Top 5 lures

The majority of the pike I catch are caught on a lure of some kind and over the last few years I have managed to acquire a fair collection. Yesterday whilst I was having a quick sort out of my lures I found too many lures in boxes, lures that have never been cast and lures that I have no confidence in or interest using. It got me thinking what are my favorite lures and what are my most successful lures ?

I decided to put up a short post so I could have a look back in a few years and compare with the lures I am using at the time.

Lures currently in favour

1. Fox Replicant - any size, but I have had most success on the 'Red Perch' variant.

2. Mann's Shad - 4 and 6 inch versions.

3. Salmo Slider - I have only recently starting using the sliders but they have quickly became a firm favourite.

4. Maxi Mouse - A handmade lure by Dave Greenwood. I have had success with both the Maxi Mouse and the XL version (pictured), I recently lost my standard size Maxi Mouse to a snag so I will probably order 1 or 2 more for next season.

5. Kuusamo Professor Spoon - I have a few spoons but have only caught on this type mainly on this 45g cooper version.

I could of easily included Burt's, Savage Gear 4 Plays and Rapala SSR's etc.... but the lures pictured are what I mainly use.

I wonder what lures will be in vogue lures in the coming years.....

Hit and Miss

Today I managed a full day on a still water, after getting up before 0430 hrs I was at the water for roughly 0630 hrs. Things were going smoothly until I went to put my waders on and I noticed a small tear on the back of the waders, I decided to carry on, wear them and hope for the best. After 5 minutes or so the tear was virtually from boot to boot and left me with no more than wellies ( time for some new waders ).

Luckily the water had dropped around 2 ft since my last visit and I would be able to manage in the torn waders. As I was setting up my first rod I dropped a backbiter in the water and then water got into the ripped waders as I was fishing the backbiter out, not the best start to the day !

Just after first light

I had 3 baits in the water before 0700 hrs and I had positioned the rods to leave me with enough room to have a throw with some lures. After 15 minutes or so I had a take on a Manta which turned out to be a jack.

1st of the day

The jack had a large scar on its back, which I'm hoping was from a much larger pike and not a cormorant or an otter. Whilst I was busy making breakfast I had a take on a dead roach, I saw the arm dropping but could see that I had left the bail arm closed ! As soon as the fish felt the resistance of the bail arm the bait was dropped. Around 50 minutes later a pike followed my lure (Savage Gear Freestyler) and tried to hit it 3 times but missed on each occasion, I recast and pulled the jerk bait through the same area again, the pike went for the lure again and missed. I quickly changed the lure and cranked it through the same area, the pike nailed it 1st time.

The leech covered pike that took a lure at the 5th attempt

An hour or so later I had a take on the left rod which was baited with a large section of lamprey, I lent into the fish and it felt heavy, the fish powered off but I managed to turn it and gain control, then the line went slack. After reeling in I checked the rig and trace and everything seemed fine, annoyed I baited with another large section of lamprey and recast into the same area. The lost fish felt fairly heavy and would of definitely been the biggest of my season.

After lunch the weather turned, what was a mild warm breeze had changed to icy cold wind with some heavy gusts thrown in as well. The change in weather seemed to turn the fish off completely and nothing happened for a couple of hours.

I was still annoyed from losing the last fish and was considering leaving and stopping by a stretch of river on the way home for an hour, however I had a quick chat with a local who informed me that the pike often have a feeding spell at around 4 ish. I decided to stay put, fish on and see what happened. At exactly 4 pm I had a take on another jerk bait (Hell Puppy) which managed to free itself within a few seconds. A couple of casts later I was quickly playing another small pike, this time fooled by a Salmo Slider, the pike was quickly unhooked and returned. The feeding spell didn't last long and was over sooner than I hoped, I decided to call it a day, although I did take my time leaving the bait rods in for as long as I could, no other pike were taken.

Slider caught pike

This is my third visit to this water and will be my last until June when I will be targeting a different species. In my 3 visits I have caught 7 pike with only 1 being a double, the water does hold a good head of doubles and I will be trying to improve this ratio next season.

Until June......

Indicators and short river sessions

In the past week I have had 2 new sets of indicators arrive, a set of Pete Fosters drop off's and a set of Zandavan Rollovers. The Pete Foster arms were a bit of an impulse purchase as I have recently started using some older Mark Houghton line gates, which seem to be spot on for what I need. Initial impressions of Pete's arms are really good, over engineered and look built to last, perfect for a heavy handed piker. I plan to use the arms directly with the backbiters. The rollovers will also be used with the backbiters whilst targeting eels in the summer, again these seem to be built to last and I'm looking forward to using them.

