When it shines
Cold-water pike from October through to mid-March on stillwaters and slow rivers. The paternoster keeps the bait pinned just off bottom in the strike zone for cruising fish, while the running lead means a taking pike feels no resistance and runs cleanly.
Baits
- Smelt — oily, smelly, hugely effective. Half a smelt on a smaller trace works well in cold water.
- Mackerel tail/head — robust, stays on the hooks well, releases scent slowly.
- Sardine — soft, oily, doesn't last long in the water but pulls fish fast.
- Joey mackerel or herring — whole baits for big-fish waters.
Striking a run
- The float lifts, lays flat, slides off across the surface — this is the take. Don't strike immediately.
- Engage the reel, wind down to feel the fish, point the rod at the line, then strike upwards firmly. By this point the pike has the bait crossways in its mouth and is about to turn it head-first to swallow — a quick wind-down strike catches them in the scissors of the jaw, not deep.
- If in doubt, strike sooner. Deep-hooked pike die. A missed run is fine; a deep-hooked fish is a tragedy.
Unhooking
Always over a wet unhooking mat. Hold the fish flat, slide one hand under the gill cover, and use long forceps to back the hooks out. If a hook is deep, cut the trace at the hook — never go in past the throat. A small pair of side cutters on the boat/bank kit means you can crop a hook shank if needed and back the rest out.