Small baits, Dual focus – Canal Pike
It’s that time of year when the pike tackle is being dusted off and some new rigs tried out, first things first however my reels would need to be re-loaded with new 20lb Gardner hydrotuff line.
I love the whole predator scene, not that I am claiming to be the greatest predator angler in the world with just a modest PB of 26.11lb.
Over the last few years I have always followed the crowd and used the standard trebles and wire traces when using dead and live baits, the live baits usually being anything from 4oz upwards.
More recently though I have questioned what effect the trebles actually have on the presentation of the bait, regardless if it is dead or alive. So this year it was all change as I tied some single hook rigs using 28lb wire trace to a size 4 Owner hook.
I used the Owner hooks as they are razor sharp and therefore even in a pikes hard bony mouth a good hook hold should still be possible.
There is also an added bonus of using a single hook and a small bait on the venues that I frequent, as I know there are good numbers of huge perch in many of them, so chances are I will hook into one or two of those if I get my presentation right and I certainly wouldn’t be complaining if I did.
Single hook rig parts
The day usually starts with a 6am arrival at a northern canal which is one that as a specialist angler I have to share with the match angling fraternity. This isn’t a bad thing as it allows me to keep track of everything that is happening. The match results are an excellent place to see where the shoals of fish are and they have an added bonus that they even tell you the hot pegs. Recently it had been throwing up good weights of silver fish, so hopefully where the prey fish are the pike and other predators will follow.
Talking about predators, one of the hot topics at the moment is the cormorant population explosion and as light broke it was clear to see the extent of the issue, the birds left their roost and flew off to all corners of county raping the waters as they do so. One even tried its luck just in front of the car park, but soon ups and leaves as I walked closer. It is hard to believe that these birds eat up to 2lb of fish per day and in that tree alone there was around 15 to 20 fish eating machines, I will let you do the maths.
2lb per bird, we need action and now.
I walked along the banks and chose a peg that just oozed predator fish, the water was 4ft in the margins with a shelf slopping off to around 7ft a couple of rod lengths out, that is one of the beauties of canals, they may appear featureless above the water but underneath there are features galore, some man made and some created by the boat traffic. There was also the added bonus of a reed bed to one side and an overhanging tree to the other.
I had decided in advance that I was going to use live baits, so after checking the rules on the water to ensure it is allowed. I fished with the pole using a size 22 hook and 1.8lb hook length, and in a little over an hour I had a nice selection of around a dozen small roach and Rudd varying around 2oz. Due to the size of the fish my rig was altered and the larger sunken float swapped with a small loafer float.
The rig itself was so simple with 20lb Gardner mainline straight through to the lead weight which can be altered to suit the size of the live bait, due to the small baits I used a mere ½oz. The loafer float was attached using float rubbers so the depth could be easily adjusted, the hook trace was added by threading a swivel onto the main line, above and below the swivel was a float stop and a small bead. This too can be easily adjusted so the live bait can be set to be at whatever depth you chose. A single size 4 hook was crimped onto 24inch of E-sox super 7 – 28lb wire trace to make the finished item.
After lip hooking the first live bait and gently casting to just beyond the marginal shelf, I sat the rod on the bite alarm and attached a small lightweight bobbin set half way between the rod blank and the ground, that way if I did get a take and it swims away the bobbin would rise, if on the other hand it swam towards me the bobbin would fall, both of these setting off my alarm. The second rod was cast to my left just past the reed bed where I caught the live baits and the third rod cast to my right just a few feet past the overhanging willow tree.
Now that the rods were all out in position I catapulted a handful of maggots over each of the swims hoping to attract even more silver fish into the general area thus attracting any predators as well, this would be repeated every quarter of an hour or so.
Whilst waiting for a bite it is always worthwhile keeping your eyes out on the surrounding water, looking for any signs of fish activity. It could be as simple a thing as a small fish breaking the surface or an explosion of tiny fry, all these things could signify a predator attack and any of these signs should be acted on where possible.
It was one of these signs that led me to my first bite, about 25 yards away I noticed a couple of small fish leaping out the water possibly in an attempt to evade the jaws of a feeding pike or perch. Quickly I reeled in one of my rods and moved it down the bank casting into the area where the earlier attack happened, immediately there was a beep from the alarm, I thought at first it was just the bobbin settling or the live bait moving around but then the bobbin rose steadily and kept rising, line started to peel away from my reel as the fish headed off towards the far bank.
