Mick Brown
Angling Services
Angling Services
Posted on February 1st 2012
| LIVEBAIT, DEADBAIT OR LURE? |
With so many pike fishing methods to choose from, it can be quite confusing. Before deciding which
method to use though, you have to determine whether it will be with deadbaits, livebaits or lures. Once
you have this clear in your mind you can start looking at the different ways of presenting these baits in
more detail. Rarely do I come across a situation where all three approaches work in equal measure and I will
often go home at the end of a session thinking that it has been a deadbait day, a livebait day or a lure day.
Quite frequently I will catch on more than one tactic but theres usually a theme whereby one approach
dominates. With venues I know well, I can usually predict with good certainty which tactic will work best
but mostly I keep an open mind and this means having different baits with me.
method to use though, you have to determine whether it will be with deadbaits, livebaits or lures. Once
you have this clear in your mind you can start looking at the different ways of presenting these baits in
more detail. Rarely do I come across a situation where all three approaches work in equal measure and I will
often go home at the end of a session thinking that it has been a deadbait day, a livebait day or a lure day.
Quite frequently I will catch on more than one tactic but theres usually a theme whereby one approach
dominates. With venues I know well, I can usually predict with good certainty which tactic will work best
but mostly I keep an open mind and this means having different baits with me.
| To read entries from previous weeks - click on articles link above. |
Archive of old and
deleted web pages
of interest.None of
this is valid today
but might interest
anyone following
my work.
deleted web pages
of interest.None of
this is valid today
but might interest
anyone following
my work.
A recent session with Matt Hayes
and a friend proved to me the
importance of exploring many
options. With three of us fishing,
we had the chance to try many
different things and by the end of
the day a pattern emerged that
would see us with a good start for
another session we had planned
on the following day.
The water was very coloured and
quite cold so I anticipated that
livebaits would be essential. I
expected deadbaiting to be quite
good too so I brought a variety of
sea and coarse deadbaits. I'd
skimped a bit on my lures although
I thought I had the right ones.
and a friend proved to me the
importance of exploring many
options. With three of us fishing,
we had the chance to try many
different things and by the end of
the day a pattern emerged that
would see us with a good start for
another session we had planned
on the following day.
The water was very coloured and
quite cold so I anticipated that
livebaits would be essential. I
expected deadbaiting to be quite
good too so I brought a variety of
sea and coarse deadbaits. I'd
skimped a bit on my lures although
I thought I had the right ones.
Mick's new book
Thrashing the water with all the methods mentioned, it was soon obvious that the lures were keeping up
with the deadbaits but it was coarse baits that were catching the fish and I had just one run on a sea bait.
The livebait rod which was out all day with a good quality bait never produced a single run to the
amazement of us all. This is normally a very good livebait water even when a little coloured. The lures did
well, but not all of them by any means. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits seemed a waste of time and it was the
soft plastics that caught the fish. Even then it was not clear cut because the fish were very fussy about
the size of the lure; it had to be quite a small one, about three inches long and fished with precision on
light tackle as Matt discovered with his ultra-light set up. I hadn't put such lures in my bag that day and
without Matt having them, we might never have known what the fish wanted that day.
with the deadbaits but it was coarse baits that were catching the fish and I had just one run on a sea bait.
The livebait rod which was out all day with a good quality bait never produced a single run to the
amazement of us all. This is normally a very good livebait water even when a little coloured. The lures did
well, but not all of them by any means. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits seemed a waste of time and it was the
soft plastics that caught the fish. Even then it was not clear cut because the fish were very fussy about
the size of the lure; it had to be quite a small one, about three inches long and fished with precision on
light tackle as Matt discovered with his ultra-light set up. I hadn't put such lures in my bag that day and
without Matt having them, we might never have known what the fish wanted that day.
On this occasion they wanted
a big lure with a curly tail.
a big lure with a curly tail.
Which one will work today?
This little story is just an example of how success
when fishing for pike can depend upon making
wise decisions. Every time you go piking, I would
suggest that you at least think about this. It's not
practical to take tackle and bait to cover every
eventuality but it's a good idea to be able to cover
basic options. A variety of different deadbaits is
quite easy to put together as is a range of carefully
chosen lures. Livebaits will often be a problem but
it's worth trying to catch a few if you can. We
caught ours on the day by taking basic 'snatching'
gear, half a pint of maggots and a whip. It wasn't
easy and took an hour to catch one while we
watched our deadbait floats. On this day it made
no difference but at other times livebaits have
saved the day. When you go home after a
disappointing session and have limited your choice
and options, I hope these words will carry more
meaning. Good luck!
when fishing for pike can depend upon making
wise decisions. Every time you go piking, I would
suggest that you at least think about this. It's not
practical to take tackle and bait to cover every
eventuality but it's a good idea to be able to cover
basic options. A variety of different deadbaits is
quite easy to put together as is a range of carefully
chosen lures. Livebaits will often be a problem but
it's worth trying to catch a few if you can. We
caught ours on the day by taking basic 'snatching'
gear, half a pint of maggots and a whip. It wasn't
easy and took an hour to catch one while we
watched our deadbait floats. On this day it made
no difference but at other times livebaits have
saved the day. When you go home after a
disappointing session and have limited your choice
and options, I hope these words will carry more
meaning. Good luck!
Livebait led to the downfall of this 22 pounder.