What are the unwritten rules

[JustJinx]

Hi so I’m really new to the idea of predator fishing.

There are always unwritten rules and I’d love to know them before I do anything that’s frowned upon. I know you shouldn't share locations of big pike but is there anything else I need to be aware of?

Thanks

[JustJinx]

I mean should not. Typo and I’m not sure how to edit

now edited :)

[Mike J]

Edit.

The best advice is to not to post anything that could lead to persons identifying where your fishing or wish to fish.

Where are you based?

.

[Cyprio]

Rule No.1 use a WIRE trace.
Rule No.2 Use a WIRE trace.
Rule No.3 Anyone tells you Fluorocarbon is acceptable for pike fishing Foe them!

For good information click the Pike Anglers club Banner on here. Click the Menu tab Fishing for Pike, the link will give you best practice methods and fish care to get you started.

Ps if you find a water full of twenties, PM me as I could be fishing with you ASAP to give you a hand

[Pinkie]

Don't buy lots and lots of lures! Being in a tackle shop lure section or on ebay is akin to being a kid in a sweet shop and you'll end up buying lures you'll never ever use. Best advice I can give is to ask around and read up on what lures work best in the types of waters you'll be fishing! Otherwise, like me, you'll soon have a big box full marvellous looking plugs etc., that never see the water.

Some will say that's the fun of lure fishing, and I'll agree, but it's more prudent to invest in lures that work!

And as a beginner I'd advise you to start off with smaller lures before you graduate to the much bigger ones!

[Daniel]

Don't go on your own until you're sure you can handle a pike alone to unhook it.
It's nothing like anything you're likely to have caught before, a big pikes gob is a pretty intimidating sight to the inexperienced angler but as ferocious as it may look, it's extremely easy to damage a pike.

[Steve Le maitre]

If you’ve got a boat don’t get Grant to fit you a door.

[davelumb]

If you’ve got a boat don’t get Grant to fit you a door.

[Malc Green]

If you’ve got a boat don’t get Grant to fit you a door.

Or service the outboard

[Monts]

If you’ve got a boat don’t get Grant to fit you a door.

Or service the outboard

[davelumb]

If you’ve got a boat don’t get Grant to fit you a door.

Or service the outboard

[Steve Le maitre]

If you’ve got a boat don’t get Grant to fit you a door.

Or service the outboard

[JustJinx]

Thanks everyone.

Rule No.1 use a WIRE trace.
Rule No.2 Use a WIRE trace.
Rule No.3 Anyone tells you Fluorocarbon is acceptable for pike fishing Foe them!

For good information click the Pike Anglers club Banner on here. Click the Menu tab Fishing for Pike, the link will give you best practice methods and fish care to get you started.

Ps if you find a water full of twenties, PM me as I could be fishing with you ASAP to give you a hand

Already ordered some premade wire trace for now (while I learn to sort my own) so that’s covered. My local tackle shop are pretty good so I’ll be going to have a chat soon I think.

Thanks, I’ll have a look at the pike anglers club. I’m trying to read and watch as much as I can on care. I want to make sure everything I do is safe for the fish and myself.

Dont you mean not share locations?

The best advice is to not to post anything that could lead to persons identifying where your fishing or wish to fish.

Where are you based?

Yeah, I did mean not share location. I’m just outside Sheffield


So don’t buy too many lures I’ll do my best

No boat but noted

[Cyprio]

Have a search for some Mick Brown videos, as well as an alternative take on a days piking check out the pits very own David Scobie’s channel. Might make you think about taking up golf, either way put a smile on your face
https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidScobie

As Daniel mentioned pike are fragile compared to carp, strike ASAP and get them in as quick as possible no holding the rod a foot above the reel the Fairarse way.
Unhook photo weigh if you must and back in.

If your fishing a club water have a chat with those fishing for pike, ask for help if they are true pikers you might get a frosty reception compared to carp anglers but if your genuine I’m sure your get local assistance.