A selection of indicators (top to bottom)
Billy's Backbiter ball and PTFE arms, Mark Houghton's line gates, Pete Fosters drop off's and Zandavan Rollovers 

This week I managed 2 short session, both on different rivers. The first session was on Wednesday and was my second visit to this stretch. Tactics for the afternoon were 1 bait rod and 1 rod for the chub, conditions seemed perfect the river was falling, the colour was dropping and it was slightly overcast. After around 30 minutes I had a wrap around on the chub rod and stuck into thin air. Nothing else followed despite moving swims every 20 minutes or so.

New drop offs in action ( well sort of !)

On Thursday I had a couple of hours spare and after checking the river levels I decided on a quick session on a stretch closer to home. This is the first time this season I have been able to get onto this stretch as it has regularly been in flood. I arrived at around 11 and I would need to be heading home by around 2 pm. Again tackle was kept to a minimum with 1 bait rod and one medium lure rod. I spent around 15 minutes or so in each likely area before moving on to the next. On the third move I had a hard hit on the lure rod, a 6 inch orange Replicant was taken mid river. Unfortunately after 15 seconds or so the fish came off, after a quick check of the lure it seems that the fish hit the head of the lure as there was a lot of damage to the rubber. A few more casts in the same area followed, but there was no further takes.

River in fine fettle 

After a few more uneventful moves I had to call it a day and head home, I would like to be able to get another session in on this stretch before this season ends and hopefully the river will be in a similar condition.

During the last two unsuccessful sessions I managed to have a good play with the Pete Foster drop offs and they perform very well, due to the method of adjustment it is very easy to match the tension of the 'clip' to the flow of the river. Once setup correctly I didn't have any false indications caused by the flow of water and in some swims I was using 4.5 oz to hold bottom effectively. I am very pleased with these drop offs so far, hopefully they will get some 'action' of an actual take before the river season finishes. Currently I think I will use the new drop off's on running water as I like how easy they are to adjust to suit different conditions, but I will stick to the line gates for still waters as I have found they are very sensitive.

Plans for the coming week are for at least one full day session. This will probably be split over two waters as one of the still waters I fish follows the traditional close season and I would also like to get as many hours as possible on the river bank ( too many waters, not enough time to fish!) It is likely that I will grab a short lure session on a local water as well.

Successful second visit....

With the schools half term this week I wasn't expecting to get out at all but when the opportunity came up for a full day I gladly took it. The plan was to head to a still water, fish until lunch and then reassess from there and possibly move to a river for an hour or two on the way home. I prepared all my gear the night before (3 bait rods and 1 medium lure rod) organised the bait freezer, part packed the Jeep and tried to get a reasonably early night. My youngest however decided that I didn't need that much sleep and had me up at 1am and again at 3am. The alarm went off at a quarter to 5 and I was very tempted to turn it off and have a couple more hours, however the urge to get on the bank was strong and before I knew it I was in the kitchen making a brew.

The water I was fishing is a 75 mile drive and in my old Jeep takes around an hour and twenty, I arrived at the water at just after six thirty and it appeared that I had the water to myself. I chose an area that I know has produced in the past (not to me) and although this was only my second visit to the water I was quietly confident.

Rods in by 7 o'clock, sit back and relax

The rods were quickly baited and cast out and by around 7ish I had 3 baits in the water. I did have some trouble with my bank sticks and the rocky ground and a couple of  pointed extending sticks were not up to the job (need to invest in some spiral point sticks). I left the baits alone for a couple of hours whilst I had breakfast and listened to talk sport, nothing happened the backbiters remained silent and still.

The wind picked up slightly and I decided to change my right hand rod to a rig which could be quickly changed from a running ledger to a float. I put a small dart type float on and set this to around 3 foot and cast a roach dead bait out around 40 yards and let the wind slowly drift the float back to the bank. This was repeated a number of times until the wind became a bit much, I quickly changed back to a running lead and cast the bait to around 60 yards. The other rods were also baited and recast. Within 5 minutes of recasting the roach dead bait the backbiter sounded and I was into a fish. After a short scrap I had the fish in the net and thought that it could be a scraper double.

