what hookbait do you use for pike??

[Michael]

Prefer live bait, roach, perch...But if not possible, lamprey, trout, sprat, sardine, roach, smelt, mackerel, herring....

[Santiago]

If I can see signs they're actively feeding I use live bait, and use whatever small fish I can catch! Otherwise I use either sprats or sardines mainly depending on what's in the fish mongers! But I have noticed that half a sardine sorts the bigger fish out! And I find first light and last light are the best times!

[Gord]

tend to use small baits like sardines sprats and smelt i also like to use unusual fish like threadfin bream or loach(the tropical type) and i very rarely find the need to fish at distance so i tend to float fish quite close in and finding likely ambush spots helps and is a bit mobile as well

[Santiago]

Tinca do you have the same law in Germany about the movement of fish. In the UK it's forbidden to use live bait transported from another venue. The reason is to help prevent the spread of diseases and alien fish. But there are plenty of idiots that think it's ok to ignore the rules etc. etc. Personally I think if caught they should be banned from fishing!

[Tinca Tinca]

It is not directly forbidden to take living bait fishes from the one to the other.
Sounds when iam right that in Britain you have to catch your baitfish in the
water you will fish and you are illigal when you buy a living bait fish and take
it to the water where you fish.
Know something like this from Sweden where it is strictly forbidden to use
a bought fish for bait fish because it is a pet.....Iam not 100 percent sure
how it is in Germany because I buy my bait at the fish monger or catch
it in the same pond.In Belgium Iam legal to buy my crucians ,gudgeon
or minnows at a tackle shop and use them for live bait....

[Tinca Tinca]

For better understanding:
What does smelt mean ,what a few of you wrote?
Does it mean rotting fish or does it mean smoked fish?
I heart of both that it might be possible and I caught a few pike on bait fish that was a few
days old and smelling....

[Santiago]

Smelt is a type of sea fish that nobody eats and is caught as bye catch and only used as bait! ! I think !!

[Tinca Tinca]

Ah,this fish you mean is called Stint in Germany.It smells a little like cucumber.
Yes a popular bait fish in Germany,too.It is eatable,too.(fried)

[Olly]

Yep - that's the one --- but we do not eat!

[Snape]

From Wikipedia

"Although it is very small, the smelt is prized as food. Its head is usually removed, but the tail and the bones are not because they are very soft. Smelt is generally eaten by hand. The fish is usually fried.
In North Germany it is traditionally rolled in rye flour and then fried in butter with bacon. Typical accompaniments include roast potatoes, potato salad and Apfelmus or apple sauce.
In St. Petersburg "smelt season" opens up in March, when smelt is rolled in wheat flour and gently fried. Normally in March-April restaurants feature smelt, and residents prepare smelt for dinner. Some people claim that smelt smells similar to cucumber.
The smelt is also smoked or rolled up and pickled like herring."