Pondering Pike Runs

I saw it out of the corner of my eye, as it approached a discarded deadbaitin the margins. A pike of six or eight pounds closed on the whole mackerelwith barely a ripple of its fins, picked it up off the bottom and moved offwith slow sweeps of its tail. As it slid off, it flared its gills severaltimes. As it did so, its jaws opened and closed and the bait graduallydisappeared until just the tail was visible, as it disappeared back into thedepths of the pit.

Over the years I’ve come across numerous theories about pike runs. Yearsago, several authorities thought the pike would leave its lair, hunt down ameal and return to its lie to digest it in peace.

If you waited for the second run you wouldn’t miss ’em, it was claimed. Lessenlightened thinking reckoned you gave ’em ten minutes – by your watch. Needless to say, followers of both theories frequently found themselves staring at trace wire disappearing down a pike’s throat.

Nowadays we pride ourselves on the fact we know better. It’s also beenclaimed that the direction and speed of runs can reveal patrol routes andthe way fish are feeding on the day. If they’re moving from left to right,that’s the way they’re patrolling through your swim or feature, or so thetheory goes.

It’s hard to see how you can position your baits accordingly – more to theleft, so you catch ’em quicker..?

I think there’s something much simpler at stake here in any case. Pike don’tchew their food and wash it down their throats with saliva like you or I.Nature hasn’t equipped them with the means to do so.

When they grab a bait, they need some assistance to get it down their necksand the flow of water moving through the mouth and gills is what drives itinto the throat opening so they can swallow it down into their stomachs.The implications of this are obvious. As soon as it’s moving off with thebait, it’s swallowing it.

A jack might need to move several yards to drive a joey mackerel or whole herring past its laughing gear into deep-hooking territory. A bigger fish – or apike which picks up a smaller bait – can wolf it down a lot quicker. Either way you can’t afford to wait. I had a good fish a whisker over 16lb inthe summer, which grabbed a wobbled six inch roach under my feet. I droppedthe rod tip to let it turn with the bait, and as it sunk back into the riverI nailed it.

The top hook of the trace – one point through both of the bait’s lips -lodged at the entrance to the fish’s throat, despite the fact I hit itwithin a second or two of it taking the bait. Another couple of yards andboth hooks would have been out of sight.

That was wobbling a deadbait, with the rod in my hand. I saw it take thebait and was able to hit it a lot faster than I would have legering or laying on. With static baits, the pike is almost invariably moving and starting toswallow the bait by the time you’ve picked the rod up and wound down to it,so an immediate strike is the only safe option. Give it any longer and you’re courting disaster.

So what about these patrol routes, he says, sticking his neck out. Whilepike undoubtedly do patrol along set routes on most waters, I’m notconvinced that run watching tells us that much about them, other than thefact we’ve found a spot a feeding pike was passing through. Catch a couplemore and you can safely say you’ve found a spot a couple more feeding pikewere passing through.

If I’m fishing out into a pit, most of the pike that take my baits appear torun away from me. In fact the only time I seem to get drop-backs is legeringon rivers, which makes me wonder whether the pike use the flow to boost therush of water through their mouths and gill openings they need to turn andswallow the bait.

If I’m laying on into a drain or stillwater, the float lifts and slides awayand the line tightens. I honestly can’t remember the last time one came towards me.

If I’m fishing along the bank to the left or right down the margins, with abait on the bottom, the take almost invariably tightens the line.

The only explanation I can come up with is that it’s an instinctive reactionagainst the resistance, with the fish trying to swim away from the trace asit feels it brush and tighten against it as it picks up the slack.

If I’m drifting or trotting a river, I often can’t tell which way the pikeis moving when the float goes down. I probably could if I waited but thosefew seconds could mean the difference between a hook lodged in the scissorsand some minor surgery with the forceps – and I know which I’d prefer.

A moving pike is swallowing your bait down. It’s as simple as that. Leave ittoo long and you’ll deep hook it – that’s as simple as that too.

If you don’t believe me try this: Sling a spare deadbait a few yards out inthe margins where you can keep an eye on it whenever you get the chance overthe next few weeks.

Sooner or later, a pike will come along and shovel it up – and I guaranteeyou’ll see what I mean.