Pike traces revisited: knots, crimping and fire

[Olly]

I recently went to a Farnham AS pike 'teach in' which every member must attend in order to gain their "Pike Permit" that enables them to pike fish their waters. As a seasoned pike angler it was still very interesting.
A trace 24in is their minimum length. I would recommend ET 49 strand wire - knotable or ok with crimps. 35lb seemed the best.
The best crimps were Drennan in the appropriate size for the above. Or as the wire can be knotted a "no-knot knot" can be used.
Never ever crimp the end of the crimp - it acts as a cutting edge shredding the wire. Proper crimping tools are very cheap.
For deadbaiting a drop off and lift indicator was shown made by Fox but any carp arm indicator would work together with audible indication that shows pulls and dropbacks.

The most important thing to remember is that pike are at the top of the food chain and are far more fragile than many other fish inc carp!

Pike in France never get to any size - in most waters. They are killed & eaten and are almost an endangered species! There are however some huge deep waters, 1000acres+, that do hold huge pike.

[Santiago]

For drop off bites (or pulls) I just place a large twig between the reel and a bite alarm so the line is always under tension. No need for fancy equipment. But quite often bites register at the rod tip like little knocks, before any positive runs. The knocks when struck at never result in hook ups so I wait until the audible alarm goes off!!

Old books say wait for the second run or until the run develops but they were written when pike were on the menu so it's important to strike earlier to avoid deep hooking, and a circle hook will also improve this. You might miss a few but at least the pike will be there to catch next time!

It's also important to use line of at least 12lb or more and an appropriately strong rod, if one catches a big double pike on inadequate tackle by time you land it it will be knackered and will need reviving just like barbel but more so if the battle is prolonged because of rubbish tackle. So they need to be netted asap to avoid lactic acid build up. They also need to be rested in the landing net in water for a few minutes before you even consider taking a pic!

[Stathamender]

For drop off bites (or pulls) I just place a large twig between the reel and a bite alarm so the line is always under tension. No need for fancy equipment

Indeed. I still have a couple of washing-up liquid bottle tops in my box for use with alarms.

[Olly]

Exactly as Santiago says - treat with care!

Depending where you fish the tweaks could be eels or crayfish. Regrettably in some ways this has led in some areas to livebait being the most successful bait to avoid the persistent attention.

PS - lures - jelly lures by Manns from www.sovereignsuperbaits.co.uk - cheap as chips!

[Wagtail]

Regarding trace length, they should be as long as is reasonably practical for the method being employed. The 24" minimum of Farnham AC might well be OK for deadbaiting, and wouldn't affect a spinner or spoon too much, but using overlong traces when lure fishing with plugs/jerkbaits/minnows/topwaters (especially smaller lures like Jitterbugs) can alter or completely kill the action of the lure, due to their weight. A balance is required between trace and lure - for most lure fishing I use a trace of about 14" and have never had a problem.

I use a mixture of crimping and twisting for my traces, it depends on the wire. Also don't be afraid to go 'heavy' with wire if you can, 40lb is far less likely to be kink/fray than 30lb, but it doesn't put the fish off.

Regarding bite indication - when deadbaiting (without a float) I would never use any visual indicator that wouldn't show drop-back bites readily. You need an indicator head or bobbin with sufficient weight so that if the pike picks up the bait and moves towards you the ensuing slack line results in the indicator head dropping in response. Light heads just stay where they are - which is dangerous for the fish. Anyone who says that pike don't give drop-back type runs is using an inefficient indicator system!

My own drop-off indicators have a head that weighs one ounce They are fished with the line pulled as tight to the bait/lead and with the line-clip set as loosely as is practical for the prevailing conditions of wind/current. The head is positioned tight to the reel, just behind the front lip of the spool. My indicator arm is made from solid wire, if you use string it should be pulled tight and not hanging slack. It is also important that the line-clip is the type that allows the line to run through it - i.e. it mustn't actually grip the line - otherwise the indicator won't drop on a slack line.

This is a picture of an early version of my drop-off indicator, it isn't a good picture and I'm sorry about the c****n rod but I think you can see what I mean.


Set this way, if the pike pulls on the line it comes out of the clip immediately and the indicator drops, signalling a bite; equally if the pike creates slack in the line the indicator also drops because of the weight of the head, again signalling a bite. I know modern bite alarms are frowned on by many on here but this set-up coupled with a Delkim alarm that is also set as sensitively as conditions will allow, is very efficient at indicating runs of all kinds.