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As my current water is not particularly carp friendly, I've been exploring its pike potential with a few trips this year. Over 4 trips a mate and I have had some good fish, pike from 2 to 21lbs, normally a couple each trip, although we did manage a blank between us each day. The mate in question is the friend who managed to catch the twenty I lost last year, really into his fishing now, and enjoying it. Our first pike trip produced 3 to me, and Colin saved a blank with the small jack last knockings. My fish were two around 6lb, and a scrappy 16 with a missing pec. The next trip, Colin managed another couple of jacks, and again I had 3, topped with a 17. The 17 was a bit of a nightmare, not the fish, but the idiot dog walker who as I was unhooking it, got so close to the rod tip, moved it away from his face, and pulled the treble under my nail, more problems unhooking me than the pike. Unfortunately we both blanked next trip, but hey ho. A week later we were back at the venue, after a couple of casts I cast a whole joey mackeral, and within minutes, a finicky take with just a few bleeps and a nodding rod tip, no line pulled out the clip I hit into this beauty at 21lb The smile is very real, only my second ever pike over 20, worthy of a new PB at 21. Chuffed

I fish my Syndicate lake for Pike every winter but I like using plugs , great fun but most are jacks around the 2 to 6 lb bracket ,doubles are few and far between and my biggest is 18:15 from their caught some years ago. Great fun on a Drop Shot rod , Low double .

Tbh @Pete Springate's Guns (I still think that's the best user name ever lol), I'd happily use any of the PJPU's.

There's a few that have done me well mate. Fishy Peach, Condensed Milk, Devils Dung/Cheese, obviously the Pineapple/Butyric, and I use the none flavoured ones for suspending alternative hookbaits too. But the one that's consistently caught me the rare/special fish is the Strawberry Scopex. There was a very rare double row lin I had a couple of years ago on them, it hadn't been out for 3 years. A pal of mine was trying to target it so I put him onto the Strawberry Scopex and guess what - he caught it. I am of the opinion that buoyancy/performance and colour are actually more important in a pop up than flavour, but there is no doubt that Strawberry Scopex has something about it. I've had a few rare'n's on them.

1egg , 3ml Geoff Kemp's green zing. Once air dried or panned then squirt 1ml into zip seal bag. Scrunch up so inside of bag is coated in the flavour. Then add pop ups and shake vigorously. This is my go to single hookbait in the winter months. Done very well on 2ml john bakers strawberry and 6 drops nutrabaits bergamot oil in winter. Another is mainline juicy fruit at 2ml in 1egg. And finally premier baits tropical fruit flavour. Very good the colder it gets. The last 2 flavours are very thin liquids which is what's needed in winter. They leak out better in colder water. Some essential oils will need an emulsified.

Better than most. Proper Job Pop Ups are better (imo).

Rock hard banks, struggled to get a bankstick in at all. Mind you we aren't tackle tarts like carp anglers, not even matching rods...