My near record Pike...

[enfieldspares]

There'll be some big old hen that will make a nice meal of that little jack.

 

[tarponhead]

Mine was hooked in the mouth though. LOL

I have to concede that one to you, then! Little bass are such angry bu**ers!

 

[enfieldspares]

I once shot a fourteen inch long one in the dykes near my pond when out looking for duck or whatever with my father's 20 bore G E Lewis side by side.

 

[Bowland blades]

Pike can and do take on prey up to 1/3rd their own size ! They normally have half in their mouth/ gut and the rest sticks out . As long as their gills still sort of function all is good ! Seen it a fair bit myself but its also well known and documented .

 

[The Ratbasher]

I have to concede that one to you, then! Little bass are such angry bu**ers!

That Pike of mine was tougher than a bus full of Millwall fans after an away defeat.

 

[The Ratbasher]

Pike can and do take on prey up to 1/3rd their own size ! They normally have half in their mouth/ gut and the rest sticks out . As long as their gills still sort of function all is good ! Seen it a fair bit myself but its also well known and documented .

I've seen them with allsorts in their mouths from eels to ducklings to rats. They aren't fussy. LOL

 

[bobo]

This year has been good with pike here.
Caught quite a few over the 1 meter mark.

 

[The Ratbasher]

This year has been good with pike here.
Caught quite a few over the 1 meter mark.

Very nice.

 

[sh1kar]

Have you tried pike flies using a light spinning rod? The wire trace add enough weight to the fly for reasonable casts and a good river pike is a giggle on light tackle. This one was under my boat on the Avon…

Nice eater there

 

[chriswjx]

Pike on fly is the only way to do it!

Attempted once, put off by my poor casting of a 5/0 hook going about an inch in front of my eye

Success still achieved on soft plastics though.

Love fishing for them - need to do more of it!

 

[Bowland blades]

Have you tried pike flies using a light spinning rod? The wire trace add enough weight to the fly for reasonable casts and a good river pike is a giggle on light tackle. This one was under my boat on the Avon…

I havent but i have done a great deal of Flyfishing for Pike in the past . Great fun !

 

[tarponhead]

I havent but i have done a great deal of Flyfishing for Pike in the past . Great fun !

I’m inspired by this thread to book a day at Blagdon - I’ll be taking fly rods as well as spinning gear…, but need to check the regulations

 

[Bo Diddley]

I think Chew still has pike days, which sell out very quickly, not sure about Blagdon.
You can probably fly fish for the pike year round. I've seen a few videos of the resident guides piking with the fly rod in the summer.
Big pike are quite incredible.

 

[tarponhead]

I think Chew still has pike days, which sell out very quickly, not sure about Blagdon.
You can probably fly fish for the pike year round. I've seen a few videos of the resident guides piking with the fly rod in the summer.
Big pike are quite incredible.

They really are. I played a 9lb pike to the boat, taken on a surface popper, but before I could get it in the net a huge pike took it off the surface and went straight down. I could neither stop the run or budge it off the bottom. When it finally let go, the 9lb pike had would s as wide as my hand span indicating the width of the bigger pike’s head. You can’t fish that lake now - given over to waterskiing- but I still think about that moment and the spade like tail. My Captain Ahab moment!

 

[Bo Diddley]

They really are. I played a 9lb pike to the boat, taken on a surface popper, but before I could get it in the net a huge pike took it off the surface and went straight down. I could neither stop the run or budge it off the bottom. When it finally let go, the 9lb pike had would s as wide as my hand span indicating the width of the bigger pike’s head. You can’t fish that lake now - given over to waterskiing- but I still think about that moment and the spade like tail. My Captain Ahab moment!

What an awesome experience that must have been .
I've had a couple of big ones, and when they get close to the boat in clear water, and you watch them 3' or 4' down, you realise how incredible they are, a true Ferrari of the fish world.

 

[alberta boy]

This year has been good with pike here.
Caught quite a few over the 1 meter mark.

Nice fish .

 

[shakey jake]

does any body else feel a bit awkward with fishing for catch and release only?
not knocking people that do it but not sure i want to do it

 

[Bo Diddley]

does any body else feel a bit awkward with fishing for catch and release only?
not knocking people that do it but not sure i want to do it

No.
Fishing is great for people's mental health. And if we all knocked everything on the head we caught there would be no fishes left to catch.
Modern equipment and handling practices are really quite good. Pikes are fragile critters, and I have pulled off waters when I have had repeat captures of large hen fish.
I was a member of a catch-and-kill trout syndicate; it was pitiful watching other members struggling to give away fresh rainbow trout after a few seasons of fishing the place.

Merry Christmas everyone xx

 

[shakey jake]

No.
Fishing is great for people's mental health. And if we all knocked everything on the head we caught there would be no fishes left to catch.
Modern equipment and handling practices are really quite good. Pikes are fragile critters, and I have pulled off waters when I have had repeat captures of large hen fish.
I was a member of a catch-and-kill trout syndicate; it was pitiful watching other members struggling to give away fresh rainbow trout after a few seasons of fishing the place.

Merry Christmas everyone xx

not saying kill every fish,but if im only doing it to put back it just seems a bit cruel.
i put back bass at sea when they are under size but my intention is to at least save one for the pot

 

[tarponhead]

When you fish like I do, way more fish get fed than get caught. But it does cross my mind…I gave up catching stocked rainbows and I only fish with barbless or circle hooks, but most fish, even very little ones (see above) are voracious predators, so I think finding it as cruel is anthropomorphising it. But each to their own. I probably watch more than I catch or shoot, but if I want to eat it, then I do, but in moderation - one for the pot, not a bin bag full, even when I can.