend that the first time you go you accompany someone else who knows what they are doing. It is so easy to harm pike while unhooking them and it is so unnecessary.

Thanks for the advice, i have all the gear so its not a problem. My first pike was a bit of a challenge to be honest but unhooked and released the pike with no dramas. Cheers

 

[MaCGyver]

A 20-60g rod with a 4000 size reel is a nice weight for river piking. Light enough to cast the smaller 3/4” shads but strong enough to flick around small jerk and hard baits. It’s also soft enough to feel Jacks but got the back bone for low doubles. In winter the fish are going to closer to the bottom, more weight and more snags. If your Jack bashing on a still water that doesn’t really hold the big girls 5-20g is actually a more fun rod.

As above though you have to taylor to what your fishing with. A lot of the bigger popular baits especially for winter, for example Rapala Otis or Savage Real Eel are about 90g.

My River Pike set up is a 7ft 20-60g Savage Gear Black pop paired with a Diawa Ninja LT 4000. It’s a great little set up and all in was less than £150.
I’ve then got a light set up which is 5-20g for summer Jacks and Perch. Then a light weight 0-7g for Trout and Perch.

Thanks mate, just what i needed to know. Ill go for a 20-60g rod, i didnt really want something to heavy going.
catching small pike on the 5-20g rod is brilliant sport but anything to big would be a bit to much.
I use 15lb braid with a 15lb steel trace on the 5-20g rod and shimano nexave 2500 reel, what line do you use on the heavier 20-60g rod? and leader?

cheers

 

[dorsetsteve]

I use 55lb Power Pro braid and a 45lb Ninatrol wire.

 

[John Aston]

Bit late to this, but if you just want to enjoy yourself and aren't fishing for consistently big pike try using lighter gear than most use for pike. I do a lot of river fishing for pike - typically 5-8lbs with some to mid doubles- and I now use similar gear as I do for perch and chub- 5-15g light lure rod , 20lb braid and 11bs Surflon wire . Brows will be furrowed , the PAC will issue a fatwa but all I can say is that I've yet to lose a fish by being undergunned , fights are only a little longer - or the same - as on the heavier gear I no longer can be bothered to use - and it's such fun.

No unhooking worries , ever, as I use single hook weighted jigs ( 3.5- 5g ;size 1- 1/0 single barbless hooks) . Nearly every fish is unhooked without even removing from the net (or sometimes , because I'm wading , just unhooked by the forceps in the water ).