Leaderboard

Hmm! As a member of the PAC, Pike Angler's Club, I don't think fishing for pike before September or even October is good for the fish. The water temperature is far too high and playing pike in these temperatures causes stress that can, and will kill them. I have seen it, even on rivers. The Broads system regularly loses fish killed by the holidaymakers 'dabbling with a spot of pike fishing in summer', which is why specialist tackle shops like Steve Burgess of Bass Online in Horning will not sell pike gear to holidaymakers between June and September, no matter what the cost. The exception is the deeper colder waters of Scottish Lochs and the English Lake District where bottom temperature stays around 4 or 5 degrees Celsius. Next problem is any baitrunner system has more resistance than an open bail arm; in carp fishing we use that resistance in our favour, however in pike fishing we want minimal resistance. Baitrunner systems (and playing fish off the clutch or drag) also create line twist, so you actually only ever should want to use it on a take.