Size really does matter

[jake182]

Hi guys, not been on here for ages, been getting my fish on!! Anyway, for a deadbait, how big is to big? I buy a lot of baits from the supermarket, and some of the fish are 12 inches plus, so would a 14 in mack with the head off be to big?

 

[wanderer]

Depends how big the Pike are, too big for me, i prefer Smelt around six inches or Lamprey for Cats

 

[john step]

As a tight wad I would suggest cutting it in half for double the value

 

[jake182]

I keep hearing big bait, big fish, but I don't wanna go to big so not to catch said big fish!

 

[keora]

If you fish with deadbaits as big as 12 or 14" long, you stand a greater chance of missing the pike on the strike. A pike can swim away gripping one end of the fish in its jaws and the hook may not be in its mouth when you strike.

Another disadvantage of big baits is their cost and weight. I take about ten frozen fish with me for a session, which would be expensive and heavy if I bought big fish.

I'd stick to fish about 5 or 6 " long, species isn't particularly important.

 

[BarryC]

Another prob with a big bait is it takes some pretty substantial gear to cast it any distance.

 

[jake182]

Good point I hadn't thought of that, I guess I'm just sticking to my average size baits

 

[terry m]

If you look closely at a 10-12lb pike, it will have no trouble swallowing a 12 inch herring. I am a fan of larger deads (not so much lives as per a recent thread), but experience tells me that large pike can also be caught on smaller baits.

At the start of a session with a frozen herring 10inches head removed and the right kit 3lb TC NG's and braid I can launch to the horizon. Once the bait has thawed then real distance is difficult.

Try mixing it up. I never fish the same bait on all two or three rods. Herring, Mackerel, Sardine, Smelt, Lamprey, Roach, Dace. Perm any two or three from that lot.

 

[steve2]

Most pike anglers have caught small fish on big baits and big fish on small baits.
I now stick to baits around the 6-8'' range. Most of my pike this season have come on sprat, the rest on half herrings.

 

[keora]

Interesting that you use sprats, they are an underused bait. I stopped fishing with them many years ago because I thought they were too small. I now realise that small deadbaits can be quite attractive to pike, even big ones, and I've started using them again. They are quite delicate fish even when frozen and sometimes they'll fly off the hook if the cast is too vigorous. I ensure I take more than I need.

Another advantage - you can often buy them from Sainsbury's at this time of year.

Keith

 

[steve2]

I fish my sprats on a single hook rig normally a size 4 or 2 using a baiting needle to thread the trace through the fish, stops them flying off.
Have used sprats and herrings for years, they seem to me to out fish any other baits I have tried.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

To my mind the size/weight of the dead bait would be wholly dependent on the relative casting weight of the rod you will be using.

The old adage used to be 1 ounce of bait weight per 1 pound of Test Curve of the rod . . . . . but modern carbon composite rods far exceed that these days.

 

[symonh2000]

In my opinion Pike are more likely to take smaller baits.

The reason being is that if they are not really hungry they are less likely to turn their noses up at a small snack than they are something bigger.

 

[naxian62]

Interesting debate on size of bait to use, cos atm I'm doing one rod small (2oz) and the other large , about 7-8oz. I should add I don't cast, it's more of an underarm lob. And so far the only thing I've deducted is, fresher the better, size being totally irrelevant.

 

[mark j]

Hello, I would think a big bait lying on the bottom would be much easier for the pike to find than a very small bait. I tend to use mid sized baits with sardines and lamprey being my favourites but am never worried to use a whole large mackerel...its just that they are hard to cast any distance and cost too much.

 

[wanderer]

I have always found Smelt injected with salmon oil to be the best bait, Smelt have a unique cucumber smell and are about the right size for a lengthy cast, lamprey much better for Cats, Mackeral, back end tails , good bait but not as good as smelt.

 

[jake182]

I don't need to wack it miles, it's an underarm lob, I'll give the smelt a go, brought a few huge mackerel at the weekend, worth a try I guess

 

[wanderer]

You might find you either miss because the fish dont actually have the part with the hooks in it anywhere near its mouth, or if you give it time, the fish will be gorge and hook removal will be difficult and damaging, unless you are aware of very large fish, go smaller and strike early, less problems , more fish.

 

[naxian62]

With a large bait, cut the tail off to your prefered size, then chop the rest up into chunks for using kebab style. I think it will always bring a smile to my face when I land a fish that has taken a kebab, it just does not look right.