MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Who else loves fishing for them as much as me?
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Show me your fish, tell your stories.....
used to go with my uncle in the early 70's. they scared me shitless then, and still do now.
if I ever swim in a lake I imagine a big old jack taking my leg off.... 😆
I've only ever caught Jack pike by accident, on 2 occasions when reeling in smaller fish such as roach etc. Would try to fish for them as they're nice fish and pretty abundant in canals, but have no idea how to handle the beasts confidently and without being bitten!
They do get the heart rate going! Especially the bigguns, they catch you by surprised when they slam into the lure and try to rip the rod out of your hands!
Magic....
Never caught one. Never tried. Stalking carp (not this sitting around for days in a tent rubbish) is more my thing...
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but have no idea how to handle the beasts confidently and without being bitten!
The trick is to not be afraid of them- they are actually delicate fish.
[url= http://www.anglersmail.co.uk/uncategorized/how-to-unhook-pike-correctly/ ]How to unhook Pike Correctly[/url]
If in doubt, go with someone more experienced- once you get the hang of it you'll love it!
I did 😀
one of my all time best catches.. not looking too confident in my ability to stop him biting me though 😀
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Stalking carp
I do love a bit of that aswell 😉
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a few years back me and a mate caught a 23lb Pike i was watching his rod while he went for a pee when it went fastest I've ever moved.. I've got a picture somewhere and a head to prove it unfortunately the greedy bastid swallowed the plug
had 100% success rate with these[img] 
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Lovely pics. A nice 'pin is on my list of stuff to buy for close quarters stuff! Going to get back into it next year - only fishing I've done in the last 6 or 7 years is for a week or two a year on holiday.
Nice fish Yunki - was that on a deadbait?
Iv'e not been specifically targetting Pike for too long, but iv'e only ever caught them on lures and spinners. Never a deadbait believe it or not!
Anyone have any deadbaiting tips? It's said to work better in the winter months....
🙄Stalking carp
Going to get back into it next year
Make sure you give the rivers a go- you'll be surprised what you can find in there these days. 30LB Carp are commonplace in many rivers and beat a mudpig any day!!
Plus you might catch a Chub or Barbel (or Pike!) and that will put a smile on your face- guaranteed 😉
Me and a mate were fishing at Castle Loch at Lochmaben a lot of years back. Both of us had three rods out each. All 6 of them went at the same time. Somehow we managed to land and safely release all 6 pike. Biggest ever was around 26lb.
i caught a fish this evening in the Isar! a little bullhead.. i caught it with my hands!
i always liked fishing for tench.
now that i'm in Germany getting hold of a license isn't so easy. no longer is it a case of popping into the Post Office once a year and handing over 25 quid, but rather going to night school once a week for three months and spending over 400€ on learning materials and then forking out another 150€ for the exam. if you don't pass the exam then you have to wait another year and sit the night school again before you can try your luck at the exam.
a friend paid over 700€ for her license... ok, it stays with you, but it's a lot of effort and money.
shame as there are some big barbel here in Munich and some massive carp, grass carp and pike in some of the lakes... one lake near here has a massive Koi/golden carp swimming around in it.
I've not done any coarse fishing for well over a decade.. in fact in that time, I've only really dangled a worm off the docks occasionally as something to pass the time while drinking cider..
Until today when I went stalking carp with my little bro'..
I had four nice old fashioned looking carp, and when I left him around 9.30pm he was still catching..
a good day
yup.. that pike was 22.5lbs caught on a bitterly cold day on a ledgered herring.. add some pungent fish oil to the bait.
I usually just try to find a bit of a trough or indentation of some description on the bed of the lake or river.. Finding a 'pikey looking spot' in the first place is the key though
in Germany getting hold of a license isn't so easy
Blimey 😯
Glad i live in the UK then!
@ rossi... centrepin! brill!
used to love using my old man's 'pin. brilliant piece of kit. was about 50 years old, but ran like new. can't remember the name.
remember catching a 22lb carp on my old Avon rod with 5lb line using floating crust. took an age to get the fish in.