Winding down and lifting the rod, I struck into the bite and felt immediately that this was a decent sized fish, the rods bent through and the fish stayed deep holding the bottom, it took a little while to get the fish turned around but eventually I got the better of her and the net was readied. One last bid for freedom and she leapt from the water shaking her head trying to dislodge the single hook that was precariously just in its top lip.
The net eventually slid under her and I placed her carefully onto my unhooking mat, the single hook was out in seconds, that really was the beauty of a single hook – so easy to unhook and I am sure so much better for the fishes welfare. A quick photo and weigh of her revealed a fine 16lb11oz, not a bad start to the day.
great start to the day, fine mid double canal pike.
One thing I did notice was that the fish had several leeches attached to her, this is a sign that she has been sat on the bottom of the water. After noticing this I adjusted the depth so that the live baits were presented nearer to the bottom.
Within half an hour my bobbin fired into life again rising much quicker than last time, lifting into the bite I felt it a totally different fight and felt very perch like, very jerky and shaking. With the heavy tackle I was using the fish was reeled in without issue, a fine looking perch graced my net, with the small live bait just hanging from its lip. Before unhooking I took a quick photo with the hook still in place, fishing photos are much more than just a guy holding a fish, I always try to find a different angle a different approach to get that ideal unique photo.
To weigh the fish I used a carrier bag. I generally use these for smaller species as it’s a really simple method the bag itself is light and smooth so will not damage the fish in any way. Placing her on the scales the dial moved around to 2lb8oz, this just showed the predator potential of this type of match venue, and is the beauty of using small live baits of around 2oz in size.
Over the next few hours I got no more bites so decided to move the rods up the bank spacing them out in a fan to get maximum legal coverage, due to the rods being spaced over a distance I turned on the alarm receiver. I do like using the receiver when fishing for predators, this way it guaranties that I am notified of a bite as soon as it happens so I can act on it straight away, I always strike straight away to prevent deep hooking, and would much rather lose a fish than leave the bite to develop and risk harming the fish.
The move paid off and within 10 minutes I got a bite, the receiver vibrated in my pocket as the bobbin fell to the floor, I reeled in the slack line before striking it again. It felt a good fish. The fish powered down the bank but using 3.5lb fox rods they were strong enough to turn the fish and I started to win the battle. Over the next 5 minutes she kicked a few more times until I slipped my landing net under the fish. Unhooking was simple again and she was placed on the scales, the dials span around to reveal 18lb10. It was a step closer to that magical 20lb mark and who knows come March time there’s no reason she couldn’t be up there.
fine near 20lb canal pike, just shows the potential.
As evening drew in I was joined by my son James, he may only be 9 but has a serious passion for fishing, teaching children the art of angling is one of the most important things we can do for our sport as they are the future.
He picked to watch one of my rods hoping to beat his PB of 11lb, he immediately told me it wasn`t in the correct position so reeled it in and checked the bait before recasting it just alongside the overhanging willow.
Just as we were contemplating packing up James’s bite alarm burst into life but then suddenly stopped again, I told him to lift the rod and take up the slack line in his hand as though he was touch ledgering, doing this he could feel the fish is still on and hit into the fish. She wasn’t a happy bunny at all, and immediately woke up and set off heading towards the tree and the obvious snags that live under there. We allowed the fish some headway but tightened the clutch on the reel; this is the most important part of the reel and if used correctly will help you to win every battle.
Doing this we successfully changed the direction the pike was headed and now it was us that were in control, danger averted we slackened the clutch again and let the fish fight and tire herself out. James finally got the fish to the net and I did him the honor of being net boy and scooped her up at the first attempt, his face was an absolute delight, mouth wide open, eyes staring at a fish that has destroyed his old PB. After weighing her we found she was just over 16lb, 16lb02 to be exact. We took the glory shots ensuring he was knelt down and only holding the fish a few inches off the ground and over the unhooking net just in case he dropped her. After the photos we held her in the shallow water allowing her to rest, before she kicked away and headed into the reeds to sulk and recover.
With that and the fact that we were sat in total darkness we decided to call it a day, and headed off home. Ok I had not had my 20lb`r but the look on James’s face made it all worthwhile.
Thats my boy, a fine pb canal pike for James.
For anyone wanting extra help or advice the pike anglers club has their own website www.pacgb.co.uk, here you can find various tips from handling methods to rigs. The membership will also help the conservation of this great fish.
Note… if you are intending to live-bait it is worth checking with the venue beforehand and always only use fish from that venue. Never move fish between venues or you could be spreading disease and if caught you could be prosecuted.
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