what hookbait do you use for pike??

[Tinca Tinca]

Today a friend and I were out for a little piking in a mill pond.
There we made a "competition":death baiting vs. live baiting.
Iam not a real friend of snap fishing on livebait,so I took a few sardines,a trout and a few perches(trout
and perch killed because misshooked during the last year) and my friend took roaches of about 4 inch
from the pond for live bait.We caught 6 pike during the day and the competition ended undecided...

Looking in my game book I saw that I nearly caught identic with this baits during the last years.
The only thing I found out was that I caught the most "big" pike up to 18 lbs on a death roach of
about 6 inch...

What are your experiences?
What is your favourite pike bait?

[Harry H]

For my ledgering I tend to use smelt or mackerel and for drifting around under a float I prefer roach

[Hovis]

TT I have to agree that a roach 4-6" is my must have pike bait it has probably caught me more fish than any other. I will say that I fish live baits and really rate them especially im river, nothing can beat it in my opinion although I have found it vital to match the size of the prey fish. I have put big baits over the same lies with no response only to catch a fresh and smaller bait and it has been taken immediately. Have taken pike to 25lbs in this manner.

[Bobby Marlene]

For dead baiting my preferred bait is smelt. Live baiting is banned in many countries in Europe; where I fish in Belgium and The Netherlands it is illegal. TT, I am surprised that live baiting is allowed in Germany. Anyway, I am more successful with sea baits than fresh water baits, deadbaiting that is of course. Best, Bobby

[Olly]

Live baiting mostly on rivers - chub to 6in. (Caught this week a 3.5lb trout and a 1.12 perch on small 4in dace livebaits by accident!) I had 3 pike for nearly 70lb 3 years ago in one afternoon.

Dead bait mostly on stillwaters - lamprey-mackerel-smelt or popped-up rudd/dace/chub with oiled flavours dependent upon the water colour.

[Necarper]

Not a real piker myself but that is one fish they have here. Live bait is legal here but so many regs about where it comes from, not worth the hassle. The pike here tend to snatch off the bottom or near the bottom because the bigger bass have command of the mid water. So have used legered large raw tiger prawns and dried smelt with limited success. Have seen them caught with frozen minnow and salt cod of all things.

[Bobby Marlene]

Live baiting mostly on rivers - chub to 6in. (Caught this week a 3.5lb trout and a 1.12 perch on small 4in dace livebaits by accident!) I had 3 pike for nearly 70lb 3 years ago in one afternoon.

Dead bait mostly on stillwaters - lamprey-mackerel-smelt or popped-up rudd/dace/chub with oiled flavours dependent upon the water colour.

Wow, that was a good afternoon.

[Tinca Tinca]

Hi Robby,
in our part of the wallonie livebaiting is allowed.In Germany you are right it is forbidden....but not everywhere....

[Bobby Marlene]

Hi Robby,
in our part of the wallonie livebaiting is allowed.In Germany you are right it is forbidden....but not everywhere....

Oh, I didn´t know that is allowed in Wallonie. Good to know… I only fish there for trout with the fly. I should try to catch a pike there, though. I heard of some enormous pike being caught in very small trout streams in Wallonie. One such river is the Sure which I believe flows into Germany. Best, Bobby

[Gary Bills]

I caught my best pike on a wobbled sprat, but the best of the rest fell to deadbaits - in particular, sardine - cast out frozen, of course, and smelt, which can be cast some distance without it being frozen. I used whole herring too, but this didn't seem to sort out the largest fish, as I had expected beforehand; - if I recall, my best "herring fish" was only 13lb 8oz, but I did lose a truly massive pike on herring on an Irish loch - only one hook point in, which semi-straightened and pulled.