The pike

For as long as I can remember, the pike has held a special place of affection;  looking back on my earliest fishing adventures it both commanded fear and respect in equal measure.  My brother and I grew up with a fishing utopia in the form of an old Mill Pool where a constant ribbon of flow would cascade though a mill race carving a surge of oxygenated water into the deepest, darkest most mysterious part of this captivating pool. This special place was once an old Paper Mill which at some point in its life transformed the rivers life force into the turning of gears, cogs and milling stones. Its sole purpose now served to harness a deep and powerful passion in two young fisher boys. From the high brick walls, my brother and I could visibly make out our quarry in the form of dark backed roach holding station either side of the oxygen rich water; where the brick walls of the mill met the water, small perch could be seen dancing in the shadows. The sunken lily pads would draw our attention deeper because we knew if we were really lucky, we might catch sight of monsters!

As fate would have it, this was not the place where I first made contact with a monstrous pike. My first experience of piking took place further downstream. This was a part of the river where a road bridge and footpath crossed, which I suspect had a similar effect on other fisher boys as the Mill did on our existence. On reflection I used to avoid actually fishing there as occasionally older boys would ‘borrow’ your rod and line to sample their own piscatorial pleasure at your expense or snatched your prize captures to be used as live baits!

It was heavily fished in summer and easily accessible being that it was free fishing.  It was also a place where anglers would congregate and tell tales recounting lost fish and impart wisdom to one another. I would occasionally visit as I was hungry for knowledge and would happily sit near anyone angling, perhaps in hope of catching a glimpse of something magical as much as picking up tips. But it was here where I first discovered that anglers actually sought to capture and come face to face with the pike! The bait of choice was a sardine or sprat crucified beneath a giant gazette style float on snap tackle (probably because ‘liveley’s’ were hard to come by). “But what happens if the float goes under?”........ “You have to leave it for at least ‘alf an hour – don’t strike or it will drop it”......

I refer back to another prime example of information freely given; ‘Don’t strike right away boy – you’ll miss the fish! Wait for the second run’.  As my only other source of reference was Mr Crabtree I now thank the fish God’s I had not knocked up an impromptu gaff as a metal work project at school!  On reflection, I am glad I never got into predator fishing in the blossom of my youth as it would now weigh heavily on my conscience.

The problem was that in those day, the pike was much maligned and the quality of information very poor. Some of the old match boy’s literally despised pike and sadly this rubbed off on the general angling community. In fact, it was not uncommon for poor old Esox to be dispatched and thrown in a hedge. You could almost imagine you were doing the river a favour; after all, it was a cold blooded killer of precious roach and ruined your chances in a match if it turned up unannounced in a carefully fed swim.

First contact.

I can recall most of the details of my first pike capture in vivid detail and on sharing this tale I freely admit carrying a little shame regarding the nature of its capture in light of current fish-care advice and better understanding. Earlier that week, I had purchased a gazette float, pack of treble hooks and a pack of frozen sprats. I descended onto the river at first light on what would have been a Saturday morning and cast out a sprat dead bait into the known holding spot where giant pike were known to lurk – the fresh water wolfs lair if you like!

I seem to remember that it was a pretty instant affair.... Gripped with anticipation I noticed concentric circles – the first signs of interest emanating from the yellow bobbing sentinel – A BITE! The float briefly towed before plunging beneath the surface; my heart rate accelerated in an instance my face flushed as adrenaline coursed through my veins – this was it! It was actually going to happen!!

I could never grow tired of watching a pike bung float. In my mind I still consider the scene in Jaws where harpooned and tethered, the creature draws the barrels beneath the surface – Oh, and the ensuing carnage that followed! But on this day I was Brody without the guidance of that old seadog Quint; however, unlike Peter Benchley’s Jaws, I was thankfully not on a boat  – but it had dawned on me that in time I would be coming face to face with my very own monster and hadn’t considered what would happen next.

