Martin Bowler’s Adventures
Targeting a big winter predator
IT TAKES more than frost and ice to dull my appetite for a day’s pike fishing – in fact I can’t think of much that does! This explains why I was awake well before the sparrows had stirred.
What could be better than to greet a crimson dawn with two deadbait rods pointing skywards? The feeling of anticipation as I await a take is as intense as my addiction to angling, and if I get it right I can look forward to some close encounters with our top freshwater predator.
There’s nothing complex about the way I fish for pike, just a commonsense approach. For deadbaiting I favour Drennan Esox Piker rods which, with their stiff test curve, can cast unwieldy and heavy deadbaits a long way and set the hooks at distance.
A lighter rod is fun in the margins, but is less versatile,
“Never be tempted to freeline, because bite indication will be poor and pike are likely to be deep-hooked”
and the last thing I want to do is chop and change my tackle. For strength, my reels are loaded with 60lb braid – not that any pike finds it easy to snap a line even half that breaking strain, but why take unnecessary risks? Leaving hooks in a fish signs its death warrant.
Occasionally, when fishing with exposed trebles, the bottom one gets snagged. On a straight pull with 60lb braid I am able to bend the hooks and release them.
For a lot of my stillwater fishing I go for a simple running lead. Never be tempted to freeline, because bite indication is poor and pike are likely to be deep-hooked.
If allowed, I like to use a long leadcore leader. This is very robust and abrasion-resistant, and when it rubs against a pike’s flanks it is kinder to the fish than straight braid. What’s more, because nobody else uses leadcore, the pike aren’t suspicious of it.
And finally, when you don’t want to net small pike for fear of a flying treble catching in the mesh, leadcore gives you a firm grip. That’s very reassuring when you have sharp hooks and an angry pike to hand!
The final part of my set-up, the trace, has remained unchanged for years, and for good reason. I have never had 28lb Drennan Green Wire or Esox trebles fail me, and
that’s good enough for me. I pass the trace twice through the eye, tie an overhand knot and then whip down the shank. Job done!
So, on my latest pike trip I was feeling confident and content. An hour before dawn I had propelled my deadbaits out into the lake, and to get the distance there was only one realistic choice – mackerel with their heads removed. Such baits are heavy and streamlined. The top treble goes into the tough root of the tail, while the bottom one is lightly hooked into the flank, ready for a clean strike.
My baits may have been heavy, but not so the leads. These had to be lighter than the mackerel, otherwise the two elements would work against each other, spinning the fish and reducing the distance
they could be cast.
Pike are funny creatures. I’m sure they often bury into the weed and forget the world outside long enough for fish leeches to settle on them. Happily, though, sunrise came with a fresh breeze and cloud cover, perfect conditions to stir my quarry into action and seek out a breakfast of mackerel.
The first pike to respond was an upper double. I set the hooks home and revelled in the tussle.
Two minutes later, as Mrs Pike lay on the unhooking mat (the big ones are always female) I grasped the forceps determinedly and took out the trebles. Most accidents to angler or fish result from a timid approach, so to stay focused I always think of a trip to A&E – that concentrates the mind wonderfully!
With that fish safely returned I cast out a fresh deadbait, but I had only just put the indicator on when another of the drop arms was pulled from the braid. That sharp tug was from a big fish, and judging by the way braid was peeling off the spool I was in for a fine battle.
I engaged the bail-arm, wound down until I felt resistance and then struck firmly. A 20lb pike was the result!
Winter has its challenges but they only serve to make success, when it comes, even sweeter.
DAWN – AND PIKE ARE ON THE FEED continued