Barrie Rickards? Angling ? All about Pike

BBC taking the p*ss again.

I think this is because 'the general public' place angling somewhere between train spotting and fox hunting - both being interests that are 'criticised' in differnt ways by the uninterested ill informed.

I heard the piece and did not think that the BBC put any particular slant on it.Certainly the piece itself was excellent.Good to see angling getting any exposure on prime time media.

I haven't heard that story before about Fred J. throwing a stone into the swim to wake a pike up.

When I was secretary of a club we had a small pit that was half filled in with inert waste in 1989 and for quite a while the general fishing picked up because the water was cloudy with algae from the new nurtients. Eventually it cleared and around 1997 I noticed in one swim a half buried car, an old Vauxhall I think.

I could see that the windows had been smashed and wondered if anything lived in it so I found a spare lump of concrete and threw it on top of the car. The sound was surpressedby the water, but a pike or what looked aroun 8 or 9 pounds came flying out, bit hard to see because the ripples cause when the concrete hit the water were still dispersing.

I kept on working a spinnerbait over the area and suddenly latched into a pike, guess what, around 8½lbs. I didn't weigh it, just slipped it back whereupon it went back to the car. It took a look, but must have thought better of it and sloped off into deeper water. I thought at the time it was a strange coincidence.

The car's still there.

The car's still there.

How much do you want for it?/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

The feeding periods thing is very interesting. My first 20 came from a Fen drain at 11am. I know this for good reason. I'd been fishing the drain for a few weeks, catching loads of doubles. Nothing ever happened before 11am, then it went quiet, and then started again at 3pm.

On the day in question, my dad was paying me a rare visit and taking the mick because we'd been there an hour and caught nothing (he's a sea angler BTW). I said: 'It's 11 now. I'll get a run.' and right on the button, I did. 21lb 8oz, and I was really proud to have had my dad see me catch it.

There's a reference to pike and noise/disturbance in this article on FM published nearly 7 years ago.

Hungry or angry pike ? Maybe ,but I`m a firm believer in the instinct of the pike to attack a bait that is cast close to them ,be it a live / dead in the same way a cat will attack a mouse or bird not out of hunger , just instinct .

A great article from the top man yet again .

Indeed, Mark the Spark - 11am on the fens is the magic hour! During a week's holiday a few years back, I learned to have my flask and sandwiches back in the ruck-sack by 10.55 - I just knew I'd be interrupted.

Great article as usual Barry.

I've been reading your writings on Pike (and Tench) since I bought your (and Ray Webbs) book 'Fishing for Big Pike' in 71. When are you gong to give us another book?. I will be one of the first to buy it.

I've witnessed quite pronounced feeding spells on pits that I have fished. I have alsowitnessed things that could have been the result of them taking things out of anger or intinctive reactions (eg. when a friend caught an 18lb Pike which took his fruit boilie almost as soon asit had hit the bottom). I've heard more than one angler with similar experiences.

Anyway nice article.

Give the man a chance, he's just written a tour de force on Richard Walker! Barry did tell me a few months ago that he'd just finished another book. I suspect it might have been about pike...

It is about pike and there'll be some very interesting data in it that hasn't been written about before.

Er, make that BARRIE. Doh! Looking forward to the book.

If its half as good as fishing for big pike i'll buy one