Just got back into coarse fishing about 5 years ago. This year I thought I'd concentrate on predator fishing and try lures. Caught some jacks and a schoolie zander, had a couple of large perch follow me in, and on our very first outing of this season one monster pike that slipped the hook at the net, a good double, I'm guessing 20+.
Specimen sized PBs
Bream 6lb 6oz
Tench 7lb 9oz
Chub 6lb 8oz
Cant get on with Lure fishing although I have dabbled, deadbaits like smelt or half a mackerel popped up is my fave in deepest winter.
Never caught anything massive Pike wise (over 20lb) but even jacks are good fun,unhooking is easy once you have confidence and dont mind sliding your fingers into the V on the jaw as the mouth pops open and gives you control.
Give me Barbel or Carp any day
Somehow we managed to land and safely release all 6 pike. Biggest ever was around 26lb.
You boys should up your game a bit. I never come home with fewer than a dozen, and none of them is ever less than 20kg.
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VV Putin
Kremlin (The), Moscow, Russia
Well Vlad, you should learn how to lift a pike. Slipping your fingers under the gill covers is ok for un hooking but not to support its whole weight. 😉
my only pike encounters have been jack pike taking the fly when trout fishing, which haven't stayed on the hook, and once when I was taking in a decent sized perch when fishing off a canal boat. Just as I was about to bring it into the net, a pike of about 20lb exploded out from under the boat and swallowed the perch. With 4lb line I could just sit and wait until the inevitable line break, quite exciting when it happened though!
A pike bit my dog.
Man had landed one on the bank so my dog thought it worth a sniff. I don't think she was expecting a nip on the nose!
Also when I was learning to dive there was a sunken rowing boat with a huge pike living in it.
A nice 'pin is on my list of stuff to buy for close quarters stuff!
If you're going to use your centrepin for any trotting, the Speedias are a real centrepin (pin point plain bearing), held horizontally (i.e. with pin vertical) and with line passed through the rod's butt ring only, a mere No.6 shot (0.1g weight) on the end of the line is enough to keep the spool slowly revolving!
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in Germany getting hold of a license isn't so easy
Blimey
Glad i live in the UK then!
Yup. In general, if something needs a license in Germany, it means lessons and an exam, and then you have to demonstrate use of that licence to be able to renew it.
Was practice casting, empty hook and some weight once when I was about 13. Cast, reel in, hook snags some weed and reels in, pike jumped out of the water like a shark chasing it, literally right at the shore.
Last fishing i did was in French Guiana. Get a stick (lots of them in the jungle), tie 2m of line and a hook to it, bit of baguette and dangle in the river. Within a few seconds there'll be fish nibbling. And jolly tasty fish they were too.
Any way.... mmmmm, dinner!
I've decided to go fishing on Saturday...I've just joined a fishing society and I'm going stalking on the River Wey.
It's the first time I've been fishing this year, and the first time I've been river fishing in what must be 15 years.
It's possible I won't catch a thing.
I also want a centrepin...
mainly fish for speciman bream now pb is 12lb 12oz oz had 3 12s this season and a few 11s
best session was 19 bream and 1 tench for 200lb
pb tench 9lb 2
barbel 11lb 2
carp 28lb
chub 5lb
Fluked a 20lb 4oz carp out of the Thames a good few years ago , and that is probably my best angling achievement.
Used to fish alot but the long stays and amount of weed that smoked wasnt really my thing
I couldn't do coarse fishing as (personally) I can't see the point of paying to catch something can't eat. (I just said that to reel the pedants in, & that you can eat Pike as long as you soak it in fresh water to get the earthy taste out, etc etc etc)
I do plenty of sea fishing though, both shore & boat. Got these a couple of trips ago...
[url= http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4129/4972359242_3606ebe382_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/4972359242/ ]Cod/ling[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
Plus lots of Mackarel & my 1st ever Haddock!
Not a fisher but went out with a guy when I worked in Germany and caught a huge vicious pike. I thought it tasted vile, though.
Want a cheap pin before splashing on a goid un?
Look up Marco cortesi from carp- kinetics or used tackle or TF Gear X pin are quite cheap
I have the first as well as other more exotic pins and its fairly good for 30 quid
I've been a 'boat boy' on loch lomond for a number of years and every single time i'm out we catch a pike.
