Charlie Bettell - One Eyed Pike

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Charlie Bettell

Guest
I would like to hear how many of you have been catching one eyed pike over the last couple of years.

Personally, I have boated no end of one eyed pike over the last two years from the Norfolk Broads.

Today, Tuesday 20th November, my client boated 14 pike on deadbaits, three of which had serious eye damage.

Without doubt, the eye damage was caused by artificial lure hooks coming into contact with the pike's eye.
 
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Carp Angler

Guest
I must say how alarmed I was when I had a small jack last week on a plug.
It had one treble in the scissors and the second had caught up behind its gill plate.

I had to bend the pike into a banana shape to release the tension so I could get the plug from behind the plate and then unhook it as normal.
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
Several - I think one of the worst offenders are those large minnow lures with three trebles.

If a fish gets hooked on the tail treble and turns away, the other two rake its head and one can easily catch in an eye.
 
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Rob Shallcroft

Guest
Sadly have caught quite a few ,
Perch as well.Last one was a biggie
from Chew Vally on the second day
it opened up so damage had only
happened the day before.
The big increase in popularity of
lure fishing will see this damage
increase.Pike and Perch can bang
away at a lure increasing the
oportunity for foul hooking.Using
traditional lives and deads with
more fixed hooks is far safer.
The large sigle hook "soft"
artificials are a kinder option i
would imagine
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
Not all of them mate. I've stopped using those Bulldawg things because they just stitch the fish's gob and are a nightmare to get out, esp if you catch a lot of small fish lure fishing like I seem to.
 
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Rob Brownfield

Guest
Chris, I agree mate, the Bulldawgs can be terrible.

As a pike angler, i have always had trebles causing problems if outside the mouth, but I guess that because it was always 8's or 6's on a "snap" tackle, the damage was far less.

With the massive upsurge in predator fishig over the last few years, i guess that more damage will be inflicted.
 
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Andrew Macfarlane

Guest
Usually I find these days the plugs coming onto the market appear to be doing more harm than good.Some have 3 and 4 large stainless steel trebles on them which more often or not,cannot be removed as there is no split ring provided to change them to softer,bio-degradable alloy hooks.Also these plugs tend to be 5 or 6" long and even more(12" sometimes)and are made in 1 piece which can only act as a giant lever built to tear the face off any unwary fish.
I have moved to using ringed,2 or 3 piece plugs(or short stubby plugs)with one of the barbs removed for good measure.I do not think I lose any more fish than usual,in fact I reckon I hit more now than ever due to the lack of a 9 hook,lever acting on them.The pike I think actually prefer a stubbier target and slow down the hit accordingly.I would hope others would take this up when lure fishing as sooner or later the "antis" are going to make plugging one of thier top reasons to ban fishing and I have to agree that these giant plugs are infact a real menace.
Sinking and drawing
Andrew Macfarlane
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
I think Charlie B's raised a real problem people need to face up to.

You occasionally hook pike outside the mouth with all lures - they literally miss sometimes - but the big, multi-hooked lures are a nightmare.

It's time some of the lure companies took a lead. You don't need three hooks in a Rapala Original or a Husky Jerk, for example.

Perhaps the PAC or someone could have a "Pike safe" logo which only went on approved bits of kit, ie lures which didn't blind fish etc.
 
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Nicky Garbutt

Guest
mybe soon we will see plugs beening baned and that will be a sad day.
 
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Rob Brownfield

Guest
Rapalas were designed for Trout and Salmon, hence the amount of hooks...since the game fish will be killed. I have not had a problem with Rapalas myself, but large jerkbaits have caused me some concern. I think thats why i fly fish more.

The size of hooks on things like Suick Thrillers, Burmeks, even Creek chub Pikies are all over the top,
 
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Sean Meeghan

Guest
I agree I've been having concerns about large plugs like Jakes for a couple of years now. Has anyone tried removing the rear treble on this type of lure? Most of my fish are hooked on the middle hooks.
 
