Since October, when the predator season officially opened there have been some great catch reports of pike and zander. However with the colder snap recently, reports of bigger fish have been steadily coming in and it seems the predator season is well and truly underway, so if you are after catching a big croc or zed, now might be the best time to get the rods out before the festive period.
Martin Hurst enjoyed a great day out on the water with his fishing partner Ade, with the pair targeting pike from their kayaks.
"My friend Ade and I launched our kayaks at 8am on a sunny day, with hardly a ripple on the water. Pike were our target but, given the cold conditions, our hopes weren’t particularly high."
“At around 11am, while trolling the lure over some rocky features, I thought I’d hooked the bottom. But I then felt a headshake and knew I had a good fish on."
“It came up to the kayak half-a-dozen times before repeatedly diving back into the depths. I could see it was only lip-hooked and, as the fish was netted, the hook fell out!
“The pike weighed 27lb 5oz, and came on my only take of the day. Ade added two other pike of around 8lb apiece.”
THE BEST LURE RODS WILL HELP YOU WORK YOUR LURES MUCH BETTER RESULTING IN MORE STRIKES.
Matthew Ball was another angler who has had a great start to his predator season, this time though he turned his attention to zander and was rewarded with this superb fish.
“For October onwards I like to target zander on the River Trent. Every season, my mission is to catch one over the magical double-figure mark, and on my second trip of this campaign, it was mission accomplished, as I landed this fish of 12lb 3oz."
“A small legered roach deadbait was the successful offering, and as soon as I’d set the hooks, I knew I’d connected with a good fish.
“It gave the head shakes typical of the species, and held deep. After a few heart-stopping moments the zander surfaced, andI was able to net it."
“ I was absolutely delighted with this fish!”
YOU CAN CATCH ZANDER ON LURES, READ THIS EXPERT ARTICLE FOR ALL THE TACKLE AND TIPS YOU NEED.
Now we all love a shock capture but Leighton McDonnell certainly had the shock of his life when he landed this tremendous pike while fishing for perch on his 5ft rod.
“While lure fishing for perch and chub on a stretch of the Great Ouse, I hooked and landed this pike of 23lb 1oz. It took a creature bait fished on a light, 5ft-long baitcasting rod."
“I’d seen a swirl under a far-bank willow and cast to it. The fish must have followed the bait in as it took at my feet."
“For the first 10 minutes it took line, then I carefully regained it, working the fish back in. It made for a tree downstream, but I managed to follow it down and hold firm."
“At the second attempt the pike was netted successfully, and swam back strongly after I’d quickly weighed it.”
IF YOU WANT TO CATCH PIKE, YOU NEED TO USE THE BEST LURES TO CATCH THEM!
It's not just still waters that have been producing big pike, with the Royalty Fishery on the Hampshire Avonconsistently throwing up 20lb plus fish. Charles and Robert Keit have been having some sensational fish including this one from various parts of the fishery.
"Having caught a 20lb pike recently while fishing with my dad, Charles, it was his turn the next weekend that we went out."
“However, for the first two hours of the session it didn’t seem like much was going to happen, as the stretch of the Hampshire Avon we were on seemed to be dead."
"Suddenly, we saw a large fish swirl in the margins, so dad cast a deadbait at it. Nothing happened initially, but when he picked up the rod to reel in, he received a powerful hit."
“The ratchet of the reel was cranked up, but the fish still took line and we wondered if it was a salmon. It didn’t want to give up, and dad felt the burn! Finally, we netted the fish and couldn’t believe the size of it. She weighed 25lb and set a new personal best for dad.”
DEADBAITIING IS A GREAT TACTIC FOR CATCHING BIG PIKE, READ OUR EXPERT ARTICLE FOR MORE...
Last but certainly not least is this epic capture of a Lancashire crocodile by Joe Hindley. He’s recently got back into lure fishing after a decade of deadbaiting on the same water. In that time, he has had numerous fish over the 20lb mark, but had heard rumours that a ‘thirty’ resided in the lake.
He kicked off the season using his trusted deadbaits but, with mild temperatures forecast and having witnessed pike chasing roach and rudd in the margins, he knew a tactical change was needed. So, he opted for a more active lure fishing approach, his choice being a Ricky the Roach pattern from Westin.
Casting along a reed line, he let the lure hit bottom and twitched it back with no success, so he changed to a straightforward winding retrieve. On just his second chuck the lure was hit, and a fierce battle began before, fully 15 minutes later, a passing carp angler helped him to land this 30lb 11oz fish.
IF YOU WANT TO CATCH A MONSTER PIKE, YOU NEED TO TRY OUT THESE VENUES THIS SEASON!
