The Pikers Pit

Has anyone any strategies they swear by in the colder months? Anything different from the autumn?

They're certainly catchable but it's very difficult in very cold, bright clear water conditions - unsurprisingly.
Rise in temps, overcast low pressure conditions with a bit of colour in the river and it's happy days.

I don't change my methods personally, I've confidence in them throughout the season.

Heyyup mate, sounds really obvious but finding them is the most important bit I think. Once found, it's then a case of putting in the hours until they feed. I've had em in really, really cold conditions on the Fens but I always thought the spots holding them become fewer, once it gets really cold. I don't think they move around so much on the hunt either.

A few mates and I enjoyed some really good sport in one area of a big drain throughout the back-end of the 2002 season during snow, frost and freezing fog conditions. We had runs at random times during the day/night throughout these months and sometimes when the weather was absolutely hideous and certainly in sub-zero temps. Basically we'd found a holding spot where a good few fish were sat on a large feature throughout winter and took advantage of it.

I'm out this afternoon, hopefully I'll see one or two .

Goooey wrote:

Has anyone any strategies they swear by in the colder months? Anything different from the autumn?

I think many predator anglers underestimate the food source that the current year's fry provides once the cold temps force them into more accessible areas to the predators. I'm sure we've all experienced that usual bankers baits and tactics begin to fail. I'm convinced that often the fish are fry feeding. I'm catching both pike and zander that are super fat and often have mouths full of fry, but only at the back end or first couple of months of the year. Fishing mid water amon the fry works well for me when I'm marking losts of fry shoals on the electronics.

Keep mobile if you can too, that used to turn up a few as eventually you are bound to put a bait on a zeds nose at some point.

Good call Andrew ref the fry, I can remember a backwater years ago where in deepest winter the predators would swirl amongst the fry and ignore even the finest livebait.

Some good points, thanks.

Location as ever, is always going to be key, that i know. Just interesting to know whether peoples bait choice or presentation changes. I do tend to prefer paternostered or float fished liveys for the river i fish so that i will persevere with.

Fentiger01 wrote:

Keep mobile if you can too, that used to turn up a few as eventually you are bound to put a bait on a zeds nose at some point.

Good call Andrew ref the fry, I can remember a backwater years ago where in deepest winter the predators would swirl amongst the fry and ignore even the finest livebait.

you have to match the hatch

a drain I fished was black with fry at the gated end, pike were smashing into them from underneath---our finest livelies were ignored as well.
A chuck out with the landing net netted loads of fry, so we used the biggest of them on a size 10 Drennan specialist hook to a 20lb trace fished just over a foot deep under a little piece of polystyrene for a float----and we caught plenty of pike.
How they could pick out the one fry in thousands I don't know

Maybe the hook in the livebait causes it to send out some signs of distress which is attractive to the pike?

Kev Berry wrote:

you have to match the hatch

a drain I fished was black with fry at the gated end, pike were smashing into them from underneath---our finest livelies were ignored as well.
A chuck out with the landing net netted loads of fry, so we used the biggest of them on a size 10 Drennan specialist hook to a 20lb trace fished just over a foot deep under a little piece of polystyrene for a float----and we caught plenty of pike.
How they could pick out the one fry in thousands I don't know

I just didn't fancy the swim across to the (otherwise unreachable) far bank reeds in sub zero temps to collect them Kev.

Fentiger01 wrote:

Kev Berry wrote:

you have to match the hatch

a drain I fished was black with fry at the gated end, pike were smashing into them from underneath---our finest livelies were ignored as well.
A chuck out with the landing net netted loads of fry, so we used the biggest of them on a size 10 Drennan specialist hook to a 20lb trace fished just over a foot deep under a little piece of polystyrene for a float----and we caught plenty of pike.
How they could pick out the one fry in thousands I don't know

I just didn't fancy the swim across to the (otherwise unreachable) far bank reeds in sub zero temps to collect them Kev.

Lightweight

Kev Berry wrote:

Lightweight