The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Liphook wrote: ↑Mon Oct 18, 2021 12:09 pm Is there ever a need to fish lighter than is safe for any fish? Not in my book. I certainly don't see the need with pike and I've done a bit albeit not on 'pressurised' waters. Leads me back to a previous conversations regarding IGFA line classes and their inherent stupidity

Tizer wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:18 pm I always go on the heavy side for pike fishing, you can not risk leaving hooks in a pike's mouth, I used to use Drennan 7 strand 28lb and now I use 45lb wire and 20lb line, I don't like braid for main lines, I think it is bad for fish and wildlife,just my opinion

Tizer wrote: ↑Mon Dec 27, 2021 3:55 pm Hello i hate braid for main line, too many so called anglers leave line laying around in their swim which is bad enough for the wildlife,braid is worse,it lays there just waiting to coil itself round a small leg/foot, i have seen pike with no lips and I put it down to braid see sawing the lip off,lots of pigeons and seagulls have some sort of braid round their feet and sometimes you can see where it has slowly tightened up over time and there is just a stump left,I have seen blackbirds and magpies hanging from trees with braid round their feet, last year I got someone to resue a tuffty that had 100yds of braid and a marker float round its foot, just last week I was on a lake and the bailiff came round the island in a boat, I had the right hump at first, as it turned out there was a marker float in a tree on the island and 100yds of braid floating down the lake, I told him ,getting that death trap off the water is a damm site more important than my fishing,I have been pike fishing for more thaan 50 years, I was a bad boy and used live baits, nice roach and chub , it never did sit right with me and in the end I would buy 10 small trout from a farm and perhaps use 2 and then I would let the other 8 go. For the last 20/25 years I just use deadbaits, as far as I am concerned livebaits catch you more pike but a hell of a lot of them will be small......I gave up using trebles about 2/3 years ago and now use a single barbless circle for all my piking and it is the best thing I have ever done, had a small pike this morning on a hair rigged mack head it was only about 4lb, the cicle was in the sissors and I just lifted the pike out with one hand and took the hook out with my other hand , how good and more importantly how QUICK is that, no glove/forceps/net etc.....I do of course always have that stuff with me