Attitudes towards Pike

Simon Vicos · Jan 8, 2018

On my local river rother yesterday (Stedham near Midhurst). A match dominated club where im seemingly one of about 6 who fish for good sized Chub, Pike and Perch.

One of the match crowd sees my deadbait bag while passing and says 'if you catch any Pike knock it on the head and throw it up the bank'

Anyone else still encounter this?. The one I did catch went straight back to it's home !

binka · Jan 8, 2018

Simon Vicos said:
One of the match crowd sees my deadbait bag while passing and says 'if you catch any Pike knock it on the head and throw it up the bank'

Unfortunately, some people are stuck in the 1970's and haven't evolved with our understanding of the roles which different fish play.

The same person would probably be the first to complain when he can't catch anything other than stunted roach.

thecrow · Jan 8, 2018

In the past I have but not so much now, its an attitude adopted by the ignorant ill informed that cling to old ways, surprised hemp isn't banned as it drugs the fish

Waters sustain the amount of predators that prey fish will support, could be 40 1lb pike or it could be 2 20lb pike the removal of pike will leave a gap that will be filled, if its a large fish that's removed the gap will most likely be filled by smaller fish, keep doing it and the water will be full of jacks.

My advice would be to ignore them or ask them if they wanted you to break EA bye laws by removing more than the prescribed amount, the fine for doing so is up to £50,000.

Philip · Jan 8, 2018

Its not just Pike ...same thing has applied to Zander, Catfish and Carp.

I cant understand how anyone calling themselves an angler can condone knocking any fish on the head other than if he is going to eat it.

sam vimes · Jan 8, 2018

I haven't fished for pike for years and have no intention of fishing for them any time soon. However, whilst I'm fairly indifferent to them, I've no ill feeling towards them. I'm quite well aware of how they can fit into a healthy fishery.

I still recall the days of clubs having rules suggesting that all pike should be killed. In one notable instance, such a rule persisted until relatively recently. However, I've never seen any evidence of anyone actually following such practice, I've seen plenty ignore them.

I hear the odd angler moaning about having their day spoiled by marauding pike, but it's a rarity to hear anyone seriously suggest that they be killed/culled.

tigger · Jan 8, 2018

sam vimes said:
I hear the odd angler moaning about having their day spoiled by marauding pike, but it's a rarity to hear anyone seriously suggest that they be killed/culled.

I have Chris, I actually know of one chap (a friend of mine) who was fishing the river last summer catching lots of chub and dace when he started getting pesrterd with pike. He got fed up with them and started killing any he caught every time he went. Because he's a friend of mine I couldn't fall out with him, I did let him know my opinion. He doesn't think killing 3 or 4lb pike will do any harm to the pike population especially as there's so many!
I know of a lot of anglers who hate pike as much as they hate otters, corms or any other predator that will eat their precious silver fish.

barbelboi · Jan 8, 2018

Simon Vicos said:
'if you catch any Pike knock it on the head and throw it up the bank'

What if you haven't got your priest with you............

Ijjwsg · Jan 8, 2018

tigger said:
I have Chris, I actually know of one chap (a friend of mine) who was fishing the river last summer catching lots of chub and dace when he started getting pesrterd with pike. He got fed up with them and started killing any he caught every time he went. Because he's a friend of mine I couldn't fall out with him, I did let him know my opinion. He doesn't think killing 3 or 4lb pike will do any harm to the pike population especially as there's so many!
I know of a lot of anglers who hate pike as much as they hate otters, corms or any other predator that will eat their precious silver fish.

The only use for silver fish is food to fatten the pike to greater size.

nottskev · Jan 8, 2018

I've certainly cursed the pike a good few times last season. It's common,after lining up a few roach on the local Trent, to find one pike is ragging your keepnet while another is running off with the roach on your hook. Frustrating as it is, the predators testify to the abundance of prey fish, and, whilst I consider trying to catch the pike and move it well away from my swim, I'd never contemplate killing them.

I certainly prefer the pike-infested Trent to another local river, a Trent tributary, where pike are no problem, but neither is your fishing interrupted by other fish, and nobody catches much beyond grayling these days. I'm happy to accept that pike have a role in the balance and growth of fish stocks, but in this river there's a lot of avian and animal predation, too, and I'm not so sure these predators fit in so harmoniously.