[Mike J]

I mean should not. Typo and I’m not sure how to edit

Top right of your post is a row of icons, the last on the left is a pen shape, click on that and it will bring your post back to where you wrote it. You can the edit the post and repost it to its original location.
Ive done mine so other members do not get confused. Saying that most are more than confused



.

[old_school]

A few bits and pieces from me:

Pay the extra money and get titanium traces, they are kink proof and save time and money over a season.

Always have a few plasters in your lure bag. Mine are in a ziploc bag with licences to keep them dry. You’ll always nick yourself on teeth, hooks and gill rakers and when it’s cold, they bleed like a b*****d!

Braid is the way, nylon line might as well be catgut these days as it is so rarely used. It has 2 properties that make it a must for pike fishing, firstly it has no stretch, this means you’ll see bites earlier when bait fishing and feel bites easier when lure fishing. Second, it is much stronger compared to nylon of the same diameter. This means you can fish much heavier and that means you have a better chance of getting out of snags.

Don’t worry too much about lure colours, there’s no need to get all 20 colours of Salmo Sliders for example. You’ll not use them and often find all you need is a light/bright one for coloured water and a dark/natural one for clear water.

Always have a blank saving spinnerbait in your bag! Surprising how effective they are in flooded rivers but think about it, they are brightly coloured, the blades give out loads of ‘noise’ and they are virtually weed free. Winner every time.

Tools - You must have at least some long nosed pliers and long nosed cutters at all times. Fishing specific ones preferably. Don’t hesitate to cut a hook point off if struggling to get it out. An old film canister with a few spare split rings and spare hooks live in my bag for cut hook scenarios and some split ring pliers make changing the fiddly bleeders much easier.

Rubberised landing nets make unhooking lures from the net sooo much easier. A roll up style unhooking mat slips on the net handle nicely and makes carrying them easy. Check fishery rules, most clubs and day venues make nets and mats compulsory.

Have a great time and expect the unexpected! You’ll have pike smash lures at your feet and you’ll s^^t yourself, You’ll see huge fish follow the lure in and turn away at the last second and you’ll never cease to be amazed at how big a lure a small fish will grab!

[stubbojo]

A few bits and pieces from me:

Pay the extra money and get titanium traces, they are kink proof and save time and money over a season.

Always have a few plasters in your lure bag. Mine are in a ziploc bag with licences to keep them dry. You’ll always nick yourself on teeth, hooks and gill rakers and when it’s cold, they bleed like a b*****d!

Braid is the way, nylon line might as well be catgut these days as it is so rarely used. It has 2 properties that make it a must for pike fishing, firstly it has no stretch, this means you’ll see bites earlier when bait fishing and feel bites easier when lure fishing. Second, it is much stronger compared to nylon of the same diameter. This means you can fish much heavier and that means you have a better chance of getting out of snags.

Don’t worry too much about lure colours, there’s no need to get all 20 colours of Salmo Sliders for example. You’ll not use them and often find all you need is a light/bright one for coloured water and a dark/natural one for clear water.

Always have a blank saving spinnerbait in your bag! Surprising how effective they are in flooded rivers but think about it, they are brightly coloured, the blades give out loads of ‘noise’ and they are virtually weed free. Winner every time.

Tools - You must have at least some long nosed pliers and long nosed cutters at all times. Fishing specific ones preferably. Don’t hesitate to cut a hook point off if struggling to get it out. An old film canister with a few spare split rings and spare hooks live in my bag for cut hook scenarios and some split ring pliers make changing the fiddly bleeders much easier.

Rubberised landing nets make unhooking lures from the net sooo much easier. A roll up style unhooking mat slips on the net handle nicely and makes carrying them easy. Check fishery rules, most clubs and day venues make nets and mats compulsory.

Have a great time and expect the unexpected! You’ll have pike smash lures at your feet and you’ll s^^t yourself, You’ll see huge fish follow the lure in and turn away at the last second and you’ll never cease to be amazed at how big a lure a small fish will grab!

good advice there pal , but i must say titanium traces have never been very good for me , have tried them.... but lost a few good lures on them in the past they just snapped under pressure, went back on wire no problems .....just didnt work for me.....

