Starting again.

I've decided to restart piking again after a gap of more years than I care to remember. This has been rekindled as much as anything by noticing how many barbel I have caught from the Teme have had pike attack scars. Also many pike have been landed this season from my local stretches of the middle Severn.

I've been delving into the darkest recesses of the garage to see what I can come up with as regards suitable tackle. I've got an old ABU salmon spinning rod rated 0-80g casting weight and a 2.5tc 12' rod for deads under a float.....I don't intend to livebait and I prefer a mobile approach hence no static deadbaiting [and, more to the point, I don't possess any alarms etc!}

Baitrunner fixed spool with 15lb mono and I've found some Drennan 7 strand in 20lb plus some slim crimps. I also have long forceps, pliers and wire cutters [but no bolt cutters] I understand that there is a tool for opening split rings but I don't know what it is or where to get it.

I also have a small selection of lures aquired and not lost over the years: 2 Tobys, 2 Atoms, a Reflex spinner, 5 plugs of various types including an ABU Hi-Lo, and red/white striped spoon.

Add to this a bait needle, 2 Drennan 10g pikebob floats and one Middy semi-barbed deadbait rig which I bought some years ago with the intention of copying.

I have garden gloves, unhooking mat and large landing net.

Now come the questions.

Obviously, firstly, are any of the above not up to the job?

What lures should I buy as a basic kit for river piking on the Severn and Teme?

Some of my old lures need new trebles, what should I replace them with?...I would prefer barbless or at least microbarb if these are available.Does size matter and what about deadbait traces/hooks?

What size swivels should I be using? I use 10's for barbel.

What's a good float rig for deadbaits?

What's a good book to buy or site to visit if you lot get fed up with all these questions?!

As usual , all advice gratefully received.

Don't use gloves they damage the pike. Have a look at www.pacgb.com there you will find out how to handle the fish

Thanks Carl, the PAC website in fact states that garden gloves can be used in their opinion. Obviously this is a moot point. What's the problem with them, in your experience? I'm anxious to keep my mistakes to a minimum in the light of modern techniques and knowledge.

Sounds like u are pretty well equipped.

Lures are a very personnal things. I would go for copper spoons, spinner baits, Grandmas, Jakes, basically any minnow bait such as Rapala Originals or Bombers Long A's and the Rapala Super Shad Rap.
Have a look at http://www.harrisangling.co.uk/ for lures.

Replave trebles with the same size if they are not HUGE things. U can crimp the barbs down no probs.

I use size 10 swivels for lures and deadbaits, steping up to size 8 for heavy work. A size 10 has a 65lb breaking strain...so more then enough.

In a river, I found laying on over depth with a pencil float was good....or a paternoster, even with deadbaits, but mount them head up if doing this. They then flutter in the current.

There are several good books by Martyn Page and Vic Bellars, The preditor becomes the prey and ...I can't remember the second one. Lots of good info for the river angler as they talk about fishing the Thurne, Waveny and Bure for pike. U can get through Harris Angling

Good luck

John Sidley's book River Piking is almost exclusively about the Severn and Teme - you can probably order it from your local library.

I'd step up the trace wire and hooks a bit and make sure swivels are Berkley or another reliable make.

You may find you need a through the middle float like a big polyball or one of the bigger Drennan pikers to lay on or paternoster properly on there - it's easier doing it upstream.

Sidley caught a lot of his Severn fish on wobbled deads - it's a fairly simple method, you don't need a lot of flash gear and it keeps you mobile.

It's also a lot more straightforward than lure fishing.

Fish handling-wise the concern is over those metal unhooking gloves mmade of a fine kind of chain-mail which can catch the fish's gill rakers.

Some people use a gardening glove but you can't always feel what you're doing.

hi ima bit of a crap pike fisher man i want to know where to start does any one have any pictures of rigs can use, and is it true that u have a stronger trace at the bottom than your mainline, currently got 11 pb test is that enouggh


thanks joe 14

Joe, have a look at www.esoxecosse.com There is a rigs page on it that should answer your questions.

As for the wire trace being stronger than the main line...yes....this is the case. The wire has to deal with pretty ferocious teeth, so needs to be tough. U can get 10 pound wire, but after a fish, its knackered...so stick with 20 or 28lb wire. 11 pound line is ok for drains etc, but I use 15 pound main line if using nylon, or 20.30 pound braid.

Big pike are battlers and also the line takes a great deal of punishment when casting big deadbaits.

Hope this helps.

Sorry...should have been www.esoxecosse.co.uk

cheers rob that was really helpful thanks.

there is a pond near me not all that big, big enough to fish, its very weedy i ve seen people cathing pike but i havent,
the weed is almost gone now but there is still a fair bit including that light green weed that lays on the bottom, could any one give me any ideas on how to approach it and fish on it this autumn/winter.

I think I would float leger a semi-bouyant or light bait (smelt are light). This will give visual indication and allow the bait to sit on the weed.

Is it shallow?

this pond is about 4 to 5 foot,

all the weed or most of it is not visible at the top but i think there is still weed on the bottom, also how long do you recommend the trace should be, using one treble, or 2???

Depends on bait size and Pike size. For example, i will use one treble with something like Spratts or small roach for bait, but two trebles for sardines, bigger roach etc. As a rough guide, i use a size 6 or 4 treble with little baits, two size 8's or 6's for medium baits like sardines, and 2 size 6 or 4's for big baits like whole herrings. Also, I really like the partridge Double hooks...brilient and much easier to unhook.

As for trace length, for deadbaiting I use one of 18 inches in 28 pound test.

well, the biggest is about 10 pound fish,
the roach are fairly small 2-3ounce, i use a size 8 treble with a fairly small roach is that ok, i tend not to have 2 trebles, can the pike see 2 trebles and if so are they bothered, i have had a couple on single treble, where do i hook the fish, in ther back, which is better 2 or 1 treble,
so many question cos im not sure!!!

joe, no problems..ask away You can always e mail me if u want to ask anything.

Right...if you are using little roach for bait, then a size 8 or 6 will be ok. Different companies seem to have different size hooks with the same number. For example, a size 8 Partridge outpoint is smaller than a Kamasan size 8.

As for pike seeing trebles..mmm...I guess they do...but it does not seem to matter too much. I sometimes use red wool or tuping on the upper treble, just to add a bit of colour.

If hooking a small deadbait with one treble, I place the hook through the root of the tail so it is hanging head down. This way, when a pike takes the bait, the hook should always catch just in the corner of the pikes mouth making unhooking a doddle. If I am fishing a small livebait under a float, i will hook it through the top lip.

Two trebles on a small bait can be a pain in the bum, especially as big pike can swallow a bait fast if its small. I have had a 22 and a 25 pounder on small sprats, and both times the hooks were well down, even though I hit my runs immediatly.

Think about swapping over to the doubles for you deadbaiting, they seem to hook much better...and are soooo easy to remove. Thats if u are uncomfortable about using several trebles.

ok thanks.