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Starting
out with lures – by Mark Phillips Like many people, my first ever pike
was caught on a lure. I
remember finding this small jointed plug lying in the grass, I tied it
to my line and cast it out. No
wire trace I’m sorry to say, I was only nine years old and no one had
told me that pike could bite through mono!
After a few cranks of the handle all went solid and I remember
thinking that I’d lost my new found lure.
Then the snag started to move and hey presto, my first pike of
about six pounds was on the bank! The
next cast with the plug, and yep, I lost it on a snag!
I was now hooked as a lure angler.
It was then after many years of living on the ‘dark side’
(carp fishing) that I began to get back into my pike fishing, and
ultimately, lure fishing. I guess it
all started with me wanting to catch pike through the summer and not
wanting to bait fish for them, as I viewed this an inappropriate method
for pike at this time of year (and still do!).
The problem I had at the time was that I had no one to ask
‘how’ to lure fish, and there was very little written on the subject
available either. Barrie
Rickard’s book, ‘Spinning & Plug Fishing’ was about it;
fortunately this was an excellent guide (and still is) so there was my
starting point. The choice
of lures to buy was only a fraction of what’s available today, so in
many ways it was a case of ‘your on your own mate’. Having
been self-taught as it were, I feel that I do have a unique perspective
on lure fishing. I’ve
worked my way up the ladder if you like.
I started with small lures and then as my experience grew I
started to understand what pike respond to and what lures and tackle to
use. The lure scene then
began to grow and I grew with it. Now
days the selection of lures available is mind blowing and there is a
vast array of information from magazines and books to help people along.
So where would I start today if I was a beginner to lure fishing? I
regard all forms of fishing as steps in a climb to reach a goal.
How big you set that goal is up to you.
Many just want to go fishing and enjoy themselves, catching a few
fish is a bonus. For
nutters like me the goal is always to catch more, bigger and better fish
– I wish! The point I want to make is that you cannot expect to become
an ace pike angler with baits if you do not know how to catch a roach!
We keep hearing the term ‘instant angler’ being used to
describe the guy who suddenly takes up fishing, he goes out and buys all
the latest gear, watches all the videos and buys the books… he might
catch a few fish but invariably gives up and sells his gear.
Pike anglers are not like that!
We have served our apprenticeship if you like, a saying that I
have sums this up quite well, “if you can’t catch the little ‘uns,
then what hope have you got catching the big ‘uns!”.
It goes without saying that if you understand the prey fish, then
you’ll be a much better pike angler for it.
So what has all this got to do with lure fishing?
Well its like this – start off small and learn your craft, work
at it, learn the basic skills and then as your knowledge grows begin to
progress. Simply put,
don’t start your lure fishing career off by buying loads of expensive
jerkbaits and fishing trout waters! So
where should you start? Well
let’s talk about the Fens. You’ll
be fishing small to medium size rivers, drains and gravel pits.
In summer they are very weedy and the average size of pike is
going to be somewhere between six and twelve pounds.
In autumn the weed starts to clear and that’s when lure fishing
becomes really awesome. I
start my bait fishing in November these days as I always do so well with
lures in October I see no point in using any other method.
Oh, and before anyone says it, lure fishing is NOT just a small
fish method. My personal best pike of 31.08 was taken on a lure, as was
my good friend Andy Blazey’s 36.08 – so you have been warned! Rod and reel?
This is really dictated by the type of lures you are going to
use. I would personally
recommend a rod of around 9 feet, with a test curve of about a pound and
a half. There are a lot of
spinning rods around like this; they have a casting rating of around
20 to 60 gms. Try to
buy the ‘best’ rod you can afford, that way you’ll not be selling
it in a few years to upgrade to a higher spec rod.
Shimano, Daiwa and Fox all make rods in this category.
A good quality fixed spool reel is also required.
Look for a model that holds about 150yds of 15lb mono.
The Shimano range of reels has a model to suit every pocket, and
to be honest, even the cheaper versions are very good. Avoid baitrunner
size reels, as they are too heavy and bulky for lure fishing, plus they
will not balance the spinning rod very well.