[stubbojo]

and another thing ...you need the right sized landing net , noticed lately a lot of lure anglers are using far to small landing nets ...on my patch that is

[JustJinx]

Have a search for some Mick Brown videos, as well as an alternative take on a days piking check out the pits very own David Scobie’s channel. Might make you think about taking up golf, either way put a smile on your face
https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidScobie

As Daniel mentioned pike are fragile compared to carp, strike ASAP and get them in as quick as possible no holding the rod a foot above the reel the Fairarse way.
Unhook photo weigh if you must and back in.

If your fishing a club water have a chat with those fishing for pike, ask for help if they are true pikers you might get a frosty reception compared to carp anglers but if your genuine I’m sure your get local assistance.

Thanks I’ll take a look. I’m going to go for a walk around a venue I like the look of this week and see if anyone is about. I tend to strike early on everything (often too early ) so I’m hoping this will be an advantage now.

I’ve seen a lot about resting before unhooking would you do this or just unhook and release?

and another thing ...you need the right sized landing net , noticed lately a lot of lure anglers are using far to small landing nets ...on my patch that is

I’m looking at this net https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/korum-s ... k_products
I currently have a big knot less net which is 38” across the front but I’d prefer one that’s rubberised

A few bits and pieces from me:

Pay the extra money and get titanium traces, they are kink proof and save time and money over a season.

Always have a few plasters in your lure bag. Mine are in a ziploc bag with licences to keep them dry. You’ll always nick yourself on teeth, hooks and gill rakers and when it’s cold, they bleed like a b*****d!

Braid is the way, nylon line might as well be catgut these days as it is so rarely used. It has 2 properties that make it a must for pike fishing, firstly it has no stretch, this means you’ll see bites earlier when bait fishing and feel bites easier when lure fishing. Second, it is much stronger compared to nylon of the same diameter. This means you can fish much heavier and that means you have a better chance of getting out of snags.

Don’t worry too much about lure colours, there’s no need to get all 20 colours of Salmo Sliders for example. You’ll not use them and often find all you need is a light/bright one for coloured water and a dark/natural one for clear water.

Always have a blank saving spinnerbait in your bag! Surprising how effective they are in flooded rivers but think about it, they are brightly coloured, the blades give out loads of ‘noise’ and they are virtually weed free. Winner every time.

Tools - You must have at least some long nosed pliers and long nosed cutters at all times. Fishing specific ones preferably. Don’t hesitate to cut a hook point off if struggling to get it out. An old film canister with a few spare split rings and spare hooks live in my bag for cut hook scenarios and some split ring pliers make changing the fiddly bleeders much easier.

Rubberised landing nets make unhooking lures from the net sooo much easier. A roll up style unhooking mat slips on the net handle nicely and makes carrying them easy. Check fishery rules, most clubs and day venues make nets and mats compulsory.

Have a great time and expect the unexpected! You’ll have pike smash lures at your feet and you’ll s^^t yourself, You’ll see huge fish follow the lure in and turn away at the last second and you’ll never cease to be amazed at how big a lure a small fish will grab!

Brilliant thank you, added to the list plasters, a spinner, split rings and pliers. I’ve seen so many videos and pictures where people have caught themselves on the gill rakers I’m surprised I hadn’t considered a mini first aid kit.

I’ve got some 55lb braid. Is this over kill? Most the venues I’m looking at were quite specific on mats but it’s not something I have ever fished without so wasn’t a problem.

I have a set of pistol grip long pliers in my basket and some side cutters. Of course I won’t be going anywhere until I have those. I know with carp fishing there’s a lot of antiseptic sprays etc for hook holes and injuries, is there anything I need care wise for pike?



