Where to look for pike? Identifying pike habitats
Surely many of you are familiar with the hero of the popular cartoon - Nemo the fish. If we compare this small brightly colored fish with the main character of our article - Esox, then some similarities can be established between them. For example, they are very difficult to find. Nemo, as you remember, was elusive, Pike in reality is also not so easy to find. Yes, there are days when a pike bites on everything indiscriminately, like crazy. But sometimes it seems to disappear from the reservoir, and whatever you do, no matter how hard you try, it's all in vain. This is when identifying a pike position may be your only chance to catch it.
The ability to correctly determine the place of parking comes with experience. The pike is one of those fish that adapt perfectly to their environment. She lives where it is difficult even to imagine - in water bodies in which she, in fact, should not be. If you know for sure that Esox lives in a particular body of water, in order to find her, you need to learn., Put yourself in her place and think like her.
This toothy predator takes root everywhere. It can be found in small artificial canals and natural streams, in large reservoirs and muddy ponds, in fresh and salt water, in stagnant water bodies and in turbulent currents. If you realize this, then you will be already a quarter of the way to find this predator, although it will take some work. Throughout my fishing career, I have often encountered difficulties in catching the Esox. Sometimes I had to solve puzzles for several days, wondering where the pike was and what to do. to catch her. And until now, I am faced with completely new circumstances, so I would be right if I say that in my entire life I will never be able to learn everything about this predator.
As I said before, Esox is literally everywhere. I caught it in small canals, natural lakes and rivers, found it under water lilies and seaweed. She came across in flocks of bream, among garfish and cod. I had to fish for pikes with tiny spinnerbaits and huge plastic lures weighing more than half a kilogram. Where the conditions were right, I successfully fly pike. Sometimes it happened that I knew for sure that the predator was in the chosen place of fishing, but I could not catch it with any artificial bait until I set up a rig with a dead fish. What can you do to maximize the efficiency of catching this predatory fish?
I believe the key to success is locating fish. Finding the right bait and the right presentation is, as they say, a matter of technology. Go to a fishing store or the Internet; you will be amazed by the incredible number of baits currently available on the market. If you are a beginner and do not have enough experience in fishing with artificial lures, then you need to be very careful in your choice. Among them, there are often low-quality and non-working baits, fishing with them is an unaffordable luxury.
The bait must be flawless. You can count on your fingers the companies that produce really high-quality wobblers that meet all the requirements of a modern spinning player. The guys from the company create great baits, and here's why. Piotr Piskorski and Radoslaw Zaworski spend a lot of time on the water, testing their lures in a wide variety of conditions. They do not act on the "look, we also make baits" principle, which other companies adhere to. This sets them apart from other wobbler companies.
When it comes to choosing a bait, the first thing to start with is choosing the right size. The principle is simple: the larger the area of the reservoir, the larger the bait should be. This principle works if you are trolling on a large lake. If you fish small areas of a lake, river or canal, then you should fish with a throw and use a smaller bait. For trolling at depths of up to four to five meters, the Fatso wobbler or large silicone baits such as the Bull Dawg, Twinler and Mega grub are ideal. You can also try large spinnerbaits. The pike loves them!
At deeper depths, you will need deep water wobblers such as the Perch 14. If you cast the Perch 14 behind the boat's motor, it can reach a depth of 10 meters. Do not be afraid to use this lure if the fishing spot is not so deep! The shorter the line is and the closer the wobbler is to the boat, the shallower the depth of its immersion. If you run it right behind the engine. Perch will sink to a depth of no more than three to four meters. To increase the working depth of silicone lures, a heavier jig head must be used.
Trolling is a fairly effective way to catch pike, but not always. For maximum results, in my opinion, it is better to use the spinning method. It's pretty easy to explain. When trolling, the bait moves in the water along one line at a depth of four to five meters or more, you fish a vast area of water, but the quantity does not always translate into quality. drift boat. The spinning method allows you to be flexible with the bait you are using: you can decrease or increase the speed of the bait on one line, you can twitch or jerk, you can let the bait rise to the surface or go down. All in your hands. But what to do if the pike is not in place. The only way out is to find her.
Let's now look at the most likely situations that you may face.
