This article covers a day session Pike fishing with deadbaits in the Lea Valley. Generally, I am a lure angler but after a long winter of lure fishing for Perch it was quite nice to relax and fish with deadbaits. It didn’t end up very relaxing at all and was quite an action packed session.
I got to the lake at first light, which at this time of year isn’t actually that early, maybe 7am. Both rods were ledgered, one to an island to my left and the other was further out, at about 50yards in open water. The deadbaits used were Smelt and Sardines initially, but I also had Roach with me.
I like to fish the rods on separate bank sticks as I feel this gives me more room to play the fish once the action starts. Drop off indicators are used to make sure the Pike can’t feel as much resistance. This can cause them to drop the bait.
Many of the lakes through the Lea Valley are big pits, and this one is no different. It’s a long lake that runs parallel to the River Lea and it looked awesome as the sun started to rise up in the sky. It has average depths of about 16 foot and doesn’t get an awful lot of angling pressure. This makes me wonder what is actually in here, maybe a surprise monster!
It only took an hour and the left hand rod was away! The line pinged out the indicator and I wound down and hit into a nice fish. After a short fight I had a well fed looking Pike on the bank, this one falling for the Sardine.
After a few photos the rod was back out in the same spot. It was great to get a fish so early in the session and I hoped for a few more.
I sat back and didn’t have to wait long. Within an hour or so the rod in open water was away. This time it felt bigger as I gradually brought it towards the net. The Smelt is a classic bait for big Pike and this one obviously couldn’t resist it!
This was a better fish, I estimated it to be a mid double but didn’t put it through the weighing process. It definitely wasn’t 20lb and wasn’t a PB so I just admired it and took a few cracking pics before sending it back into its watery home. This was really turning into a great little Pike session.
On with another Smelt and I cast the rod back out into open water. I had a feeling we were going to get more but, in fact, the conditions became quite bright and I started to wonder if the feeding spell was over. Things went quiet for a while but fortunately the action didn’t end there!
I like to keep my rigs very simple and this goes for my Pike fishing too. First thing onto the main line is a Korum Run Ring with a 2.5oz lead clipped to it. I then simply add a large 8mm bead and the Korum Snapper wire trace that contains two semi-barbed treble hooks.
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After a quiet spell that lasted about 2 hours I had a pick up on the left hand rod, which I’d now moved into open water. I struck into the fish and it was on for less than a minute before unfortunately dropping off. I didn’t waste any time in getting the rod back out onto the same spot.
What happened next was a bit crazy. Hardly had I put the rod back in the rests before it was away again! The same fish maybe!? Who knows but it could hardly have hit the bottom before it was grabbed again.
I bent into the Pike and this time I made no mistakes. Again, it felt like a decent fish and it put up a good fight once I’d got it in the edge. I couldn’t actually believe what had just happened.
Sometimes Pike can look quite lean but all these fish were quite plump and were really very healthy looking fish. I think Pike are one of the most remarkable looking coarse fish, their markings are extraordinary.
So, that brought my day session to an end. What a fantastic days fishing for Pike with deadbaits. I wonder if this lake does contain an uncaught monster! If it doesn’t then I have another couple of very large pits in mind but feel I may now have to wait until next winter. Soon it will be time to leave these Pike to spawn in peace.
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