8lb 15oz

The fish didn't make it to double figures, but I wasn't disappointed as it was my first from this water and my biggest so far this season. I rebaited with another roach and cast into the same area. At roughly 1230hrs I had a take on a smelt but this was quickly dropped.

The wind dropped slightly so I reeled in one of the outer rods and had a few casts with a lure, I had a small jack take the lure but it managed to free itself before I could net it. I was about to recast the lure rod when the middle rod went, I quickly picked up the rod, closed the bail arm, took up the slack and lent into the fish. The fish gave a good account of itself and it seemed to be bigger than the pike I had earlier.

10lb 6oz

The fish was my first double of the season and also the first to christen my new DLST P2 rod. The next 2 hours were quiet so I brought in a rod and had a few casts with a lure again.

In successive casts I hooked but quickly lost 2 jacks using a 'Manta' lure, I switched to a Dave Greenwood 'Maxi Mouse XL' and a few casts later I was into a fish.

Lure caught jack

A couple of casts later I was into another jack, again on the 'Maxi Mouse XL' lure. The action on the lure rod was quickly over, so again I cast out a third bait rod.

Beautifully marked clear water pike

I decided to stay until after dark and try to catch a fifth fish, however it was not to be and I couldn't tempt another.

I have struggled with pike this season and before this session I had only caught 5 all season. At the beginning of February I set myself a target of catching 10 pike with at least 1 double before the season ends. After today's fish this takes my total to 9 pike (including one double). Although none of the pike I caught were monsters it was a really enjoyable day and I am hoping on a return visit before the season ends.

A nice view to end the day

Preparation for eels in the warmer months.

With the closing of the rivers rapidly approaching my attention is slowly moving towards targeting eels. I have drawn up a short list of potential waters and now have around 10 potential venues. I am aiming to target 3 or 4 or these over the spring/summer with the aim of beating my current pb eel of around 2lb.

The first of these waters is a place I know very well and it regularly produces eels, although these are generally quite small, I know of a few larger specimens that have came out in the last year or so.

The second venue is a syndicate water which I have joined for the year, this water has produced very large eels in the past, mainly to carp anglers.

The third venue is a very difficult water to fish, very clear water, low stock density, and it is also very snaggy but I have heard rumours of it producing very large eels in the past.

Over the warmer months I am planning to night fish these waters as often as time will allow. I have spent some time over the past few months gathering info and carrying out recces, getting suitable tackle ready, rig making and doing a lot of reading on eel fishing.

The inspiration
The longstanding British record eel of 11lb 2oz caught by Stephen Terry in 1978, what a fish !

I am fairly confident of catching a few eels in the coming months, hopefully my eel fishing will be more successful than my pike season so far.

I have still only caught 5 pike this season but I am fairly confident that I will be able to get into double figures and hopefully get at least 1 double figure fish as well.

New venue

Yesterday I managed a few hours on a new water with the aim of tempting a pike or a chub. I arrived at around 11ish and planned to fish until around 1600hrs, the river was carrying a bit more water than I was expecting and was slightly coloured.


Lovely stretch of river.

I headed off upstream and walked the full stretch with the aim of fishing likely areas on the way back. For the pike I was using my standard running ledger rig swapping between lamprey and smelt on the trebles and on the chub rod I was alternating between a maggot feeder and a small cage feeder with liquidised bread and cheese paste.

I spent around 15/20 minutes in each area before moving to the next, after my first move I started getting bites on the maggot feeder, initially I thought they were minnows but as I was using a size 10 hook and 6 maggots I just ignored them. After a couple of minutes I had a more positive bite, which I thought I had missed but it turned out to be a bull head. I haven't seen a bull head for around 15 years so it was a bit of a surprise, especially as it was caught on such a large hook.


Bullhead - eyes bigger than its belly.

On my next move upstream I had a positive take, again on the maggot feeder. I was hoping that it was a chub but it turned out to be a trout of around a pound or so. The trout gave a strong fight for its size and it was safely returned.

A surprise trout, unsure if its a brown or sea variant.

The rest of the session past quickly without any other bites or takes, the river seemed to lose its colour throughout the session and checking the river levels today it seems like I went a day early. I will be returning to this stretch before the season ends as the chub go to around the 5/6lb mark and the pike can push 20lb.

A short mobile session

With the rivers swollen over the weekend I put off a planned session on Sunday, stayed in, watched the football and looked over some fishing books instead.

