With the cold finally setting in, many anglers have turned their attention to our predatory species, and this last week in particular has been very fruitful for those opting to fish for pike!
Father-and-son duo Cameron and Ryan Dolby headed down to their local river in search of pike on a recent trip.
“When my son, Cameron, asked if I would take him down the local river for a pike session, I was more than happy to oblige.
“He opted for deadbaits in the hope of catching a big ‘double’ and, on one rod, presented a joey mackerel on the bottom.
“With the other, he dropped a suspended roach just upstream and let it drift down in the flow.
“A 10lb 4oz fish fell first to the roach rod, fuelling his fire to catch a bigger one. So, we headed downstream and after he cast the roach to some far-bank boats, it wasn’t long before the float dipped and he hooked another pike. Cameron immediately declared that it was ‘massive’!"
"Knowing anglers love to exaggerate, I wasn’t sure initially, but when I saw its head surface, I realised it really was big! At 23lb 12oz, this one had us both beaming."
THE BEST PIKE RODS WILL HELP YOU LAND ANY SIZE FISH YOU HOOK!
Another angler who hit the river was Adam Milling, who used lures to great effect.
“I recently had an amazing day’s pike fishing on the river. After trying a few new lures, with no joy, I changed to a big curly-tailed pattern.
“Casting halfway across, I was working the lure slowly back when it was grabbed by something that then made several hard runs.
“I’ve caught hundreds of pike on lures, but only one ‘twenty’, so when this fish weighed in at 26lb 5oz, I was made up.
“Anything else would have been a bonus but, as it happened, I added another of 20lb 10oz and a 13-pounder! It was the best day’s pike fishing I’ve ever had.”
HERE IS A GREAT GUIDE TO HELP YOU CATCH MORE PIKE ON LURES!
Mike Hart hadn't gone out with the intention of catching pike, but after they were becoming a menace in his roach swim, he decided to have a crack at catching one!
“The other day I spent a few hours trotting for roach on the River Hull, caching small fish on the stick float.
“I was being pestered by jack pike so, after setting up some appropriate tackle, I cast out a small roach on a float rig to try and catch one.
“I had a take, and struck into a fish that I knew right away was big. It put up a great fight, going up and downstream before – shaking like hell – I managed to net this 22-pounder!”
HEAD TO ONE OF THESE VENUES FOR THE CHANCE TO CATCH A BIG PIKE...
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