I really appreciate all the advice

[old_school]

I make my own after seeing the quality of shop ones, I felt they were nowhere near long enough. I think there are some good ones out there. Not used myself but heard chico’s are spot on.
I use cahira nitinol, crimped with the ‘dicky bow’ double pass and never had one let me down.
If you have a system that works for you though, stick to it regardless of what anyone says or the latest fashion

[old_school]

55lb isn’t overkill at all. I fish big lures and use 88lb (40kg) and 100lb traces, it’s simply to give you the best chance of getting lures out of snags. £30 a go for lures isn’t something you want to lose often! ‘my’ river is snaggy though, snag free places i’d imagine 55lb to be ideal.
500lb braid is only as good as the knot though. Again, a personal thing but I’ve always used a 5 turn grinner with braid double passed through the swivel before the knot is tied. It’s an easy knot to tie that always looks complicated in diagrams. I could teach a 5 year old to tie one in 5 minutes but diagrams of it make it look nearly impossible

[JustJinx]

55lb isn’t overkill at all. I fish big lures and use 88lb (40kg) and 100lb traces, it’s simply to give you the best chance of getting lures out of snags. £30 a go for lures isn’t something you want to lose often! ‘my’ river is snaggy though, snag free places i’d imagine 55lb to be ideal.
500lb braid is only as good as the knot though. Again, a personal thing but I’ve always used a 5 turn grinner with braid double passed through the swivel before the knot is tied. It’s an easy knot to tie that always looks complicated in diagrams. I could teach a 5 year old to tie one in 5 minutes but diagrams of it make it look nearly impossible

does this look correct for the knot? looks very doable (from 55seconds in)


I see your trace is stronger than your braid, this is completely the opposite of what I thought would be right (I may need to get some different trace). I have some 28lb traces, should this be a lot stronger? I'm more than happy to up both my braid and trace if needed.

I have access to a lighter rod but new my rod has a casting weight of 20-80g. I've not gone crazy on lures at the moment with mainly small (10-15cm) lures at the very bottom end of the weight range. (I've been looking at some bigger line thru lures but I'm resisting until I've got everything I need together

[Mark Phillips]

A few bits and pieces from me:

Pay the extra money and get titanium traces, they are kink proof and save time and money over a season.

Always have a few plasters in your lure bag. Mine are in a ziploc bag with licences to keep them dry. You’ll always nick yourself on teeth, hooks and gill rakers and when it’s cold, they bleed like a b*****d!

Braid is the way, nylon line might as well be catgut these days as it is so rarely used. It has 2 properties that make it a must for pike fishing, firstly it has no stretch, this means you’ll see bites earlier when bait fishing and feel bites easier when lure fishing. Second, it is much stronger compared to nylon of the same diameter. This means you can fish much heavier and that means you have a better chance of getting out of snags.

Don’t worry too much about lure colours, there’s no need to get all 20 colours of Salmo Sliders for example. You’ll not use them and often find all you need is a light/bright one for coloured water and a dark/natural one for clear water.

Always have a blank saving spinnerbait in your bag! Surprising how effective they are in flooded rivers but think about it, they are brightly coloured, the blades give out loads of ‘noise’ and they are virtually weed free. Winner every time.

Tools - You must have at least some long nosed pliers and long nosed cutters at all times. Fishing specific ones preferably. Don’t hesitate to cut a hook point off if struggling to get it out. An old film canister with a few spare split rings and spare hooks live in my bag for cut hook scenarios and some split ring pliers make changing the fiddly bleeders much easier.

Rubberised landing nets make unhooking lures from the net sooo much easier. A roll up style unhooking mat slips on the net handle nicely and makes carrying them easy. Check fishery rules, most clubs and day venues make nets and mats compulsory.

Have a great time and expect the unexpected! You’ll have pike smash lures at your feet and you’ll s^^t yourself, You’ll see huge fish follow the lure in and turn away at the last second and you’ll never cease to be amazed at how big a lure a small fish will grab!

good advice there pal , but i must say titanium traces have never been very good for me , have tried them.... but lost a few good lures on them in the past they just snapped under pressure, went back on wire no problems .....just didnt work for me.....

Err? Sorry, you've lost me there. I've been using titanium leaders for all my lure fishing for the last 16 years. Can only recall a two failures and those were from the first few leaders I made, where I'd not crimped them well enough, lesson learned and from there to today... the failure rate is frankly zero, not just me, but also the pals I've made them for. So, either you're doing something very wrong or just using really and I mean, really sh1t leaders? My advice to anyone getting into lure fishing for pike - use titanium, not braided wire, WAY more reliable and better in every way.

