For many coarse anglers the start of October is when their thoughts turn from fish associated with the summer such as Tench and Carp to the winter favourite the Pike.
October 1st has long been seen as the official start to the pike fishing year. Although few will ever catch Pike like the 42lb swedish monster pictured here the chance of catching a big Pike is enough to draw us out on a winters day.
There are Pike all over the country which are there to be caught in many waters from farm ponds and Canals to Rivers like the Wye and reservoirs such as the Pike hotspot Chew valley. Pike are fantastic predators and provide great sport to anglers that pursue them. Even a modest Pike of say 8-12lb will give you a great fight and fish of that size are prolific in most waters.
A word of advice to the novice is 'go equipped' I learnt from a young age that removing a treble hook from a large pike is a daunting experience if you are not prepared. A set of large forceps is a must as is a specimen sized landing net. The last thing you want when you have connected with a specimen is to not be able to land it. You should also ensure you have a strong line and reliable end tackle. As I have said, Pike can fight very hard and a wire trace is a must as their teeth will make short work of a nylon line of even 20lbs. Pike on the whole are not tackle shy so a strong line and a trace will not detur runs.
Pike can be caught on spinners,spoons and plugs or by using Live/deadbaits, Please remember that livebaiting is banned on many waters now so please check the fishery or club rules.
You can present your bait in many ways from float fishing to ledgering using a wide variety of rigs. I will not go into them now but there are many descriptions and advice on all on the web.
I will explain one of my autumn favourites which is 'Wobbling' a deadbait. This is a simple and very effectice method for Pike of all sizes. All you need is to tie a snap tackle (a wire trace with two treble hooks) to your mainline, above the trace add 3 ssg weights to help sink the bait. You then hook on your deadbait say a Roach of 4-6" the top treble goes through the top lip and out of the bottom lip with the next treble, place to of the barbs into the flank this will insure a good hold and enable distance casting. When you have cast out you retreive the bait much like you would a spinner but slower, giving the reel three or four turns and then a short break. This will cause the bait to 'Wobble' and then stop which will make the deadbait appear like an injured fish. Bites can be very savage so be prepared and have your clutch set.
The thing I like about Pike fishing is that you never know how big your next fish will be? It could be a small 'Jack'Pike of 3lb or a monster of the deep of 20lb+. I will be preparing my Pike gear for a few trips from the 1st October. I am thinking of a stretch of the Dorset Stour which is rumoured to hold a mammoth pike. It may just be a myth but for me that is part of the joy of Pike Fishing. Winter is soon upon us and pike fishing is a great way to drive away the winter blues.
For more information on Pike fishing try the Pike Anglers club of Great Britain at this link Pike anglers club
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