Anybody Catching part two

psion wrote:Good luck on your quest Dave.
I like watching  pike fishing videos on YouTube and few have prompted the use of single hooks. Now I think a lot of us have tried
them but always go back to treble hooks, I know I have. My question is how many on here have fished successfully this way?
In the summer when catfish fishing I caught a few pike on a hair rig with a circle hook, so I am thinking the next time I go fishing
(maybe in scotland) I'll try two circle hooks in tandem on one rod.

trust me you will lose a few fish could be that fish of a life time ,and you will go back on trebles
done it myself pal, if you have confidence in them stick with them i say ........

[img][/img] hard going today had this jack to a lure , nothing to the dead bait rods

Ive never tried singles Psion,   but I use a single in the  tail of my deads with a treble down the flank,  and many a time thats the one in the scissors of the Pike,     but would i change from trebles?   no lol.  If I ever hook a 30 i want a treble in there lol.    so session 4 of the season,  and my third 20    this could just be my year lol.  On the drifter and as I struck She tail walked about 100mtrs out,  I near shite myself lol,   then got snagged in 2 balls of weed which I man dragged her through thankfully.  happy enough,  a fat 25lb 15oz.

I've flirted with single hooks off and on for a good few years. I use a tagging gun to attach the baits similar to what Barry McConnell uses for Zander and Eels. My own experience is they work well when using small dead baits of 6" or under, with a pretty normal hook up rate when compared to the standard treble hook set up. The hook up rate dropped off dramatically with baits of 6" and above and in my opinion rendered the single hook approach not worth it on big baits. I'll still use a single hook on small baits though.

It was as I thought, like me, you tried single hooks but went back to trebles - it's the thought of losing that big fish that puts us off!!
The small dead baits theory has a lot of merit so I think I may start there.  I also think circle hooks would be better - they are very sharp
and I think I would get a better hook up. The only other thing to decide now is barb or no barb.
Nice fish again Lowdouble we have a lot of rain and flooding at the moment so don't know when I am going to wet a line.

lowdouble wrote:Ive never tried singles Psion,   but I use a single in the  tail of my deads with a treble down the flank,  and many a time thats the one in the scissors of the Pike,     but would i change from trebles?   no lol.  If I ever hook a 30 i want a treble in there lol.    so session 4 of the season,  and my third 20    this could just be my year lol.  On the drifter and as I struck She tail walked about 100mtrs out,  I near shite myself lol,   then got snagged in 2 balls of weed which I man dragged her through thankfully.  happy enough,  a fat 25lb 15oz.

another cracking fish andie well in

Hoping to get out on friday, weather permitting. Tight lines lads. Thanks Stubbo.

lowdouble wrote:Hoping to get out on friday,   weather permitting.   Tight lines lads.  Thanks Stubbo.

Same here Andy it will be my first outing since end of last season also got a remote control tackle Barrow to try out lol

Oh that sounds good, help you to get to more remote swims full of big girls. Go get them mate

Its mad to call this a hard day lol,  but imagine that out of the 8hrs fishing,  all but 2 of the runs came after the first 2 hours,   Mayhem with 6,  yes 6 double hookups in the first hour.  My friend and I landed 19 Pike,  7 being doubles to 16lb 3oz and I snook the cream of the crop with a lovely 20lb 7oz beauty.   Out again tomorrow so expecting a blank

That must of been hectic and a twenty, could it have been any better. I also had two good days fishing in Scotland with
seven jacks and one at 11lb one 16lb and this 22lb, my first twenty of the season.
I tried out the circle hooks I had three runs missed two and one got off at the net, but it was only a small jack.
I also missed a few runs on the other rods with trebles hooks. I am now thing of one treble and single hook.

Its getting beyond a joke now lol,  its not as easy as it seems in Ireland,   theres thousands of acres devoid of fish,   but time on the water helps you narrow it down to the productive few acres,  honestly   But because yesterday was so good i broke tradition and fished 2 days on the trot.   different venue but the same methods.   Wow Wow Wow.   12 fish landed ,  4 doubles with the best two going 17lb 13oz and 18lb 2oz,    plus this absolute stunning 24lb 9oz pig.   6 sessions for 5 20+ fish.   FANTASTIC


Very well done Psion,  the first of many I am sure

Well done psion good start to your season I hope it keeps going like that mate
Andy you can sod off lol making me jealous now
Well done bud I told you you would keep catching them
I on the other hand have just done my first day of the season and had my first blank not just me but 3 of us all blanked ho well maybe next time hey

Its good to see you back on the bank Adie,    god loves a trier they say over here lol.    go get them mate   As for me WOW its the luckiest ive ever been,  but I hope it lasts   number 79,  I would love 100 before i hang up the rods,  or curl up my toes,  which ever comes first

lowdouble wrote:Its good to see you back on the bank Adie,    god loves a trier they say over here lol.    go get them mate   As for me WOW its the luckiest ive ever been,  but I hope it lasts   number 79,  I would love 100 before i hang up the rods,  or curl up my toes,  which ever comes first

What do you mean hang the rods up lol young bloke like you You are having a fantastic season so far and if it keeps up you could soon be over that 100 mark

I'm back out tomorrow for another try now the pain from Friday has worn off

Well I've made a start to my season today with 2 pike not very big like one at about 8lb and a smaller one about 4lb nothing much but it's a start

Well done Adie, lovely dark fish many more to come too

Well done Adie. Nice venue too.

Off the mark Adie.

Cheers lads it's a start at least

Two more today  Similar size one just a little bigger it was definitely bigger But after landing it taking hooks out on the mat and making sure it was calm I reached over to get my phone to pass to my mate to take a photo and right at that moment the pike flipped and wriggled its way off the Mat and slipped back into the canal  Only took my eye off it for a couple of seconds  Oh well I recon it was between 10 and 12lb and other one was another small jack about same size as the small one I had on Tuesday  No big one's are showing there at the moment But I'm sure they will as the water temps drop

Well done Adia. I have had that when you put them in the net to rest. Got the scales out, camera set up only to find they have
swam out of the net. You will just have to catch in again.
I was out Wednesday a Jack saved me from a blank.

Well done Adie, you're getting amongst a few now which is always good for the old confidence.

Other than a low double and a small Jack, I'm starting to settle into the November run of blanks I seem to get every year, with 2 on the bounce now. I did bump into a couple of very well known Pike anglers on one water I fish, one of whom was fishing next to me and my mate. In a perverse way it was good for my confidence to watch him fish and it's clear these guys do nothing different to the likes of me. They basically just spend a lot more time on the right waters hence them catching big Pike on a regular basis. On the day in question, both myself and my mate had low doubles whilst the angler in question blanked on the next peg.

Well-in Adie. You are right Dave they are no different than the rest of us but I think they do put the hours in when they find a good water.
I know one that fished Wykeham syndicate water after that big forty and he never did catch it, alas it has passed away now.
I was out Wednesday, I had three Jack's at the moment am keeping the blanks at bay. I have three days booked for Scotland
a week after next if the weather is kind to me.

Its been slow enough for the last 3 sessions,   I blanked this week too.  But I made an extra effort today and launched the boat in the pitch black,  hoping to see the fish topping come dawn and give me an idea where to start.   They were,  and it did      13 fish landed,   including 4 low doubles and a lovely,  long, old, big headed and scarred 20lb 4oz,  She would have been a great fish in her prime