i read somewhere that the water temp has to be 10c before pike will spawn(possibly an article by barrie rickards).i`ve seen pike spawning on my local canal as early as mid feb after a very mild january\ early feb and as late as early april after a cold late winter.last year,it was cold,with periods of sleet and snow in somerset ,from mid feb to mid march ,followed by very mild weather,i witnessed pike spawning in the first week of april.