[bacon]

Any links to reliable titanium wire Mark?

[Daniel]

Any links to reliable titanium wire Mark?

Cahira nitinol, single strand and multi strand, both are great and trustworthy.

[Tucker90]

Any links to reliable titanium wire Mark?

Knot2kinky on eBay, not cheap but is the best I’ve used.


Can be tied in knots, twisted or crimped.

River piker has some titanium on his shop as well.

I use wire trace for dead baiting and live baiting (not sure if that’s frowned upon on here)

But when it comes to lure fishing titanium is the way to go!

My one bit of advice which someone else has mentioned is get to know how to handle pike, go out with an experienced angler who knows how to handle them.

And if you haven’t got one, you never know, someone on here might take you out for a day for a beer or two!

[stubbojo]

A few bits and pieces from me:

Pay the extra money and get titanium traces, they are kink proof and save time and money over a season.

Always have a few plasters in your lure bag. Mine are in a ziploc bag with licences to keep them dry. You’ll always nick yourself on teeth, hooks and gill rakers and when it’s cold, they bleed like a b*****d!

Braid is the way, nylon line might as well be catgut these days as it is so rarely used. It has 2 properties that make it a must for pike fishing, firstly it has no stretch, this means you’ll see bites earlier when bait fishing and feel bites easier when lure fishing. Second, it is much stronger compared to nylon of the same diameter. This means you can fish much heavier and that means you have a better chance of getting out of snags.

Don’t worry too much about lure colours, there’s no need to get all 20 colours of Salmo Sliders for example. You’ll not use them and often find all you need is a light/bright one for coloured water and a dark/natural one for clear water.

Always have a blank saving spinnerbait in your bag! Surprising how effective they are in flooded rivers but think about it, they are brightly coloured, the blades give out loads of ‘noise’ and they are virtually weed free. Winner every time.

Tools - You must have at least some long nosed pliers and long nosed cutters at all times. Fishing specific ones preferably. Don’t hesitate to cut a hook point off if struggling to get it out. An old film canister with a few spare split rings and spare hooks live in my bag for cut hook scenarios and some split ring pliers make changing the fiddly bleeders much easier.

Rubberised landing nets make unhooking lures from the net sooo much easier. A roll up style unhooking mat slips on the net handle nicely and makes carrying them easy. Check fishery rules, most clubs and day venues make nets and mats compulsory.

Have a great time and expect the unexpected! You’ll have pike smash lures at your feet and you’ll s^^t yourself, You’ll see huge fish follow the lure in and turn away at the last second and you’ll never cease to be amazed at how big a lure a small fish will grab!

good advice there pal , but i must say titanium traces have never been very good for me , have tried them.... but lost a few good lures on them in the past they just snapped under pressure, went back on wire no problems .....just didnt work for me.....

Err? Sorry, you've lost me there. I've been using titanium leaders for all my lure fishing for the last 16 years. Can only recall a two failures and those were from the first few leaders I made, where I'd not crimped them well enough, lesson learned and from there to today... the failure rate is frankly zero, not just me, but also the pals I've made them for. So, either you're doing something very wrong or just using really and I mean, really sh1t leaders? My advice to anyone getting into lure fishing for pike - use titanium, not braided wire, WAY more reliable and better in every way.

just was not happy with them mark , i gave them ago mind , they just snapped when i snagged up..... pulling for a break 80lb braid .... ,normally the hooks give first ,they never slipped there crimps , they might be better quality now , think these were ready made ones going back a while ......

[Steve Dennington]

A few bits and pieces from me:

Pay the extra money and get titanium traces, they are kink proof and save time and money over a season.

Always have a few plasters in your lure bag. Mine are in a ziploc bag with licences to keep them dry. You’ll always nick yourself on teeth, hooks and gill rakers and when it’s cold, they bleed like a b*****d!

