BAITS FOR EVERY OCCASION

There are loads of different deadbaits that will catch pike, but rather than just choose my favourites, I try to make a decision based upon the venue and the

SMELT

This small estuarine fish works just about everywhere. An almost white bait, they stand out well on the bottom and have a strong cucumber-like smell. Quite tough, they cast well, and you will get several casts out of them. They are ideal if you are trotting a river.

MACKEREL

Small whole ‘joeys’ about 8ins in length are my favourite mackerel. I use them whole and find them a tough bait that works well on most venues. They really come into their own when the winter is upon us and the water temperatures are really low.

LAMPREY

Going almost unnoticed, many rivers have a large run of lamprey through autumn, and so it stands to reason that pike will make use of this high-protein food source. Best used in rivers and natural lakes. I like to leger half a lamprey around 8ins in length.

SPRAT

A small bait compared to most, but don’t let this fool you into thinking it is just a small-fish bait. In autumn, when pike can become preoccupied on small roach and perch, sprats can work wonders when larger baits are ignored. Fish them on a single-hook trace.

SANDEEL

A very underused bait. Pike love sandeels, especially the extra large launce, which are around 10ins long. The ideal bait when you need to cast to the horizon. They can be difficult for pike to pick up, so I always critically balance them with a small piece of rig foam. conditions that I am up against at the time. Here are my thoughts on some of the more popular baits around.

COARSE FISH

It’s tough to ignore the natural diet of pike, but there is more to coarse fish than that. Roach are a naturally buoyant bait, ideal for fishing over weed. Perch are tough, ideal for recasting and paternostering. Skimmers are softer, ideal for both pike and zander.

HERRING

Another very visual bait and one with a high oil content. The compressed body shape doesn’t cast particularly well, but they lay flat over light weed and silt, and are very easy for the pike to pick up off the bottom.

SARDINE

A very oily soft bait. Best cast out frozen, you are unlikely to get more than one cast out of each bait. These fragile baits might be a pain to use, but they can prove very effective on gravel pits. Best not used on venues with lots of trout, eels, or chub.

POLLAN

A very buoyant white fish imported from Scandinavia. The natural buoyancy makes them ideal for popping-up over weed. I also like to use them in rivers where they will move enticingly in the current.

BLUEY

A very oily fish that sinks very slowly. The soft skin means this bait isn’t great when long casting or nuisance fish might rip a bait to shreds, but it has produced some big fish for me. A great alternative on venues where the pike are partial to mackerel.