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Eric Edwards

Well-known member
Joined
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Messages
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Location
St. Helens
Ok boys and girls, stop bleating about it and do something constructive.

All lures can have their hooks changed quite easily - even those where the hook appears fixed. You just cut the hook off with mini bolt croppers and fit a new one with a split ring. If you don't like stainless steel or galvanised hooks, change them.

Anyone who goes lure fishing ought to carry bolt croppers anyway - believe me, it's a whole lot easier, and kinder on the fish, to chop up a set of hooks instead of trying to disentangle them from a net while a fish is still attached.

With regard to Charlie's original mail - yes, big hooks do damage fish, including their eyes. The only answer I have to this is that we should all stop lure fishing. Don't go on about using smaller hooks because anyone who does any amount of lure fishing will point out why they don't work!

Believe me, soon, lure fishing is all we'll have left!

Eric
 
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Stewart Moss

Guest
Has anyone caught a pike that appears blind in both eyes (eg on a deadbait)?

Its certainly a tribute to the Pike that it can hunt, feed and survive at all with partial sight - an indicator as to their amazing smell & sense of vibration. I spotted a jack in very shallow water in a tiny stream a few weeks ago, with an obviously useless eye facing me. I waved my arms and danced about just a few feet away - no reaction. The moment I stamped on the ground (causing vibrations), he was off!
 
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Tim Kelly

Guest
I have caught two, apparently totally blind pike, on lures. Both of these fish seemed to be blinded by disease rather than hooks. Their eyes were competely clouded. It doesn't appear to hamper them too much as they have so many other sensory ways of detecting prey. Pike survive quite happily in very murky water, so eyesight is not nessecarily their most important sense.

Tim
 
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John Howard

Guest
A pike 23lb 12oz caught on dead bait blind in one eye,10 days later 300 yds up the lake it was caught again I caught it first my mate the second time this time 24lb exactly. It was a known fish and had been caught a few times in prvious years. This water is not known for producing numbers of pike to lures. John
 
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Rob Brownfield

Guest
Eric, fair comment. Some of my home made Jerkbaits have singles instead of trebles, but i do lose the odd fish, but this does not really bother me too much. The bigger doubles sold for Salmon flies can be used on smaller lures, and they are no where near as likely to catch on the outside of the mouth.

I do have a concern about big singles as i feel they can penetrate far too deeply if the lure is taken deep. The throat can be punctured etc...and that seems to be a very vulnarable area in a Pike.

Any comments?
 
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David Will

Guest
As this obviously affects Pike & Piking as did gags gaffs and killing of Pike etc do the PAC and and the Lure Anglers Society intend to draw up a code of practice or a safe lure guide? Surely none of use want this situation to decline further?
 
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Steve Burke

Guest
I agree with Chris Bishop about the danger of lures with 3 sets of hooks. Several years ago I sold all my plugs with 3 sets of trebles - much to the delight of friends!

I allow only the occasional guest to pike fish on my own lakes, but one of the rules is 2 sets of trebles maximum. In fact, this applies to baits as well as lures.

Has anyone noticed that now that Abu Hi-Los are made in the Far East they have only 2 sets of trebles? Was this with fish safety in mind or just to cut costs?

I like to think that 2 sets of trebles is enough on any lure and that any pike that misses them is only a jack. Wishful thinking?
 
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Charlie Bettell

Guest
Today, just hours after posting my original message concerning 'One Eyed Pike', a client of mine caught a pike that had the worst eye damage I have ever seen - far, far worse than the 'yellow eyed', blind in one eye pike, that I have been boating just lately.

To see a picture of the pike, copy and past the following to you address bar above.

http://www.esox.co.uk/new_page_65.htm
 
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David Highe

Guest
There is no getting away from you is there.at least no one else has cottoned on to you here and given you a load of grief like on pike and predators magazine.co.uk
 
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