Subtle changes in approach for 2017 Season...
The past few weeks have brought with them all manner of preparation for the new season ahead and some changes in my set up. I have upped my main line to 60lb braid this year and this is purely down to safety reasons as i am planning on doing a lot of river fishing this season and with the rivers i feel you need that extra strength in the set up to be as responsible as possible in doing the up most not to leave any tackle in the river that a pike could pick up.
New reels have come in and i have upgraded form 4000 size reels to 6000 size reels just to give me that extra casting ability when i tackle the bigger reservoirs and lakes on our socials. These reels are also the same size as my carp reels and as they come with extra spools it gives me the option, as i own a EA 3 rod licence, to load a spare spool with braid and attach it to my carp reels should the rules allow me to fish three rods. This season is all about giving myself more options.
The Bait order...
As in the past years we have again all chipped together to put in a big pike order of dead baits, if you know you are going to have a full season of dedicated trips then i highly recommend bulk ordering your dead baits as you really do save a fortune.
In past years i have experimented with all manner of dead boats ands i feel experience built up over the past two and half seasons has put me in the place i am now where i have confidence in a small number of baits that i know work on the venues i fish. The bait order this year reflects that with my purchases being spread over just a few species of dead baits.
Venues
This season i feel will see me diversifying more in my pike fishing and although there will be no naming of venues in the pike fishing, for obvious reasons, i do feel this season will see me move more away from still waters and more towards running water. I have targets this year on rivers that the guys you see me fishing with on socials do not really fish so i can see times this year where i am spending sessions finding my way on rivers i have never pike fished on my own in search of truly wild river pike.
That is not to say there wont be socials sessions as there will and there are already a number planned in for October but as the season moves on i feel our own journeys and goals may take us all onto venues the others do not have either licences to fish or the inclination to fish.
These adventures will not involve dead baits all the time as the river i have in mind is a river where dead baits just do not work and this is sheerly down to the amount of prey in the area the pike live. These pike have no need to rely on dead fish so the magnitude of my dead bait pike order also takes this into account.
Wire traces...
The month before the start of the pike season is a time where evenings are spent in front of the TV putting together my wire traces. There is no doubt about it making your own traces haves a huge amount of bonuses over shop bought. The number one is of course cost, you save a fortune making your own and secondly is the amount of customization making your own allows, fishing a mackerel then you can space the hooks accordingly as you can if you want a rig for a smaller bait like a smelt. You then have that massive feeling of achievement when you land that fish of the season on a rig you have tied yourself.
To make sure there is not a huge weak link in my set up this year i have upped my wire strength to 40lb wire.
Below is the first video i ever made on my youtube blog channel and it goes into detail on how to make your own wire traces.
Looking ahead...
So the prep is done i have a weekend ahead of me chasing carp and then i feel it will be time to make that change over set ups on my carp rods and put them into pike mode for the coming season. Its a season i cannot wait to start and get out on that first morning. I hope we get some proper pike winter weather and a full season of settled low temperatures that make these pike sessions so memorable.
Its a season where achievements will not be measure on size of pike but on how well i put lessons learnt into practise as i tackle new waters on my own. Tight lines if you are also heading on the same pike journey come October 1st and thank you for reading
Danny
