Piking on canals

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nick bennett

Guest
is it worth me going out onto canals to spin for pike or am i looking in the wrong place?
any advice?
 
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Jonathan Faro

Guest
Its worthwile, well I think so. I'm not a pike fisherman myself but I have seen many people spinning on canals and have personaly seen a huge pike swimming along one. Good luck

Jon
 
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Carl Harrison

Guest
Do it !!!! I fish canals regularly. Where are you? Drop us an email if you want any tips.

Carl
 
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Rob Brownfield

Guest
I have had doubles from the Lea Navigation around Waltham Cross/Waltham Abbey etc. Dunlops bend produced several 30's (not to me i must add) Most Canals will produce lots of snall to medioum Pike, with the off monster thrown in. Look for far bank cover, bridges, turning baisins, boat yards etc.
 
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Kevan Farmer

Guest
It depends on the canal. As far as I am aware there are no pike in my local canal - well one of them. That is the Staffs Worcester canal. At least none from Gailey into Penkridge. If anybody does know of any in this canal then I'd certainly be interested to know where. There are a few nice eels I'm told but I've never targetted them.
 
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Rob Brownfield

Guest
I would find it very hard to think that a canal was devoid of Pike. They get everywhere. Is it because no one is fishing for them?
 
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Adrian Johnson

Guest
there are lots of pike in the canal at Long Eaton and they make good sport to go for.I will say go and ask the anglers on the canal if they have had problems in any area from pike and fish it....Good Luck
 
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Kevan Farmer

Guest
It's possible Rob. Though I have regulalrly spun all along the stretch I've mentioned with never a hint of pike. It's my perch fishing area. There are plenty of perch - which is quite often typical of a pike free water - and quite a few eels as I mentioned. So this takes care of the predator aspect. I've known the waer fairly well for about 25 years now and have never in all that time heard of even a jack coming out. I'm puzzled too as it is unusual but not completely unheard of.
 
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Rob Brownfield

Guest
Blimey, well, I stand corrected. I have found pike in the remotest of Scottish lochs and have known them to turn up in man made waters up this way. I would have thought a canal would be easy acces for them....still...it could be one giant fish eating them all...hehe
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
I bet there's some in there and all. I can only think of a few waters they aren't in up here and invariably they've either been netted out or killed by low oxygen levels which pike suffer more than most fish.
 
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Kevan Farmer

Guest
Well, I certainly will not dismiss it completely out of hand. The only thing I can think of though is that there is hugely disproportionate number of locks in the stretch I've mentioned. Maybe there were pike at one time but they were taken for the table years ago when that sort of thing happened as a matter of course? There are a lot of matches fished in this area too so maybe somebody has netted the stretches??? There are a lot of possibilities. I only go on the knowledge that I have. I shall keep asking, who knows could well be that there is indeed one or two monster fish in there. ;-)
 
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Kevan Farmer

Guest
Sorry about this bit, it's not predator but is tied in with my posts about pike in the Staffs Worcester canal. I was told of a burbot being caught in there about 25 years ago. My dad's mate - who used to take me fishing as my dad is not an angler - told me his son caught one from this stretch of the canal. But......my opinion is that he caught a stone loach and couldn't identify it.
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
Give it a shot. There's a lake near me that "doesn't" have pike in - it threw up a near-30 last season..!

Locks are good features to try late in the day when the boats pack up, esp immediately downstream.

They create a food supply in the shape of small fish that get washed through.

Narrow/shallow canals are hard work because you're right on top of the fish. Fish your baits a decent distance down the cut on either side, pref near or just over the marginal shelf and try twitching them back a foot or two every few mins until you get a fish. Do this in a swim a couple of times and it you don't get any action up sticks, move 50yds up the bank and try again.
 
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Nick Hoekstra

Guest
If your canal has reeds along the bank it most likely will have pike. Try early in the morning on the side that the sun shines on (pike look for profile, motion and flash, your bait will profile against the sun). Flip a spoon or stickbait in front of the reeds and reel it back just outside the reeds. Be ready for the strike because they come out of the reeds and your lead time is minimal(when you see the boil, it already has your bait). Best weapon (IMHO) is a fairly stif (fast action) 7-7 1/2' spinning rod and a reel that will hold at least 120 yd 10# test mono (trust me, there will be times that you will need most of that). Some people like the superlines, but mono is a bit more forgiving. I found that I was reacting so fast, I was ripping the lures out their mouths. Be sure to use a 6-9" steel leader (have lost many a bass lure to the pikes over the years. Tried to explain to them it was a BASS lure! Would not listen and nailed it anyway).
Don't know if available there, but I have had great succes with an ice fishing lure called a Swedish pimple (no joke) in both 1/4 and 3/8 oz. It is long and smooth and will slide through the pike's mouth as it's closed and have had both top and bottom jaws hooked. The fish cannot get off. Move it fast or you will hang up. Good luck.
 
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Ron Clay

Guest
There is excellent pike fishing in the South Yorks Navigation, Stainforth and Keadby and chesterfield canals in this area. When you put your pike back however, make sure no one sees you or they will throw YOU in!!!

Such are the problems with match anglers in this area.
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
I read a brilliant thing a few weeks back about using a planer to troll baits from the bank. Anyone else tried it..?
 
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Rob Brownfield

Guest
U can use Dipsy Divers set on a "side troll" setting
 
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