Pike getting off.

[medway man]

it seems to me that the bait might be a bit big for that particular pike.. at 5lb it will have to move half a mackerel around in order to swallow it. If it was 10lb I don't think you'd be having an issue. Try half a sardine instead if you want an oily bait.. the length is the same but much less bulk.

Walking to your rod, checking the line is moving, picking the rod up, engaging the bail arm, winding down and leaning into the fish takes plenty long enough, without much risk of deep hooking. Waiting any longer than the 10-15 odd seconds it takes to do that is asking for trouble. Missed takes are most often down to the pike being on the small side.

it's the same with hooking arrangements to an extent.. suit your hooking arrangement to suit the bait size. With small baits then a hair-rigged or tail hooked bait on a single may be enough, but it won't really work with larger baits. Alternatively a single in the tail root and a treble down the flank. After trying single hook rigs in the past, and having fairly good hook-up rates, I still prefer two trebles. I think the hooks will always be in the mouth straight away, no matter how a pike picks up a bait, so an instant strike usually sees the fish hooked in the front half of the mouth cavity.

As for braid, I see absolutely no benefit whatsoever in using thin braid, and use 50lb power pro on all my bait fishing set-ups. Although braid is very strong on a straight pull, it hasn't got the stretch of mono so it's prone to snapping when there's a short, sharp pull (a bit like a length of sewing cotton.. pull it gradually and it's strong, sharply yank the ends and it snaps easily). The 66lb power pro you've bought is bang on will last you at least 6 years unless you have to strip a load off due to damage.

Thanks pointngo Ive been thinking about trying sardines, was put off after reading how soft they are but as I do a lot of my fishing in the near margin shouldn't be a problem. I think youre right about the bait being to big for that particular fish. When I used to fish this river years ago I used smelt exclusively and I don't recall losing many at all.

Ive been out a couple of times with the braid and was amazed how well it cast, haven't had a fish on it yet but the river I fish is highly coloured at the moment so im hoping things will improve as soon as it starts to settle. Im thinking I should set the drag on my reel a bit lighter to make up for the lack of stretch in the braid when playing a fish?

 

[law]

Dont worry about sardines being soft.
Put the bottom treble behind the gilll, and the other wherever it reaches, then use a bit of dental floss round the tail and trace and tie it tight. That will keep it on enough for a fair old cast.
And if that doesn't work, use them frozen.

 

[rubio]

Sea fishing bait elastic is even easier for securing softer fish like sardines to the hook. Don't get carried away thinking you need loads of turns on it just cos it's thin tho. You don't want to impede the movement of the hook on the strike.

 

[Derek Gibson]

Dont worry about sardines being soft.
Put the bottom treble behind the gilll, and the other wherever it reaches, then use a bit of dental floss round the tail and trace and tie it tight. That will keep it on enough for a fair old cast.
And if that doesn't work, use them frozen.

I'm not sure it's a good idea putting the ''bottom treble'' in the gill. For most pikers when dead baiting, a rule of thumb was always to have the bottom hook midway along the flank, and the lead hook in the root of the tail. This was a prime consideration in order to avoid deep hooking should the pike pouch the bait quickly. Bearing in mind that baits are swallowed head first, and sardines are a relatively small bait. Just a thought.

 

[law]

It's the only way I've found to hook sardines.
I've yet to have one deep hooked. I use the Drennan dead bait rigs that have one tiny hook to hook the bait. If a pike steams in, it normally sheds the bait from the hook as they are so small.

 

[pointngo]

Thanks pointngo Ive been thinking about trying sardines, was put off after reading how soft they are but as I do a lot of my fishing in the near margin shouldn't be a problem. I think youre right about the bait being to big for that particular fish. When I used to fish this river years ago I used smelt exclusively and I don't recall losing many at all.

Ive been out a couple of times with the braid and was amazed how well it cast, haven't had a fish on it yet but the river I fish is highly coloured at the moment so im hoping things will improve as soon as it starts to settle. Im thinking I should set the drag on my reel a bit lighter to make up for the lack of stretch in the braid when playing a fish?

sardines are a great bait... gone are the days of roving with a dozen+ full size mackerel weighing me down, and costing a small fortune.

now I get a kg of sardines from Tesco's for about £3! Dry them off with paper towels and half freeze them dead flat, then wrap them individually in foil or put them in sealed freezer bags of how many you usually take out. Keep them in a cool bag with freezer blocks and they remain mostly frozen.. they go to mush if they're thawed out and refrozen. Don't worry about casting out a frozen bait either... i've caught plenty while the bait is still rock hard.

as long as you're not giving it a massive cast, sardines stay on pretty well imho, at least as good as herring... just push the top treble right the way through the tail root and out the other side. It's the flank treble that can come loose with sardines (and herring, and smelt). If you have problems with them coming off either change the way you cast slightly, ie less speed and power, and more of a lob, or tie them on with bait elastic. Much easier than tying knots with frozen, wet hands covered in slime and scales. You can also tie the flank treble further back up the bait with elastic if you want. I know a lot of pikers put the bottom treble in the gill cover but as Derek points out, it's not ideal in terms of deep hooking potential.

It can be a bit of a shock when your first fish on braid starts shaking it's head.. you feel everything and it's all exagerrated by no stretch. After using braid for 20 odd years for almost everything I find fighting fish on mono lacks any feel and seems lifeless nowadays. It also takes much longer to tame big fish on mono. I play fish hard generally but always back the drag off a bit (3 clicks on my reels) when the fish gets near, unless it's got a snag it might aim for.

 

[medway man]

Had my first fish on braid this morning, an 11lb pike. True what you say about feeling every shake of the pikes head, im loving the braid, Ive pulled hooks straight with it and even snapped some out of snags its amazing how strong it is for the thickness.

I still haven't tried the sardines supermarket didn't have any last time I shopped.

 

[Derek Gibson]

Had my first fish on braid this morning, an 11lb pike. True what you say about feeling every shake of the pikes head, im loving the braid, Ive pulled hooks straight with it and even snapped some out of snags its amazing how strong it is for the thickness.

I still haven't tried the sardines supermarket didn't have any last time I shopped.

Well done MM, another convert to braid. Now you fully understand why many of us praise the stuff. Keep us posted on further developments.

 

[clive morton]

to anyone thinking of spooling up with braid always give it a good soak overnight in a bucket of water and wind some old mono on the spool first for it to bed into and you wont have a problem has the braid dries it shrinks and tightens up on the spool.
always wet it well before you cast to eliminate wind knots.