Pike Article Goes Wrong!

With the traditional pike season waiting in the wings I think it appropriate to bring Mr Lucius into the conversation; a short piece on some of the shocks and surprises this species has subjected me to over the years. This is hardly a novel idea but the pike is an entertainer with no equal in fresh water, it’s the species which just keeps giving and, without the pike, our way of life would be very much poorer. That said, pike seem to be keeping their heads down nowadays. Are there fewer? Or are they wiser? When did you last see a shower of rudd or roach erupt from the spumy crash of a marauding pike? And for those who use a keep-net, when was the last time you found one tugging the mesh from side to side and frantically snapping at its occupants? Without a doubt, such sights are rare now. There used to be mornings – occasionally whole days – when the lake would rock to the sound and disruption caused by frenzied pike – but not anymore. Not only are pike absent but so are those on which they would normally feed, hiding and, no doubt, traumatized by the prospect of Death by Cormorant or, more likely, simply gone: gobbled-up by the Black Death.

That one short, opening paragraph opened-up a number of questions I hadn’t prepared myself for. I now find myself pondering the absence of ‘silver’ fish from our waters rather than rejoicing in the pike’s remarkable behaviour. This is actually quite worrying, isn’t it? An angler with over 50 fishing seasons under his belt and an everlasting pen is pulled-up short by the simple but stark fact of fishlessness. Time was, a slice of bread cast upon any pond or lake would be immediately set-upon by hoardes of small and not-so-small fish; often they’d scatter as a big carp or a pike moved in – but no more. On most evenings – summer or winter – every body of unpolluted water would come alive with rings and dimples, swirls and splashes and the sounds of things flipping around. No longer. Just last weekend I spent an afternoon on one of the country’s most beautiful lakes and saw nothing rise other than one whopping-great carp and a bunch of mini-tiddlers: where were those medium-sized specimens put on this Earth to stir the blood of anglers? Where were the tantalizing dorsals and the glistening backs…the viscous, oily folds from rolling tench? I absolutely know that a slice of bread or a handful of mixers cast this coming evening upon the Bedfordshire Ouse, the Suffolk Stour, the Wye, the Chelmer, the Kentish Stour, the Frome or the Lugg will elicit no response, whereas at one time you could guarantee the appearance of fish of numerous species.

I wish I hadn’t started this now. It seems rather shallow to describe the spectacular antics of our major predator against a backdrop of dwindling food-fish; it’s as though my intended article would be better-placed under ‘history’.
I understand completely those anglers who are currently doing well with carp, big chub, big barbel, catfish, big perch and other species – life is probably looking good for them, but there’s no denying the absence of any foundation to what we’re currently catching. As a kid and younger man, to stand on a bridge over a river was to look at the fish. They were always there, like an annotated Crabtree diagram: ‘dace here, chub here, pike here’ etc. After a short while you grew tired of watching swarms of bleak or dace and of studying the chub, the roach and that pike in the margin, but now?
Someone tell me I’ve got it all wrong and that such sights are commonplace in their neck of the woods. Someone tell me that this winter will see pike launch themselves through the ice of their favourite pit in pursuit of dinner – like they used to in the Lea Valley, Abberton Reservoir, Ardleigh and so many other waters. What, exactly, has gone so wrong? Do readers pin the blame on predation, water quality, angling pressure, fewer waters or what?

there are numerous small ponds that are chuck full of stunted rudd and roach - I the EA netted these and after a period to ensure these fish carry no disease release them in to the rivers

On those ponds run as comemrcials the EA could replace these small fish with ones grown on in stock ponds if the EA kept some small fish back

I might have a rather odd slant on things Cliff as I pin the problem on water quality.

It's too good!

Or should I say too clear?

I don't recall the silver fish rich lakes and rivers of the seventies and eighties being anywhere near as clear as they are now, in the case of the then roach packed Trent it was positively mucky a lot of the time and this new clarity must make it incredibly easy for the cormorants, hence their move inland and build up in numbers over roughly the same timescale that water clarity has been "improving".

I first really started to notice the clarity in the Trent around the early nineties, about the same time that the river all but died before bouncing back as a barbel mecca.

Our EE friends will undoubtably have had an impact on the pike but as far as the silver fish stocks go it will take a lot to convince me otherwise.

Water clarity, cormorants, goosanders, otters, EEs, pollutions (clear water is unless a chalk stream not imo an indicator of healthy water ) huge floods wiping out several year classes on some rivers.

All contributors to the fall in Prey species and Pike but not forgetting other species that occupy the same sort of position within the environmental pyramid, species such as Zander and Catfish.

The water I have been fishing for roach was a few weeks ago very busy with lots of swirls in lots of places, this water contains pike, zander and cats so it could have been all 3 having a go, its something that was a regular sight but a mate that zander fishes there tells me that this is the first year for a long time that this has happened, maybe its just a cyclical thing?

I know of stillwaters and rivers where pike are still a positive menace to the hardened bit basher. Several times this season I've had tiddlers suddenly get very heavy. I've had pike do the end of the net thing and sit under my feet waiting for the regular supply of returned dace and chublets.

I believe that much of the problem, in not seeing too much evidence of pike, where pike are definitely present, is that an awful lot of anglers are sitting it out on bigger baits for big fish. Those that still fish for anything with fins using a small hook and single maggot or caster often have a different perspective.

Cliff,
You've tapped a rich vein here 'Articles I've nearly written' - I'll email you couple of dozen of mine this morning.....!

Please do, Kev

In the Kennet and Warks Avon the silvers are making a significant comeback. Last time I trotted the WA there were 3 different pike up to about 12lb taking every other fish. I had to skip in even the pounders.

Having said that, the Thames and particularly the Kennet have gone through a period of more than 15 years with a real shortage of silvers.

There does seem to be a real inbalance of spawning cycles on many rivers that lasts a number of years until species re establish themselves due to different species cycle levels.

From Tony Corless:


All you say is true, i well remember, as do you, those rare days up the slurry,main pool and ripples when it seemed that every pike in the lake was on the munch at the same time, also in the late 70s, when it seemed that every pike in the 100 acres of the North Met had herded the huge shoals of roach into one of the "fingers" and great slaughter used to take place every winter from mid nov through to feb or thereabouts,you would hear them crashing into the shoals in the pitch dark while setting your rods up,all exciting stuff. The last place i saw such things were on the great loughs of western ireland where great numbers of pike would gather each May on the roach and bream spawning grounds giving amazing sport,every year at the start of May they would be in the same place,and if you could get out (wind permitting) superb fishing was assured,sometimes we went out when we really shouldnt have,and i remember having tremendous tussles with the hardest fighting freshwater fish i have ever caught with waves sloshing over the side of the boat, one particular time my mate and i were both playing big doubles and i had another take on my 2nd rod that had been reeled in to the side of the boat,this fish hooked itself,God knows how,but we landed them all, a 23.12, a 19 and an 18 in a raging gale. Heady times indeed.

But now with signal crays eating ALL of the spawn,runts eating the medium sized fish,and otters the bigguns,along with eus noshing the few that remain, water abstraction,water quality etc ect they aint got much of a shout have they? I suppose we should be grateful that we experienced such things,as i doubt that the anglers of the future will,mores the pity, praps thats why they are all carp morons now? Oh and forgot to tell you about the time i lowered a 1.5lb hybred over the side (too heavy to cast) by hand,and a pike virtually took it out of my hand,f^^k but they were great days.