On large lakes
Let's say you find yourself on a large lake. For one, a large lake is a reservoir of several hectares, for another - a reservoir, from which the other side is not visible. I belong to the latter category of anglers. Regardless of which category you belong to, you need to make it easier for yourself to find pike in a large reservoir. To do this, it is necessary to conditionally break it into several parts. A completely unfamiliar lake must first be studied on the map, select a promising site, and make notes. A selected section of a large lake is best viewed by boat, although even from a map you can determine the most promising parts of the island. For example, lakes formed during the Ice Age in Scandinavia, Canada, North America and parts of Ireland have the same shape and are located from north to south. The numerous islands in these lakes also have a similar structure. Glaciers usually move from north to south. In nine out of ten cases, there is depth on the northern side of these islets, and shallow water on the southern side, which gradually turns into depth. On these small areas, characterized by distinct structural elements and the presence of benthic aquatic vegetation, I concentrate my attention.
In nine out of ten cases, fishing on the north side is a waste of time, and there may be pike in the southern part of the island. The same happens with underwater structural elements or, in other words, underwater islands. As a rule, it will be shallow on the north side of such an island, and deep on the south. The fish feel safe if the shallow water flows smoothly into the depth, otherwise it should go to the north side. In most cases, finding the fish will not be difficult. On a detailed map, you can find elongated islands, followed by a gradual drop to depth. In such places, you will certainly find fish!
Look for structural elements near the shore: bumps, piles of stones, ledges, etc. You can find a large number of such areas in one lake. Concentrate on those surrounded by a dense carpet of bottom vegetation. Rocks and rocks also attract a predator, and if rocks or rocks border an area with underwater vegetation, then you have found a promising place. Having caught one pike in one place, you should not immediately change it, because there can often be several predators at once.
I prefer to fish for pike with jerk baits, such as Slider, for example, or I use Twinler silicone bait. These are versatile lures that work effectively at depths of up to four to five meters. On small areas, overgrown with vegetation, I use surface wobblers. Try these wonderful lures in practice, enjoy their game and unforgettable sensations while playing pike.
In the harbors
If you find yourself on a large lake, why should the harbor be considered a promising destination? The answer is simple: the harbors, like a magnet, attract small fish. Here, small forage fish can find both shelter and food, which, in turn, attracts predators, including pike. Not a single owner of an expensive boat or boat will be delighted to see how, after casting, your bait hits the sides of expensive yachts, so it is much more effective and safer to use trolling. You are required to carefully maneuver the boat, trying to get the bait as close as possible to the sides of other boats and yachts. A small fish likes to hide there, and a predator - to lie in wait for its prey. Since in such places there are mainly small forage fish, it is preferable to use medium-sized baits.
As I said before, harbor fishing conditions require a certain skill in boat handling from the angler. For greater efficiency, I would recommend putting the bait behind the motor and making as many turns and maneuvers as possible, trying to get the bait as close as possible to the boats and yachts in the harbor. For these purposes, the brightly colored Perch wobbler is the best fit, before which the most fastidious pike can hardly resist. What time of year does this method work most effectively? Many anglers believe that the pike enters the harbor, usually in the fall or winter. Trust me, she visits places like this all year long.
On the river
I must admit that the river is a very complex body of water. Some eccentrics believe that the conditions of the river are not very suitable for the pike. However, in large rivers, pike reaches impressive sizes. I am simply amazed how she manages to survive in rivers with strong currents. I am reminded of an incident when, several years ago, my wife Monique and I were fishing on the Tri-Sile River in Norway. We were accompanied by a local guide who showed us catching spots, mainly areas with a reverse current, exits from whirlpools, etc. When asked why you never cast in the middle of the river, “for example, he said that nothing good can be expected from such places not necessary. You will either rip off a spinner or spinner, or hook the wobbler's tee onto a rock or flooded tree. Monique nevertheless decided to take a risk and threw Turbo Jack into the middle of the river, which, to the great surprise of our colleague, did not catch on a tree, stones and other debris, but brought a weighty pike. Coincidence? I do not think. After a while I managed to catch two more good pikes in a strong current.
The pike loves the current, it loves whirlpools and is constantly spinning there. Don't ignore these places. If after two or three casts there is no bite, move to another place. In the summer I like to fish with surface lures, jerkbaits work well at this time, especially Slider 10. Spinnerbaits are sent close to vegetation or directly above it hardly leave a toothy predator indifferent.