I have been keeping an eye on the Environment Agency's website checking the levels, the river seemed to be dropping by early Monday evening and I decided that if it continued I would get out for a few hours on the Tuesday. I arrived at the river just after 10 am and conditions seemed fine, if a little too bright. I was surprised to see the river in such good condition as it was well up less than 36 hours before.


River in fine condition despite the recent weather

I was continuing with a more mobile approach with 1 medium lure rod and 1 bait rod, the plan was to spend around 45 minutes in a swim then move on. After a quiet first half an hour I had a take on the lure rod, the fish put up a very good fight and I was surprised when I eventually saw it as I was expecting at least a double. The fish went 8lb 12oz and was in superb condition.

Fighting fit - 8lb 12oz

I had some interest on the bait rod just before 2pm but it didn't develop into anything so I decided to call it a day.This is only my second time fishing this stretch of river and I have caught on both occasions so far.

Today's fish took my tally for the season to 5, with today's also been the largest. I am aiming to finish the season with over 10 pike and at least 1 double.

Pike Anglers Club Event 26/01/2014

On Sunday I attended my first Pike Anglers Club 'fish in' event at Motorway Pond which is controlled by Hull and District Anglers Association . The 'pond' is an 18 acre pit with many features and is completely different to anything I have fished before. I was allocated a decent peg and decided on a 3 rod dead bait approach. One rod in each of the left and right margins with various baits a nd the middle bait was positioned with a bait boat using the sounder to identify various features. It was a quiet day all round with only 2 fish coming out to the 15 or so anglers on the pit, a jack and a low double. Although I didn't catch it was still an enjoyable day (apart from the torrential rain) I managed to put faces to names after meeting a few other members of the PAC.

Motorway Pond - An interesting place well worth a second visit.

New rod

After the disappointment of not getting any Chew Valley tickets(again), I decided to treat myself to a new rod, a DLST P2, which I am going to be using on the rivers (when the weather behaves) in a more mobile approach. This rod seems ideal for what I need, hopefully it will be getting a thorough testing soon, I will also be using it as a third rod in the summer when targeting eels.

Short afternoon session

I have struggled for an opportunity to fish over the last couple of weeks and on the occasions I have had the chance to go the rivers have been in flood and the still waters I want to fish are a bit of a drive for a short session. Fortunately I had a few spare hours this afternoon and EA website indicated that the river level should be ok. I decided to fish further upstream than I have before and I arrived at the river for around 1130hrs. I traveled light so I could remain mobile, tactics for the day was 1 bait rod and 1 medium lure rod.

River condition - getting better 

I found a deep section on the near bank and cast a ledgered smelt there which also gave me the chance to test my new 'line gate' arms for the backbiters.

New line gate heads for backbiter arms

I had a quiet first 45 minutes, backbiters remained silent and no knocks on the lures so I moved further upstream. The smelt was cast slightly downstream of a snag, which looked like it would hold a fish or two and I continued to explore the stretch with the lure rod. After around 5 minutes I noticed the arm on the backbiter starting to move, then the alarm sounded. I removed the rod from its rests,closed the bail arm, wound down and lifted into a fish. A small jack was the result, to be honest I was a little disappointed as the swim looked really promising. This jack took my pike tally to 4 for the season.

Better than a blank !

Other than the jack I had no other takes on the bait or the lures, I did get to have a bit of a play with the line gates and they seem pretty good, hopefully I will be able to give them a more thorough testing soon.

Christmas 2013

Normally I am given some really random (shite) fishing related presents for Christmas, such as a heated fishing hat ? etc.... However this year the only fishing related gift I was given was a copy of 'The Eel Angler' by Barry McConnell. I had a quick flick through on Christmas morning and I was very impressed, I didn't get a chance to start reading the book until the day after boxing day. This is one of those books that you pick up and don't want to put down, very inspiring. I am restricting myself to a chapter a day to make it last as I could easily finish it in one sitting otherwise.

It has reinvigorated my interest in catching large eels (well trying to) and I have rejoined the National Anguilla Club. As a Christmas present to myself I managed to get hold of a signed copy of John Sidley's 1985 'Successful eel fishing' to add to my growing collection of angling books.

I haven't managed to get out fishing over the Christmas period and now things have started to settle down at home the rain has started and the river is in flood, hopefully this will settle soon as am I itching to get out and add to the meagre 3 pike I have caught this season.