October signals the start of the pike fishing season, but to catch big fish with rows of teeth requires specialised tackle. Here’s the BobCo guide to some essential pike gear…
Wire trace and trebles
A length of strong wire at the business end prevents bite offs and hooks left in fish. If you’re going to be fishing deadbaits then you’ll want a set off trebles too. You can make your own traces but if you’re just starting out we recommend using secure pre-made leaders/traces.
Floats
A simple way of catching pike is with a basic float set up, such as a bottom only version similar to a waggler. You can control the depth with a stop knot rather than shot. Look to fish the bait up to 2ft overdepth but no further or pike can be deeply hooked.
Rod choice
Big powerful fish such as pike require a rod capable of landing them and casting large baits. A carp type rod of around 2.5lb test curve is ideal for short to medium distance with smaller deadbaits. For bigger baits and long distances, a more specialised 3lb test curve rod is much more suitable. Lure rods are typically much shorter at 6-10ft in length. The power of a lure rod is stated by its casting weight – for example the lighter lure rods might give casting weights of say 2-8g.
Forceps
An extremely important essential for the pike angler, forceps enable you to safely remove hooks without getting cut by teeth or trebles. Go for a pair of long-nosed forceps of around 20cm in length at least for safety.
Wire cutters
These will come in extremely useful should your treble hooks become caught in a landing net and you need to cut the wire to avoid damage to the fish.
Landing net
Although experienced pike anglers can land fish carefully by hand on some venues, for example when low to the water on a boat, you will more than likely need a good landing net. Choose a large, triangular shaped specimen type net of at least 36ins in diameter.
Mainline
Both braid and monofilament are suitable for pike. Many anglers favour a braid of about 30lb (15kg) breaking strain because of its lack of stretch for bite detection when legering or lure fishing. Use a mono of at least 12lb or 15lb if you choose this.