I thought quickly – the time, what time is it! Leave it half an hour....at least – let it run!!!! This allowed time to compose myself and eagerly await the arrival of the company of other young anglers from the village – I could quite possible be admired and revered for apprehending such a fearful creature........ But none came.  So here I was, on my own preparing to strike which I must have duly done.

I don’t remember the fight, but I do recall the pike played out in the margins..... It was monstrous and quite possible the biggest fish I had ever laid eyes on. We were both helpless - me? Because I had no net or experience of handling pike; this poor creature deeply hooked now tethered tightly against the bank. We stared at each other and I am sure I would have congratulated myself on such a fine capture. But with that, it started to thrash and flail upon which the badly scored line parted and this monster of the deep disappeared into the ether. There it was, my first pike!

It was sometime before I fished for them again. It just seemed unwise – I was terrified!

Bite indication.

Chub have a reputation for being finicky feeders; capable of testing and rejecting bait with nothing more than a quick deflection on a quiver tip. These days I do not experience anything like the number of missed bites I experienced in the early days and most sessions a high proportion of detectible bites are translated onto fish on the bank. On reflection, I think this was probably due to using too much lead, either in the form of Arsley bombs on a running ledger, or link ledger with too many swan shot.

I think this problem is more pronounced on slow moving rivers as chub have too much time to inspect, test and examine baits. If you observe fish feeding in clear water, it is quite common for a fish to approach a food item a number of times prior to committing itself! The key is to keep resistance to an absolute minimum so when it is picked up, it at least behaves as naturally as possible.

There are a number approaches to detecting bites; quiver tip, bobbin, touch ledgering or watching the line for any discernible movement. I could add another that has accounted for some exceptionally cagey fish, and that is to fish with an open bail arm and watch for the line coiling from the spool. When you get a ‘take’ it is much like a pike run and is treated in much the same way. Close the bail arm; tighten into the fish and strike! Each has its merits.

I should perhaps explain the reason for fishing an open bail arm. There are times when a chub will intercept a bait and carry it some distance before ‘committing’ itself. I was fishing my usual approach of quiver tipping and was getting unhittable bites. Bites kept on coming, in fact the third time it took the bait on the drop – and once again it was missed on the strike. As I fully expected a bite on the fourth cast – this time I left the spool open and watched for the fish taking line. It was fascinating to see the line skating towards an old weed bed. This fish had been holding station in the weeds and was coming out to intercept the bait and then returning to its sanctuary where it felt safe. This fish was hooked after giving it more time. I used to think chub avoided thick line, but in many cases this is irrelevant – far more important is resistance. I have chub pick up baits confidently using 12lb line!

Keeping it simple.

Tackling up for Chub.

I am not one for fancy hook link material, beads, swivels etc... I guess, over a period of time, I have adapted a method that requires matching the size of hook to the bait and am even happy pinching shot directly on the line. I have my own thoughts on link ledgers – for the majority of my fishing I rarely, if ever bother with them.

Balanced leads.

It never cease to amaze me how little lead is actually needed to effectively fish a ledgered bait. If at all possible I have a preference for free lining a bait using a quiver tip. After casting and allowing time for the bait to settle, draw the bait back a little to ensure it has landed on a clear part of the river bed and introduce a little slack. What this does is effectively slow the bite down. Holding the rod in hand, the first sign of a bite is a sudden jolt transmitted as a sensation down the rod, followed by the tip pulling round. The advantage of free lining is that provided you ‘feather’ the bait down on the cast – it sounds exactly the same as the free offering that you have anticipated the chub have been feeding on. Where there is little flow to carry a scent, I suspect that chub will easily detect the sound of potential food entering the river and investigate closer. It has to be an edge if your bait sounds exactly the same as the free feed!

Upstream ledgering. 

Chub caught from behind a raft structure using upstream ledger.

