Chew valley from the bank.

[quickcedo]

Whilst I'm not new to Pike fishing I am quite a novice to lure fishing. I have had an open invite to fish the above venue for a few years now by a good friend, and it's come to the time where I can't put it off anymore so... Fishing as said is to be from the bank and using lures. Any advice no matter how basic would be much appreciated.
P.S. I own no lure kit at the moment and as I'm not convinced I'll be doing that much ( the Barbel keep calling me) so I'll need a short list of lures aswell.
Whilst I understand as usual I'm asking for opinion any help is better than what Iv'e got now. Nothing!:wh

 

[quickcedo]

Come on you lot any ideas for a short list of those very expensive lures.

 

[Alan Tyler]

Spinnerbaits.
Try some out on your nearest "jacks" water to get some confidence in them, and you might never bother with multi-hook second-mortgage jobs.

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

Steve Spiller would have been able to help with this one, but sadly he's gone.

 

[quickcedo]

Thanks guys,
Alan, what size spinnerbaits are we talking here. I live on a narrow boat on the Oxford canal so plenty of Jacks to play with. (don't really know why I haven't really bothered before)
Mr C C. Shame about Steve i was hoping to meet him at the Blenhiem fish in. As he was meant to be staying about a mile from where I live. I'll PM him to see if he's still watching.

 

[Derek Gibson]

Spinnerbaits are a must, and seeing as you're fishing from the bank, maybe the lighter versions maybe best, say one to one and a half ounces. That's unless you're fishing a steeply shelving marginal slope. Then, it's whatever takes your fancy.
Couple those with several Storm Suspending Shads, and you should cover most eventualities.
One other tip, though some may disagree, the Shad's come with a belly treble, and a big single on the back. After having a few pike, who's mouth's were stitched up, by the single coming through the top of the nose, and the treble in the cheek or tongue. I took to removing the single some years ago, in order to facilitate quick unhooking and less damage to the fish. Bolt cutters make quick work of removing the single. Don't worry about losing fish, due to the removal of the single. In practice, it rarely if ever happens.

 

[David Marrs]

Cheers Derek, I've got a number of those lures and will snip the single hooks off tomorrow night whilst I'm in the garage fiddling around with my tackle!

 

[Phil Heaton]

To be honest most of the bank fishing there is done with sea deadbaits although I'm sure that there's nothing wrong with giving it a go.
Access may be a problem for you though as the better banks will have anglers bivvied up on them and be aware that quite a lot of the bank is not accessable on foot due to reed beds, sludge in low water conditions, nature reserve sections or weed. You will also have to drive around from access point to access point as simply walking will take too long and you will never get around.
There's a 4" minimum lure restriction on the water and most types will catch fish, I like small glide and jerkbaits, large spoons, spinnerbaits, 6" replicants and small curly tailed shads such as spring dawgs.
Good luck
Phil

 

[quickcedo]

Thanks very much for help. All taken on board.
I used to flyfish Chew when I lived in Bristol so I know how BIG it is, but hadn't realised pike anglers were bivvied up on the banks. Still maybe some strings can be pulled and we'll get a boat.

 

[Alan Tyler]

Derek, what prompted you to remove the single hook from the shads rather than the treble? or , for I'm sure you either tried it or swapped notes with someone who had, what went wrong with the single that outweighed the single's relative unsnaggability?

 

[Derek Gibson]

It's so long ago now Alan. I'm unsure what made me come down in favour of the treble.
What I do recall, is several fish having their mouths stitched up when both hooks, single/treble were left in place. And it wasn't just ''me'', a couple of my mates experienced the self same thing. And that concerned us all.
I think it was my mate Andy who came up with the suggestion to remove one or other of the hooks. Over a two month test period and compare hooking ratio's. I stuck with the treble, and removed the single, Andy removed the treble and relied on the single. Within six weeks or eighteen outings, it quickly became apparent that Andy was having an unacceptable amount of dropped fish/bump off's. So he too reverted to treble only, and almost immediately his catch ratio/hook up's improved.
I've just checked with one of the fishing diaries and it reveals quite clearly that over 118 fish were taken during the test period. But by far the greater percentage were taken on the lure with the treble.
So it turns out, I do know the reason after all.
Not scientific I agree, but enough to convince me and my mates.

 

[Eric Edwards]

Whilst I'm not new to Pike fishing I am quite a novice to lure fishing. I have had an open invite to fish the above venue for a few years now by a good friend, and it's come to the time where I can't put it off anymore so... Fishing as said is to be from the bank and using lures. Any advice no matter how basic would be much appreciated.
P.S. I own no lure kit at the moment and as I'm not convinced I'll be doing that much ( the Barbel keep calling me) so I'll need a short list of lures aswell.
Whilst I understand as usual I'm asking for opinion any help is better than what Iv'e got now. Nothing!:wh

You could do a lot worse than get down to the PAC convention next weekend. It's not too far from you and you'll find a number of trade stands there that will be able to cater for your needs if you're determined to fish lures.
Much of the water fishable from the bank at Chew is relatively shallow, though you may be able to find some deep water. I agree that spinnerbaits are a must but if you're fishing a jerkbait outfit then take a range of "dolphin" type lures such as busters and sliders. be sure to have some fast sinkers and some slow sinkers but don't worry too much about colour.
The beauty of sliders in particular is that they will cast a very long way so you can reach areas that spinnerbaits can't.

 

[Alan Tyler]

Derek, you've depressed me, (I hate trebles, and I also like the single-hooked shads' ability to be parked on the bottom without (always) dragging out a tench swim when you resume the retrieve), but thank you very much for your detailed reply. I just knew there'd be an evidence-based reason for you to jump one way or the other. Now I know if I don't get some dawgs, t'aint noboy's fault but mine!

 

[quickcedo]

You could do a lot worse than get down to the PAC convention next weekend. It's not too far from you and you'll find a number of trade stands there that will be able to cater for your needs if you're determined to fish lures.

Sorry to be thick but when and where is the convention. As I've said I'm not really a pike angler but, who knows I might be inspired.

 

[slime monster]

I'll PM him to see if he's still watching.

Steve will be at Blenheim

 

[quickcedo]

Thanks Slime, Steve responded to my PM and has given me his email address so I can stay in touch. (and pick his brain re chew).

 

[Eric Edwards]

You could do a lot worse than get down to the PAC convention next weekend. It's not too far from you and you'll find a number of trade stands there that will be able to cater for your needs if you're determined to fish lures.

Sorry to be thick but when and where is the convention. As I've said I'm not really a pike angler but, who knows I might be inspired.

PAC Convention

 

[quickcedo]

Thanks Eric. Looks good and will do my level best to attend.