Confidence is key

If my Black Dyke "double" challenge is to succeed then I need to go there, whenever possible, fully confident my tactics are the best I have in the locker. Little more than two weeks isn't a particularly lengthy period, thus experimentation won't be part of any plans. I know what has worked for me down on the RMC and, also, at a couple of adjacent drains much closer to the section of Black Dyke I now intend to target. No; this is going to be a  full-on effort based upon what's worked previously. However, I am forever scouring Youtube for anything Pike related just to ensure I'm not missing a trick? Sure there are many hundreds of lure fishing "vlogs" to peruse, yet it is the dead baiting offerings which I seek. All I can say, having no desire to get into any further exchanges of opinion, is that some of what I've watched causes me great concern for the safety of our Pike stocks, yet also confirms that my approach retains a considerable edge over what the "Johnny cum lately", unthinking, carp clones are presenting. 

Benno and I with a couple of Loch Awe "doubles"
Wild Pike from wild places.

Obviously, I have absolutely no intention of sharing details about my dead bait presentations via this cyber platform. Those who need to know are all within the close knit ranks of the Canterbury/Thanet PAC Region plus a few, very close, friends (my son and brother included).  When, in the late 1980's, Eddie Turner told me I needed an edge for my dead bait presentation, little could I have imagined where it would lead? Today, almost forty years after that exchange, most of what I am seeing on Youtube is bang average yet there is some content depicting techniques which would have been frowned upon back then. This is not restricted to individual, "please like and subscribe" contributors, even recent mainstream manufacturer offerings have content which is dubious at best. The safe return of Pike to the water is all I care about thus some of the stuff I've watched on Youtube makes me cringe. I have absolutely no idea how these offerings would be received if the anglers were fishing for, and handling, Carp in the same, contemptuous, manner? 

Since retiring, in April 2021, I've now almost completed three Pike seasons, the catch returns being way beyond anything experienced previously. There can be no doubt that my ability to go fishing whenever conditions are favourable, opposed to availability of holiday entitlement, has played a huge role in the subsequent upturn in results. Forty-seven "doubles" and eleven "twenties" have fallen to my dead bait tactics since that fateful date. Even if I say so myself, that's pretty good going. Every one being from wild stock. and this simple requirement has played a major part in my approach to Pike angling since picking up the rods again in 2011. 

Flatlands Pike action circa November 2011

Over this period I can only recall one Pike fishing session which lasted from dawn to dusk, most of the others have been in the form of getting my baits into position some thirty minutes before sunrise and fishing up to 11.00 hrs, noon at the very latest. I've mentioned, many times, my use of "leapfrogging" the rods along sections of bank to cover as much water as possible. This technique has it's origins set way back in the early 1980's when we employed the method out on the Fenland drains in search of Pike and Zander. Because my sessions are relatively short, I have no excuses if doubt enters the equation. If I think that something isn't right I have to change it. Absolutely no way can I sit and wait to see if anything happens? 

Probably not the finest image of a "back-biter" set-up?

To end this rambling mix of thoughts, I have to say a massive thank-you to the guys of the Canterbury/Thanet PAC Region for voicing their honest opinions about the subject of bite detection and line drag. It started out as a discussion based around "safe" rigs yet quickly evolved into the requirement for the optimum bite registration. I don't recall a single member offering any other opinion than, wherever possible, the use of a float is the most sensitive method available. Under no circumstances could I find fault with this consensus opinion, they are a very accomplished group of Pike anglers. For what it was worth, I then offered my slant on this issue. There is absolutely no way I could stare at a float(s) whilst out on the bank. There is so much else for me to enjoy that I have the attention span of a demented Gnat! What with binoculars around my neck and a camera/long lens hanging over my shoulder, the wildlife experience is just as important as the fishing. So it has to be electronic bite alarms every time. The visual indication might be provided by a drop arm system or a simple monkey, on an angled needle, the bottom line being that I am not required to stare intently at a single spot but, instead, have the freedom to enjoy the surrounding environment safe in the knowledge that my alarms will immediately alert me to any Pike activity. And from this subject we then went on to exchange opinions about the effects of drag to a taking Pike. I have never used a "bait-runner" system for Pike fishing, yet am perfectly happy to use centrepins with the same revolving drum technology. Open bale arms on fixed spool reels has always been my go to method and I don't see it changing at this stage in my journey. The outcome of this particular avenue of thought revolved around the need of constant resistance to the taking fish. So a centrepin spinning, or a bait-runner doing similar, and line just peeling off the drum of a fixed spool, doesn't make too much difference to the drag experienced when that Pike first takes the bait. Much food for thought and something I will make an effort to play around with next season?

Yes I know I've used this photo on many occasions previously.
This is my favourite image of any Pike I've ever been fortunate to capture.
November 1982

Although I like to think of myself as an allrounder, there can be no escaping the very obvious bias my angling has towards Pike, their capture and safe return to the venues from whence they came. .