If I have to use any amount of lead to hold bottom, there is much to be gained from upstream ledgering. The aim of upstream ledgering is to balance the amount of lead used so that having cast upstream and allowing the bait to settle; after carefully tightening up to the ledger weights, the quiver tip should show a deflection of 1 or 2 inches. Anymore and the whole lot is washed downstream in the flow. This does take a little practice and trial and error. With practice it is possible to gauge the amount of lead using a combination of swan shot and even BB shot on the link. When the chub picks up or tests the bait, it will drift down stream relaxing the tension on the tip showing the bite. Typically I normally experience an upstream ‘tug’ just before the tip collapses leaving me in no mistake a fish has picked up the bait. 

The best part about upstream ledgering is that you can approach a swim in a completely different angle to the majority of anglers. Fish that get used to being caught in front of a ‘snag’ quickly learn to avoid feeding in such areas – or certainly give problems with bite detection. An upstream cast often wrong foots that crafty old Chevin that feels safer eating behind the feature.

Downstream ledgering. 

The most sensitive method of downstream ledgering is to cast across and slightly downstream and let a bow form in the line. Once again the lead has to be balanced just right so that when a fish picks up the bait, the pressure from the flow on the line releases and reduces the pressure on the terminal tackle. Bites could be as indefinable as simple plucks on the line; this is where touch ledgering becomes critical in timing the strike.

Touch ledgering. 

Touch ledgering seems to have an air of mystery surrounding it... it is in fact the simplest form of bite detection, but it does improve with experience. I particularly enjoy touch ledgering as it helps to communicate directly with what’s taking place on the river bed. I do however prefer to touch ledger in conjunction with a soft quiver tip. I think this actually improves chances of connecting with a Chub as it slightly ‘dampens’ the initial ‘tug’. My thoughts on this are; if you can feel the Chub, it must also feel a sharp resistance.

As a slight variation on this method, I often find that it helps if you can give a chub some more line. Holding a loop of line in my free hand, when you see the initial ‘tap’ on the quiver tip it’s simply a case of feeding some line – or dropping the loop. The tip folds over and its simply a case of pulling into the fish.

Touch ledgering in winter? You catch a hell of a lot more Chub if your prepared to hold the rod in one hand and the line in the other!

Bobbin. 

In many ways, fishing a bobbin has many advantages over the tip especially when free lining. The only problem is finding a bobbin that is light enough. I use the Solar light weight bobbins, into which I insert a beta light for night fishing. A length of old fly line makes up the tether and works superbly. It can of course be used for upstream or downstream ledgering – in fact, this method is far superior in showing drop back bites. The bobbin just plummets as it swims back downstream.

Are you seeing every bite? 

Not one of these methods really answers all the questions asked from chub, indeed, I believe there are bites that are to all purposes undetectable! On a number of occasions I have gone to retrieve my bait, only to find resistance and on the strike a fish that had just been sitting with the bait in its mouth. Perhaps it was making its ‘mind’ up and pounced on it as the bait moved?

Another occasion whilst fishing an open bail arm, I noticed line slowly peeling from the spool. Holding my finger on the spool I observed the quiver tip for a deflection – there was none. I released my finger and once again line slowly peeled from the spool. I suspected that perhaps some debris had hit the line and was drifting the line downstream. But on releasing the line a fourth or fifth time I decided for whatever reason that it was moving faster than the current and decided to strike. To say the chub I hooked into was surprised was an understatement – but having taken maybe 4meters of line, it took itself into a nearby reed bed and unhooked itself..... Charming!

As you can gather from my approach to Chubbing I am clearly not ‘normal’.  I put it down to the way Chub can drive you insane at times, but if you consider Einstein’s definition of insanity ‘Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’.

Einstein continued; ‘By that definition, a lot of us are mad. But it’s those times when we try something different, when we’re sane, that progress is made’.

Just a slight rocking on the tip indicated the presence of this beauty.

Therefore the problem to good Chubbing is trying to stay sane – and I guess I am just hanging in there!