pike bait

Bait

Pike Dead Baits

I have included here a selection of dead baits that can be used when pike fishing. I have separated them into sea baits and freshwater baits as some waters don't allow freshwater baits to be used. Some are borderline as they migrate to spawn so they are neither sea or fresh water baits.

Sea Baits

Mackerel - This must be the most popular of pike baits (I don't catch much on it). It is usually cut in half and the tail section is probably the most popular. Smaller mackerel (joey's) around 8 inches can be fished whole. This is a very oily fish, helping the pike to smell it out. I find it good as a prebait or cut into 0.5 - 1 inch pieces and catapulted out around your baits as an loose feed.

Herring - This has the same properties as mackerel and is also usually fished as a half bait. This is the fish I use most as a loose feed, I haven't used it much as a bait.

Sardine - This is my favourite bait and wouldn't go piking without it. The only drawback with sardines is they are a very soft bait, so must be kept frozen if possible. If they start to thaw out use a few turn of elastic thread to hold it on, this can be bought at your local tackle shop (sea anglers use it to hold crab or mussel on the hook). I buy my sardines in 1 kg packs from the fishmonger you can get 15 baits for around £2.00. If you get some big sardines fish them whole for about 25 mins then bring it in tear the head off and put it back in the same place.

Launce - This is a large species of sand eel and can be anywhere from 10 -18 inches in length. Making it possible to cut them into as many as three baits. Half a launce is a very good long range bait, used with a 4oz weight they fold back and really fly through the air. These can be bought at tackle shops, but try fishing for them off piers etc, they are normally around with the mackerel. Keep them alive in a bucket till you go home and you'll struggle to get fresher baits.

Sprat - I find these are a bit small for a pike bait, but can be useful if the pike are fry bashing. To prevent deep hooking problems only use one treble near the tail root.

Kipper - Yes kipper, some pikers have given it a try and it seems to work (see catches page). They definitely smell a lot and are very oily, that's what you normally look for so they could be worth a try.

Border line

Smelt - This must also be one of the most popular baits, it has a smell of cucumber or thyme depending who you ask, similar to grayling. This fish spawns in fresh water but spends the rest of its life at sea, so you shouldn't be stopped from using it as a bait in lakes with no river running out of it (landlocked).

Lamprey - This is a prehistoric eel like fish which spawns in freshwater and lives the rest of its life at sea, it has no bones or conventional gills and is full of blood. This has been the "in" bait in the last couple of years, in some river systems it is now a protected species. Lamprey is normally fished in sections and has a very tough skin, so should be very lightly hooked.

Eel - Eels live their life cycle opposite to the lamprey, spawning at sea and living the rest of their lives in freshwater. They live in rivers and landlocked lakes, so check local rules before using. Eels are usually fished in sections and like lamprey have very tough skin.

Fresh water baits

Roach - A very common fish in our waters so the pike are used to feeding on them, which can be an advantage. If you buy your roach from a tackle shop they have quite often been electro fished, this has the effect of blowing their swim bladder making them buoyant so great for pop-up baits. This is another of my favourite baits.

Bream - Again a fish that a lot of pike are used to feeding on naturally. I have used bream as a change bait after fishing mackerel for hours and the bream has then produced some of my best pike within minutes of hitting the water. Bream can be a bit hard to find in the tackle shops, but they are worth hunting out.

Pollen - This is a freshwater white bait similar to the powan you find in Loch Lomond and some other waters. Their skin is as tough as old boots but the scales come off if you look at them. I have found days when the pike only seem to want this bait. As they are a bit pricey I tend to use the as a change bait when nothing else seems to be working.

Trout - These tend to be rainbow trout as its illegal to sell brown trout. If not trout you can sometimes get salmon parr. I find rainbow trout can be a bit soft and your trebles can dig into the flesh. Its worth giving the gut cavity a few stabs with a bait needle as the have smell digestive juices.

Perch - The only perch I have seen in the tackle shops have been too small to use as pike baits. The only option seems to be to catch your own, if you know a water where they will let you.

Any coarse fish is worth a try especially if its native to the water your are fishing. Ask at the local pet shop incase he has any dead gold fish or koi carp, but don't raid your neighbours garden pond.

Keep a look out at your local fishmonger anything is worth a try, I've known people use red gurnet. If you get to know your fishmonger you might be able to get some scraps off him. The trimmings off all types fish that he would normally be thrown in the bin can be used as rubbydubby or ground bait. I've seen pike caught on the belly strips that are trimmed off salmon, the strips that were thrown in as loose feed/ground bait were also spat out by pike as they were being played.

Of these baits the ones I wouldn't leave the house without are: -

Sardine

Roach

Smelt

Lamprey

Mackerel/Herring as loose feed

E-mail me if you have any questions.