Catching pike with live bait is considered one of the most exciting types of fishing. And the point is not only that sometimes a toothy predator refuses to grab artificial baits and you have to seduce it with live fish, but also the indescribable pleasure that you experience when you see a float that suddenly goes under the water, and then when you fish out a large fish that resists with incredible strength .
Tackle for catching pike with live bait
One of the main advantages of catching pike with live bait is the low cost and ease of assembling the gear. Other delights of fishing with live bait include:
- the opportunity to catch a predator in windows with vegetation;
- using gear near flooded trees and snags.
What types of live bait gear are there for fishing in open water in the autumn:
Float rod
Equipment for catching pike with live bait
Both rods with a reel and fly rods will do. The main thing is to put a stronger fishing line and a float, the size of which will not allow the baitfish to drag it under water.
The presence of a metal leash is a must. Otherwise, the pike will simply gnaw the line and leave in an unknown direction.
The hook is a large double or treble hook, preferably with a long shank.
Usually the live bait is hooked under the dorsal fin, but sometimes, especially in the current, it should be baited by the mouth, or by passing the leash under the gill cover so that the hook comes out of the mouth.
Live bait for pike
The pike, having grabbed the fish, begins to turn it with its head into its mouth. Therefore, you should not immediately hook the float after immersing the float in the water. It is better to wait 5-10 seconds and only then make a sweeping hook. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that the hook will end up in the predator’s mouth.
Do-it-yourself float rig for catching pike with live bait:
Vendors and supplies
Although poles and equipment for pike fishing are called non-sporting, these tackles are perhaps the only option for catching pike when you come to a pond with your family or friends and have absolutely no time to fish with a spinning rod or watch a float rod.
Postavushka is the simplest live bait tackle - a fishing line, a sliding sinker, one or more single or double hooks on steel leashes.
The summer girder is a little more complex in design than the supply. It has a special reel that can drop the fishing line after a pike bites. Although, there are no special differences between zherlitsy and suppliers. There are just a lot of different designs.
Girder and stand for pike
A fishing line is wound around a long stick with a spear at the end and stuck into the bottom of a reservoir or into the ground on the shore. The line ends with a sinker and a large hook. The bait is lowered into the water, and so that it does not float away and tangle the fishing line, it is attached to the split of the spear.
After a pike bite, the line will jump out of the split and begin to unwind from the spear. There is also a more “stripped-down” version of the zherlitsa - an ordinary children’s slingshot with a short handle, the end of which is not stuck into the ground, but is attached to a branch of a tree or bush hanging over the water.
Instead of a slingshot, a regular cylinder (a piece of hose) is used, from which the fishing line comes off like from the spool of a spinning reel. The device is attached to a plastic bottle, equipped with live bait and sent into the water with a descent corresponding to the depth. But such tackle, in principle, is more similar to mugs.
Do-it-yourself pike rigs and rigs:
Mugs
A plastic or foam circle with a fishing line wound around it, equipped with a metal leash, sinker and hook. Installed in open water.
Many fishermen use a regular plastic bottle instead of a mug. You can fish with such gear in complete calm or light wind.
They fish with circles if there is a boat, accompanying their drift with the wind or current.
Pike for mugs in the fall:
Pike in October: autumn fishing 1
Autumn pike fishing with a spinning rod is a fishing classic
Secrets of how to catch pike in October, when pike bite in October, what spinners and wobblers to use for catching pike in October, you will find in this article.
Cool water and hot water activate the fish, so pike fishing in October becomes especially interesting.
You can catch pike in October using lures, wobblers, and live bait. Be sure to try catching it with a silicone fish. With the onset of October, pike, as a rule, stop feeding by the hour and are caught well all day, especially if the day is cloudy. Catching pikes in the fall will appeal to every fishing enthusiast, because the result of autumn pike fishing can be quite trophy specimens.
Pike fishing is especially good in October. It is in October that pike become more than active and catching them is a real pleasure. Why is that? It's simple, pike loves cooler water, it has more oxygen. In addition, the autumn glutton and active preparation for winter make fishing for pike in October not only productive, but also interesting, because in search of food, the pike does not stand still, as in the summer, but scours the entire reservoir. Therefore, the fisherman will also have to walk. Let's figure out how to catch pike in October.
How to catch pike in October
In October, pike can be caught on almost anything shiny and moving. You can catch pike in October with live bait, but in the fall it is not so easy to get good moving live bait, so the best option is large wobblers or lures for pike, all about 10-12 centimeters long. The best option for lures for pike: Norway, Baikal, cascade, spoon, success. But do not forget that each reservoir has its own laws and pike fishing may differ even in neighboring reservoirs; pike will require a special approach. Therefore, we stock up on baits of all colors and sizes and go ahead and experiment on the water. I won’t recommend anything specific; in October, pike attack everything that moves. By the way, this is why there is no special depth and technique of wiring; lift at your favorite rhythm. Some people recommend using treble hooks with flies to catch pike in October and improve bites, but you can also catch good pike on a regular spinning rod with a spinner, because with a spinner you can fish a larger area in less time (compared to live bait).
When does pike bite in October?
Fishing for pike in October will be successful if you take note of some rules and learn the behavior of this fish in mid-autumn. With the onset of October, pike, as a rule, stop feeding by the hour and are caught well all day. When going out for pike fishing in the fall, you should only take into account atmospheric pressure and cloud cover - on cloudy days in October, pike are caught better.
Tackle for October pike fishing must be very strong, since at this time the largest specimens are caught, and the fight of the predator is very strong. It is not advisable for the length of a pike rod to exceed 2.5 meters. The line must be very strong. The spinning rod must be equipped with a leash for catching pike, and you cannot do without a landing net and hook.