Braid is the way, nylon line might as well be catgut these days as it is so rarely used. It has 2 properties that make it a must for pike fishing, firstly it has no stretch, this means you’ll see bites earlier when bait fishing and feel bites easier when lure fishing. Second, it is much stronger compared to nylon of the same diameter. This means you can fish much heavier and that means you have a better chance of getting out of snags.

Don’t worry too much about lure colours, there’s no need to get all 20 colours of Salmo Sliders for example. You’ll not use them and often find all you need is a light/bright one for coloured water and a dark/natural one for clear water.

Always have a blank saving spinnerbait in your bag! Surprising how effective they are in flooded rivers but think about it, they are brightly coloured, the blades give out loads of ‘noise’ and they are virtually weed free. Winner every time.

Tools - You must have at least some long nosed pliers and long nosed cutters at all times. Fishing specific ones preferably. Don’t hesitate to cut a hook point off if struggling to get it out. An old film canister with a few spare split rings and spare hooks live in my bag for cut hook scenarios and some split ring pliers make changing the fiddly bleeders much easier.

Rubberised landing nets make unhooking lures from the net sooo much easier. A roll up style unhooking mat slips on the net handle nicely and makes carrying them easy. Check fishery rules, most clubs and day venues make nets and mats compulsory.

Have a great time and expect the unexpected! You’ll have pike smash lures at your feet and you’ll s^^t yourself, You’ll see huge fish follow the lure in and turn away at the last second and you’ll never cease to be amazed at how big a lure a small fish will grab!

good advice there pal , but i must say titanium traces have never been very good for me , have tried them.... but lost a few good lures on them in the past they just snapped under pressure, went back on wire no problems .....just didnt work for me.....

Err? Sorry, you've lost me there. I've been using titanium leaders for all my lure fishing for the last 16 years. Can only recall a two failures and those were from the first few leaders I made, where I'd not crimped them well enough, lesson learned and from there to today... the failure rate is frankly zero, not just me, but also the pals I've made them for. So, either you're doing something very wrong or just using really and I mean, really sh1t leaders? My advice to anyone getting into lure fishing for pike - use titanium, not braided wire, WAY more reliable and better in every way.

Agreed Mark. 14 years for me and not a single Ti failure

The leaders in the link below are amazingly good. How they fuse that crimp into position I really don't know, but they never ever slip, even when heaving on a snag.

http://www.jacksonlures.com/Commerce2/finnleaders.htm

[Noblest savage]

Rule #1 do not talk about where!

Rule#2 see rule number 1.

Seriously though if rules are unwritten then they’re not rules. More a collection of voluntary ethics.

Cheers Ben

[old_school]

55lb isn’t overkill at all. I fish big lures and use 88lb (40kg) and 100lb traces, it’s simply to give you the best chance of getting lures out of snags. £30 a go for lures isn’t something you want to lose often! ‘my’ river is snaggy though, snag free places i’d imagine 55lb to be ideal.
500lb braid is only as good as the knot though. Again, a personal thing but I’ve always used a 5 turn grinner with braid double passed through the swivel before the knot is tied. It’s an easy knot to tie that always looks complicated in diagrams. I could teach a 5 year old to tie one in 5 minutes but diagrams of it make it look nearly impossible

does this look correct for the knot? looks very doable (from 55seconds in)


I see your trace is stronger than your braid, this is completely the opposite of what I thought would be right (I may need to get some different trace). I have some 28lb traces, should this be a lot stronger? I'm more than happy to up both my braid and trace if needed.

I have access to a lighter rod but new my rod has a casting weight of 20-80g. I've not gone crazy on lures at the moment with mainly small (10-15cm) lures at the very bottom end of the weight range. (I've been looking at some bigger line thru lures but I'm resisting until I've got everything I need together

The weakest part of the whole system is the knot to the wire trace. Link, swivel and wire are all stronger than the braid, the 88lb is quite manageable and casts and spools nicely. I want the opposite to that of a general coarse angler, they fish weak hook lengths so the hook length breaks before the mainline, therefore avoiding losing float, shot, feeder etc. My system (and countless others) gives the strongest end tackle to give the best chance of pulling snags in or bending hooks out from a snag.