Pike can be caught in a variety of ways. Bertus Rozemeijer is one of the best pike hunters in his country. For good reason. This pike handyman doesn't have a special prescription, it is simply versatile and inventive.
The most beautiful thing about pike fishing is this, that there is such a great variety of techniques, methods and baits, which we can apply. So maybe we'll try the fly fishing? Necessarily, because it is a proven and good method many times over. Maybe with an artificial bait? The choice is huge!
Or maybe natural bait? Just choose: alive or dead. Method? We choose either passive and relaxing, be dynamic, demanding hard work. We fight the wind then, our teeth chatter from the cold, but the culmination is being satisfied with the giant caught. Let me introduce some proven methods.
On the "fly"
In the Netherlands, fly fishing for pike is quite popular. Personally, in ten years I have not fished otherwise, as soon as this method. Only the question remains, is it still possible to talk about fly fishing?? I have a different opinion, for a ball of hair and feathers fastened on a hook, which even many sea anglers would consider too big, it is not like a fly. Rather, it is nothing like a form, which stimulates the predator's instinct. It would simply be an artificial bait, which is served on a fly rod. We use heavy fishing rods and a string with numbering 7-8. With such a rod I have already caught specimens weighing more than 10 kg and not only in shallow ones, but also in deep waters. Do fly fishing give good results?? Certainly, mainly there, where due to the high density of vegetation, any other bait would have been impossible to catch. Also in places, which guarantee the loss of the bait (hook), choosing a fly is the right decision. The length of the string was once adjusted, allows for precise placement of the fly in the most inaccessible places. Waiting to catch the first weight 10 kg of pike lasted for me almost two years. However, the number 2, weighing more than 10 Kg, took half an hour later!
For artificial bait
It's a real pity, that so few anglers fish in large waters with artificial bait. In such places, we focus mainly on the half of large individuals and therefore we also use the appropriate artificial bait, be a dead fish. The best months are July and October. A warm layer of water forms in July, which is not deep yet, and in October it goes up again. For this reason, all active pikes look for places in the highest parts of the water. Let's try the floating "Rapala Magnum" 14 i 18. You have other lures? No problem, they are good, until they go deeper than 4 m and not shallower than 2 m. The speed of pulling the bait is regulated by the boat engine, it should work without adding gas. In Poland, it is forbidden to tow the bait behind the boat! We should keep our speed while paddling 2 km/h. The artificial bait should be approx. 30 m behind the boat.
In shallow water
You take care, that big pikes are not caught in shallow water? Allow me to answer from my own experience and that of my friends, that most of my big pikes were caught in shallow waters. They are not, admittedly, the greatest arts, but in such waters I still fish, because I enjoy it. It doesn't mean that at all, I'm not happy, if I catch a real specimen of this fish. But let's get back to the topic – large pikes in shallow water. Well, a lot has already been written, that pike should be looked for near the shore. It is correct! If we want to catch small pikes. However, their "great-grandparents" gather in slightly further parts of the waters. You should imagine, that a large pike needs a sufficiently large hunting ground. In the middle of the lake, the pike has the ability to observe everything that is happening around it and thus has a better chance of easy prey. By this I would like to draw your attention to it, that we must feel the role of a pike and we should always look for strategically advantageous places. An example is the narrowing of a water reservoir. If there is also aquatic vegetation in this place, we penetrate this section very precisely. After catching a large pike in such a place, let's not move away immediately, because there are often more pike of this size here. What fascinates us when fishing with this method? – lightweight equipment that gives us a lot of feel and a space-saving box with a few wobblers and spinners.