Wobblers for catching pike in October
What kind of wobblers can be useful in October pike fishing? First of all, it’s worth taking several minou-class twitching wobblers, with a slight depth and a length of 10-15 cm. They are convenient for fishing water windows and plant areas. This is if the algae in your pond has not yet died off. Well, if they die off (approximately the second half of October), then first of all you should stock up on a batch of crankbaits (shads, fats, etc.) with a slightly shallower depth than the depth of your reservoir. We will actively use them a little later in deeper areas.
Don’t go too small with the sizes; pike fishing in October involves using baits from 8 cm and above. The optimal average size of bait for pike in the fall is approximately 12 cm. For effective pike fishing, cranks may not be needed in principle. It’s a matter of taste and money, since wiring in the immediate vicinity of the bottom entails constant hooks, the lion’s share of which are dead ones with the bait coming off.
Surface lures for catching pike in October, such as poppers, are not very suitable for autumn, although early (in September) I was sometimes able to seduce some predators.
Spinner for pike in autumn
Pike fishing in October will be exciting if you try to catch the toothy predator using a spinner spoon. Spinner baits for pike are an essential part of any spinner's box. Fishing classics - . I always keep several copies of Aglia Long, issues 2 and 3. Although it is better not to count on normal fishing with them starting from October, the “laces” will not give you rest.
For later fishing - pike fishing at the end of October - it is better to take with you large and heavy purely pike spinners. By the way, Putin’s pike was caught on a Tsar Fish spoon. Oscillating spoons have a “heavy” stroke, during which powerful acoustic waves emit from them, simulating heavy prey. And this is exactly what you need for pike fishing in the fall.
For example, so that you are not afraid of the size of the bait, in my last pike per kilogram I found a roach worth two hundred grams. Anyone who knows well the relationship between the weight and size of a fish may be very surprised how it managed to swallow such prey. Other recommendations for choosing a spinner for pike and catching pike in the fall with a spinner can be read here: Spinner for pike: Fishing for pike in the fall with a spinner, how to catch pike.
Fishing for pike with a popper in the fall
By and large, a popper is a surface-running wobbler that imitates a fish or a frog, which moves away from the predator with splashes and splashes. When catching pike in the fall with a popper, you need to remember that this bait is selective: sometimes the pike reacts to it immediately, sometimes it doesn’t seem to notice. Poppers, making a gurgling sound when jerked, irritate the predator, provoking it to lunge. However, when using large poppers in shallow water, you may not even see a bite. Adult pike are especially suspicious of the gurgling of large poppers.
If you catch pike with a large popper, then play with it more delicately than with a small one, take long pauses more often, and the twitching should not be too sharp. With a small popper you can play sharper and more often. When choosing a rod for pike fishing in the fall, remember that it is better to use a short, rigid spinning rod for jerking. For such fishing, a “stick” of 2.2–2.5 m with a test characteristic of no more than 17 g is suitable.
Catching pike with live bait with a float
However, the most popular live bait tackle is still a fishing rod. With it you can calmly and without unnecessary hassle move along the shore of the reservoir, stopping at promising places and fishing the water area.
The rod must have a large margin of safety, since a large predator can easily break an unreliable “stick”. Its optimal length is from 4 to 6 meters. Passage rings and a reel with extra fishing line are welcome.
To make the float better visible, its upper part should be painted red, orange or black. The lower part should be dark - black, brown, green, blue. Otherwise, the pike may ignore the bait and hit the float itself.
Pike with live bait and float:
Autumn fishing with live bait
Autumn is the best time to hunt for predators. The pike ambushes among aquatic vegetation, between snags, at the exit from a hole, etc. She has fewer and fewer objects to hunt, and an ever-increasing appetite.
As the air gets colder and the water cools, peaceful fish move away from the shore, and the pike is ready to rush at anything that attracts its attention. If it stands in the place you have chosen, then rest assured that it will definitely attack the tasty and lively baitfish. You can catch pike this way all day long, as long as the float is visible.
When choosing a fishing spot, it is better to pay special attention to the following areas:
- places with vegetation - algae on the surface, thickets of reeds or cattails;
- you should not try to fish at depths of less than one meter;
- The clearer the water, the greater the chance that the predator will be able to detect prey.
Choice of live bait
Almost any small-sized live fish is suitable for catching a hungry predator. However, it is better to give special preference to roach, bleak, small crucian carp and rudd. These species are the main ones in the pike’s diet, and when it sees its usual food, it will definitely attack it.
Less attractive to pike will be ruffe, gudgeon, perch, sleeper, and bream.
Live bait must be stored and transported from place to place in a spacious container, the water in which must be changed periodically so that the fish does not suffocate.
The float is set to such a depth that the bait swims calmly in mid-water or at the very bottom, and does not cling to the vegetation growing there. Otherwise, it will tangle the line and an offensive break may occur.
Finding November Pike
The main factor for successful fishing in November is the correct location of the fish. As the water temperature drops, the pike sinks to the bottom and begins to prepare for the winter. Now she will rise in search of fish less and less often. To satisfy her hunger, one or two fish are enough for her. Based on these behavioral characteristics of the November pike, you should build your fishing tactics. Most likely, pike will be in deep holes or against a wall of dense vegetation.
If the weather pleased you with the first frosts, then fishing can be carried out from the first ice. You should know that it is safe to be on ice when its thickness is from 5 to 10 centimeters. Do not fish near reeds and water rising to the surface.