On the club ponds, linked via drains to the river, we get some giant pike coming in to snack on the easy pickings. A club member with pike skills catches them and puts them back where they came from; they're never killed.

flightliner · Jan 8, 2018

I think it was Nev Fickling back in the early eighties who once described Doncaster, Sheffield and Worksop as the "The pike triangle of death" on account of some of the attitudes towards pike prevailing at the time.
These days on account of organisations such as the PAC with its large network of branches things have changed dramatically with their ever ongoing programme of pike care and conservation.
I think guys like the op encountered is pretty much in a minority compared to most anglers these days, a good thing too!

thecrow · Jan 8, 2018

Simon Vicos said:
One of the match crowd sees my deadbait bag while passing and says 'if you catch any Pike knock it on the head and throw it up the bank'

I think I would have replied **** off. well I would have when I could run away

rich66 · Jan 9, 2018

Our match secretary asked me to put any pike I caught into the river rather than back into the lake, ruins the matches apparently. But to be fair I just ignore him.

thecrow · Jan 9, 2018

rich66 said:
Our match secretary asked me to put any pike I caught into the river rather than back into the lake, ruins the matches apparently. But to be fair I just ignore him.

Does he realise that act would be illegal?

steve2 · Jan 9, 2018

There are still those that think the only good pike is a dead one.
Wasn’t it “The pike triangle of Death” that caused the EA to start a pike cull in that area in order to appease the match anglers? Seem to remember many small and large pike were knock over the head.

On one of my club lakes the match boys are calling for a cull of pike and the carp anglers are saying the same about the bream. So it appears to some that any fish that stops you from catching what you want should be removed.

Strange rule one of my old clubs had a few years ago was no pike to be returned to the water. It also had a rule banning pike summer pike fishing in place to protect them. It’s been changed now to all pike to be returned but still no summer pike fishing.

rich66 · Jan 9, 2018

thecrow said:
Does he realise that act would be illegal?

I’m not sure if it would, our “lake” is an old marina so it is connected to the river just fenced to stop all their fish escaping.
But like most people probably wouldn’t care too much after all it wouldn’t be him doing it

john step · Jan 9, 2018

I recall seeing two dead 20 plus pike lying side by side on the grass behind a smug brainless moron in the 70s at Springfields Lake a LAA water at Rickmansworth.

He was obviously pleased with himself. I just hope he is not fishing now. Probably underground I think.

David Gane · Jan 9, 2018

I haven't spoken to anyone with that extreme a negative attitude for quite a while, although there are certainly still a fair few people around who admit to hating them. Often it seems to stem from a fear of their teeth rather than from a desire to eradicate then from whatever water people are on. I always take the view that the best solution is education, so many are the times I've unhooked "accidentally" caught pike for people and tried to show them the best way to handle them.

Personally, I think they are beautiful creatures.

thecrow · Jan 9, 2018

rich66 said:
I’m not sure if it would, our “lake” is an old marina so it is connected to the river just fenced to stop all their fish escaping.
But like most people probably wouldn’t care too much after all it wouldn’t be him doing it

So if you moved pike to the river whats to stop it coming back into the marina? does he think it will just stop there

thecrow · Jan 9, 2018

john step said:
Probably underground I think.

Best place for him nothing but a Neanderthal

Clodhopper · Jan 9, 2018

The West Sussex Rother (which the OP fishes) suffers from a ‘lack of recruitment’ of small fish but Esox Lucius is not especially to blame. Killing decent-sized pike might well lead to a proliferation of jacks which might then, in turn, reduce silver fish populations further.

The river is subject to damage from silting and significant resources have been devoted, over recent years, to addressing this problem, including the manufacture of riffles and the creation of new carriers, in which young fish may shelter. Local angling groups are convinced this is aimed at improving their sport, whilst cynics suspect that the true aim is to tempt otters to migrate into Sussex from the gin-clear salmonid-rich waters of Hampshire.

Why the otters should want to come here, I know not, given that it appears to be cross-party policy to turn the county into a suburb of Crawley. Last summer, I had a mink in my swim that was sporting Nike trainers and a baseball cap.

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