What about multipliers then?
Well, they do offer a lot of advantages for lure fishing, and are
easy to use – but they are better suited to more specialised
techniques. I use them for
about 75% of my lure fishing these days, but then I have tended to use
larger lures of late – a method where the multiplier is essential. The
line you choose for lure fishing is very important; it’s going to take
a lot of abuse from continuous casting, so it has to be the best you can
afford. If I was going to
use a mono line it would be in the 12 to 15lb category and I would
regularly change the line. Braided
line is the better option. It
lasts much longer than mono, is very thin for it’s given diameter, and
has virtually no stretch which allows you to feel the lure better and of
course set those hooks better! I would recommend a braid with the same diameter as 15lb
mono, you’ll find that will be a breaking strain of around 50lbs in
the braid. Traces should be
of good quality and I would avoid the ‘shop bought’ jobs that have
silly little clips and swivels on them.
Pike do fight very hard in the warmer months and will break
anything that is not of quality design. So, I’d recommend a minimum of
20lb wire (30 is better) and swivels of at least 50lb breaking strain.
Traces should be about 18 inches long.
Use clips designed for lure fishing, not those that are marketed
to hold swim feeders to four-pound line!
Nowadays you’ll not have a problem getting the right components
to make your own traces, the likes of The Friendly Fisherman, Harris
Angling, or Dave Lumb, all sell the bits you need.
They all advertise in Pikelines – give them a call! OK, you have got the rod and
reel, now what? I’ll
leave the lures for now and detail all those little things that will
help. A landing net might
be useful! I prefer to hand
land all my fish and only use the net when I have to, i.e. dodgy banks
or BIG fish! The choice is
yours; if you feel comfortable hand landing then that is the best
method, if however you want to use a net then I’d recommend that you
try to get hold of a specialist lure net.
These are about 32inch diameter round nets with large mesh that
doesn’t tangle with your lures easily.
Failing that, a 36 inch plus triangular net will be fine.
Just be aware that hooks getting caught in the micromesh netting
can be a pain in the arse! For
unhooking you will need a good pair of long nose pliers, forceps are
useless for lure fishing, they cannot apply the levels of grip and
leverage you’ll need to remove the hook and lure from a pikes mouth.
Also get an unhooking glove, this protects you and the pike, and
helps with hand landing too. Other
bits and pieces would be a small rucksack to put everything in, spare
traces, camera, scales and sling, and then you are ready to go! Oh,
now for the lures! I find
that many people tend to generalise when they write about what lures to
use. They seem almost
scared to mention a specific lure in case they give something away. Well no such nonsense here!
I guarantee that the list of lures below catch fish, not anglers!
I’ve not mentioned colour because it really is not that important.
Buy lures in Perch, Fire Tiger, or silver patterns and you have
got it covered. These lures
are my favourite pike lures in the small to medium lure category.
All these lures can be purchased through advertisers in Pikelines,
or even from many local tackle shops. I’ve not touched on big lures or
jerkbaits, etc as that’s a more specialised field and as I’ve
already stated, learn to walk before you can run!
This
is a very basic selection, but if you have just one each of the lures
named above I am confident that you can catch a pike from anywhere on
the Fens! Something that
I’m always asked is what is the ‘best all-round’ lure.
In reality there is not really such a thing.
If I did however have to stick my neck out, well it would have to
be the spinnerbait. They
are easy to use (just cast out and wind in!) and hook fish very well. They are very resistant to snags and weed and best of all,
pike love them! Oh, and
they are not expensive either! I
hope this short article has helped someone out. I know I have not told you how to use the lures, where to
apply them, and so on. But
what I do hope to have done is given a helping hand to those starting
out with lures and wish them all the pleasure and excitement that this
fishing will bring! © Mark
Phillips 27/03/03 |
© Colin Brett 2002/3
Cambridge Region of the Pike Anglers Club of Gt. Britain