help me im new to this...

hi all, ive not been into pike fishing for long and am struggling a bit. im used to flyfishing a lot and the odd bit of spinning on my good old holidays in sunny scotland. ive only ever caught two jack pike about 2 pounds, one on the fly which was great and another on spinner, both unexpected while fishing for trout. my mate and i have been fishing the river forth just behind stirling for the last few months. in 5-6 visits weve seen loads of fish including a big pike cruising by but not caught any. . last two times we took a pike pack (frozen mackerel) and tied it up as so ; tied on a 3 way swivel, then clipped a 25cm trace on the side then a hook. then tied on about 2 ft of line to the bottom of swivel to the 1/2 oz weight. bit of hassle getting the bait to stay on so tied it up with more line onto the hook. im not sure if ought were doing is right and any help would be appreciated. the river is about 35 ft wide on average and looks at least 6ft deep at the side. theres loads of small trout and other fish . had some kind of bottom feeder on a fly once,maybe roach or sumthing, not sure. but there must be pike. just dont know how to get them. brian

where to start???

1st things ist get hold of any local pikers you can and beg them to help you it will make a massive difference. a good place to start would be the PAC and the locl region to you.
second your gear needs to be right from unhooking stuff to line to rods
unhooking gear a pair of forceps around 8 inches long some long nose pliers and a pair of side cutters are most important
next decent mono 15lb daiwa senser is as good as it gets and is cheap
rods anything over 2.5 lb test curve will do and cheap rods will work fine even the chaepest of rods from tesco/argos will do as long as they are over that test curve and around 11 foot or longer in length for bait fishing
mat and nets both are essential
rigs use the KISS principle keep it simple stupid 18 inches of 30lb wire with two hooks (double trebles etc) for deads on your line thread a run ring or swivel then a hard bead then a soft bead then tie the trace on. from the run ring or swivel tie a short length of line that is a lower breaking strain than your mainline then tie a lead to the end of that mono (the three way swivel idea has its uses for paternosters but ill leave that alone for the moment)
this running rig is the basis for just about 90% of my bait fishing the weaker line ensures that should the lead snag you get your trace back
indication floats take some beating both inine (dumpy sliders) and waggler types drop offs are the norm and for good reason but any dangler type will work
missed reels any decent reel theat will hold a couple of hundred yards of 15lb mono will be fine again there are plenty of cheap models by companies like okuma that are ideal (usually in 040 or 050 size)

hit runs as soon as you get any indication of a take you may miss the odd run but that is easier to live with and deal with than a deep hooked fish

thanks for the quick reply. im sure ive got all the right gear, rod,reel, digorgers, snips, mat, net etc. i think it may be where were casting or the dodgy rigging up that may be to blame.what other baits are good for this type of fishing in a river and has anyone fished there or near before??? have tried spinning as well but no luck there either. are most pike caught at night time?? we usually head home once its dark cos were just beginners. i would like to do some night fishing right enough, with a beer and a smoke! brian

Hi there briand.

Just to add to what noodle says, invest in a bite alarm as well. Set up correctly it will register either a pick up or a drop back when used in conjunction with a bobbin indicator.

You don't have to spend top dollar on your tackle either. My rod cost me £12.50 brand new and my baitrunner reel was purchased second hand for £20.

Like noodle says, Daiwa Sensor line is excellent mono to use (15lb or above please) and is the line I used until swapping over to braid. Tip: don't use braid until you are confident in your abilities.

For the landing net, go as large as you can as you never know what size fish you will connect with. Mine is a 42" triangular one.

Definitely try to fish with an experienced pike angler and check out the PAC website (www.pacgb.co.uk) and find out if they have any meetings near to you and go along.

Regarding floats: don't use a 'loaded' float as these don't always register a take until it's too late and you could end up with a deeply hooked pike. Not nice

Check out these from the main website:
http://www.pikeangler.co.uk/advice/floatledger.html
http://www.pikeangler.co.uk/advice/ledger.html

I've not pike fished at night (got a missus and 3 kids) but have had plenty during the day and my PB was caught on a beautifully sunny day.

Last season I used sprats exclusively and had some good success but this can't be guaranteed where you live. They may not work for me this season, it varies in different waters and from year to year apparently too.

Oh, leave the beers at home please. Alcohol and angling are not a good mix in my opinion.

And what do you mean by 'a smoke'? Everyday tobacco I hope

Above all, check back here regularly and ask as many questions as you want, somebody will answer. And if you have access to a library go there too as well as looking online.

Finally, welcome to the forum

thanks again for the info. ill post up after todays fishing. just to note for lefty, only the odd beer when im on hols usually and everyday cigarettes are whats on my menu......... tight lines.

briand1984 wrote:only the odd beer when im on hols usually and everyday cigarettes are whats on my menu

Glad to hear it.

You're fishing Stirling. Right, that's Macfarlane clan territory....true....and my usual pike hunting turf.

Where are you staying?

Take Andy up on his offer briand, you won't go wrong and will learn stuff you wouldn't have ever thought of doing.

He's a VERY knowledgeable chap regarding pike. Take heed of anything he tells or shows you and I can promise you he will get you off to a good start in this area of the sport.

hi again.i live in tillicoultry. 10 miles east of stirling. i get all excited with this pike malarky... cant wait till i get a half decent one.my pb is a 4lb brown from gartmorn dam. was there tonight till 10.30 and all i had was a jack pike that weighed about 10oz. we were only spinning though. next trip will be the forth again and maybe stay out till 1-2am. well, ill ask her anyway . also whats the best type of traces to use?? the ones i have are 25cm with a snap swivel which i clip the hook onto but you've advised 18in of wire. can it be bought in spools or what? thanks again, need my bed. brian

yes you can buy wire on spools drennan do it fox do etc what i would do though is buy the trebles wire swivels etc and buy a couple of the drennan deadbait traces to use as well, certainy till your happy with your own traces
as a kid i used to do what you do now using a snap link with a hook

Try this link for tying your own traces:

http://www.foxint.com/articles.php?lang=&article=48

Until you are confident enough to make your own, do as noodle says and purchase them ready made up from your local tackle shop. I (personally) would advise going for semi-barbed as it will make unhooking a lot easier for you whilst giving a good hold into the bait fish.

Just to let you know, I always use the twist method instead of crimping and never use trebles for deadbaits. Just barbless (or crushed barb) singles go onto my own traces. The only time I use a treble is if it's on a lure I've bought and I will always crush the barb.

It's totally up to you which style of hook you use (single, double or treble) but if you plump for using barbed then can I ask you use micro barbed please. It's just a thing I've got with barbs. Barbs = barbaric in my opinion. (That'll probably start an argument!)

I'm not doing much pike fishing at the moment but I'll give you a shout if we're in the Stirling area and you can come and pester us all day. It'll be a laff if nothing else.

...Andy...