Over thirty years ago, huddled in our Bob Church all-in-one waxed suits, striding into a winter dawn, armed to the teeth with rods and ambition, Kevin Durman and I fish the lakes dotted through East Kent . They we times of real winters, better than good chances of pike and a voyage of exploration and innovation that has stayed with me to this day.
Pike summons dread, excitement and real passion for just about anyone who encounters them. The apex predator that is the watery lion king. Pike are magnificent and there are few anglers in the UK better equipped to offer you an introduction of how to catch them than Fishing for Schools Coach, and Coarse fishing guru, Kevin Durmam.
Pike, despite looking mean and aggressive with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth, are one of our most fragile species. Care must be taken when fishing for, handling and returning.
Now back to those “teeth”, when fishing for pike a wire trace is an absolute must as a pike, even a small one (known as a Jack) will have lots of teeth that can easily cut mono or braid. To prevent accidents such as lost tackle always fish a mainline of at least 15lb, if using braid then 40lb.
A simple way to fish for pike is to walk the bank with a lure rod, you can cover a lot of ground. Essential kit required includes a large made up landing net and always use an unhooking mat, even if fishing where there’s lush grass, it’s just the right thing to be seen doing. And to keep your hands away from those sharp teeth a long set of forceps for unhooking.
Another popular method is to float fish. This is easy to set up, start with a float stop, then your chosen pike float, enough weight to set the float then your wire trace, this time with hooks, usually trebles to which you can attach a bait such as a dead roach or sea baits like sprats. You can adjust the depth to have the float drifting around shallow, or fish the float set overdepth to anchor the bait on the bottom.
Plenty more info on pike and pike fishing can be found on the Pike Anglers Club website.