Usually in the 4 to 8lb range and everytime it's on my stick, i shite myself taking the toothy bastards off the rapala.
centrepin! brill!
The best way to fish- your thumb is the clutch, so even with light line you can control big fish (with practice). Also its great fun once you learn how to cast. It does require practice though.
Look up Marco cortesi from carp- kinetics or used tackle or TF Gear X pin are quite cheap
I have the first as well as other more exotic pins and its fairly good for 30 quid
+1 Thats the one i use- awesome for £30! Exactly the same as an Okuma for twice the price 😉
VV Putin
Kremlin (The), Moscow, Russia
Terrible fish handling- although i suspect he's going to eat that one! Never pick up a fish through it's gills- it will literally suffocate- the v shape slit under its chin is the one to use!
Heres a Personal Best Perch from my local river from last week. I caught it on Prawns and it was 1LB 8OZ.
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Well pleased- it's the first time i've used prawns specifically for Perch 😀
(I just said that to reel the pedants in, & that you can eat Pike as long as you soak it in fresh water to get the earthy taste out, etc etc etc)
You say that, many waters have now banned removing fish permanently since the influx of Eastern Europeans who traditionally only fish that way.
many waters have now banned removing fish
Good job too!
Right...I'm still going river fishing tomorrow. I was worried this morning that it would start raining all weekend. But the pictures rossi is sharing, particularly that perch, have made me want to go even more!
I'm going to trot red maggots I think...I'm not going for specimens, I just want to catch something (even if it's a stickleback!).
I've got myself a cheap TF Gear centrepin and I'm going to try that...I suspect I'll end up swearing at a big tangled mess of line so I'll bring a spare reel just in case. If I like it I'll get a better quality one in the future.
Quick question for rossi46....how much line should I put on the centrepin?
Just started fishing on this little day ticket 1/2 mile from my house. Mix of everything in here including some big perch so I'll give the prawns a try.
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Thats a beautiful looking little pond!
Not much piking, but we like bit of fishing;
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Mainly on the fly these days, and not so much since we've lived in Holland, but there is a carp puddle type lake 200m up the road from us and the little 'un likes to go for 1/2 an hour every now and again
Quick question for rossi46....how much line should I put on the centrepin?
100 yards of 5lb line is perfect, you dont want to overfill the spool as it wont trot as smoothly 😉
Before i spool up new line i like to dunk it in some warm (not hot!) water for a good 10 minutes beforehand. This softens the line a bit and it sits nicer on the spool.
Also i like to run the line between my fingers just before the reel- it means i can spread the line on the whole of the spool (a centrepin has a wide spool compared to a 'normal' reel) instead of it all gathering up on one side.
Hope this helps!
Lovely pictures everyone! Some nice looking fishing spots too, keep them coming 😀
I've been down the river among the Roach this week:
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They have been loving the breadflake- no Chub as of yet though!
Back on the Pike next week- i have an evening of lure chucking lined up 😉
Going to the Broads next week. Can't wait!
I caught a 23lb pike deadbaiting on the Waveney a few years back. It looked like a crocodile when it came in to the net!
have never caught a pike (don't fish anymore),but i remember watching a small pike looking up at me/my grandfather for about 5 minutes when we were walking along canal (then it swam off).really cool fish 🙂
Fish murderers, don't you just love them?
My favorite Pikey quote (not the Burberry wearing chav type 😆 ) is from Catching the Impossible.
Bernard Cribbins: "They frighten me- that's good enough for me" before his float disappears and everyone says "You're gonna run out of line".
He replied "I'm not going to run out of line- what's the matter with you people"....always makes me chuckle 😆
@DaveyBoyWonder you must have seen this if you are into stalking carp, start at 6m30s [url=
Has anyone fished Loch Ken for Pike before?
I'm off to Scotland for a weeks riding and am taking my lure rod for a chuck in the evenings- i'll be based near Loch Ken.
I've never fished in Scotland before and i'm well aware of the legend of the Loch Ken Pike!
I'll be fishing from the shore with lures and spinners- any good spots to try?