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.
