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Blue water, Big Game Lure Tactics.

Copyright. Gareth Lewis, November 2002. ©

No, I am not talking about 35 foot, 500HP, and 30 knot charter boats, based in the tropics. Complete with 80lb class stand up sticks, reels containing half a mile of suitable line, and released fish tagging equipment. However, if a suitable TV show producer or sponsor would like to talk about such things, please contact me. 

It is a known fact that Pike are cannibals, which are capable of grabbing and then eating prey which is up 25-30% of their size. Over the last three or four months I have been row trolling, large lures designed for Big game species, such as Marlin, Sailfish and Tuna. The rivers I have been trolling on, are only around 60ft (17metres) wide, with an average depth of about 8 &1/2 feet (2.5 metres). My boat is an oar powered 12ft plywood Jon boat. 

The reason it is oar powered is because A) I do not own either a petrol or electric motor (yet). B) Trolling under motor power is not permitted on most UK waterways and lakes. So far this year I have captured Pike to 12lbs on these large lures. Interestingly I have had Pike in the 15lb plus bracket follow the large lures, but never take one. I have also grown accustomed to trolling these large lures, as an interesting interlude while I row between favourite hot spots. 

When I reach these areas I then switch back to traditional cast and retrieve techniques, using more traditional 2-5 inch minnow type lures. The large lures that I am using are 12 inch (30cm), 16 inch (40cm) and 18 inch (45cm), Green Mackerel and Blue Mackerel minnow type lures. These lures are wooden, wired through floating divers without a built in rattle. I purchased them, when I was on a recent family vacation in Gran Canaria. They cost from €16 to €22 each or about £10.50-£15.00 ($16-$22). I have no idea who makes them, but they look like a cross between a Rapala CD magnum, and a Hi-fin trophy Magnum minnow. They were just hanging from pegs, without any packaging, or markings with just a price label attached to them, in the charter boat booking office. They are strong and tough lures, because earlier that day I had boated an estimated 350lb (160Kgs) Blue Marlin on a rather battered one supplied by the charter boat. The hooks, although suitable for large, hard fighting blue water species, were not suitable for Pike fishing on small rivers. Barbaric and only fit for anchoring aircraft carriers and oil tankers sprang to mind. I changed the three treble hooks on each lure, for what I thought to be a more acceptable size 1/0 trebles. The eye of the 1/0 trebles would not fit on the split rings fitted to the lure. Standard 3/8 inch (10mm) diameter split rings would not fit on to the hook hangers, so I fixed these on to the heavy duty split rings already attached to the lure. Then I fitted the 1/0 trebles to the 3/8 inch split rings. Because of the length, and weight of the lures (6-9 ounces).

 I had already reasoned that casting them with a my heaviest rod, which has a maximum casting weight of 2 ounces and then trolling off the rod tip was out of the question. So I made a trolling clip from a stationery Bulldog clip and a cheap G clamp. The jaws of the bulldog clip had a piece of small bore plastic tube glued to them, to prevent line damage. This allowed the line to be held in the clip's jaws, when trolling, but releasing from the clip on a strike. Then I paced out 120ft (35mtrs) of line from the rod tip. At this point I tied on a 15lb test mono stop knot to my 50lb test braid mainline and secured it with a little super glue. The tails from the stop knot were left about 2 inches (5cm) long. These tails are to be held by the bulldog clip, which was attached to the boat's transom with a G clamp when fishing. This will prevent the lures action overloading the rod, but will release from the clip when a Pike strikes the lure. I can just about row fast and steadily enough to keep the lure working at around 2-3 feet deep. First time out fishing with this set up, and I caught four small Pike of up to about 3lbs. This was very surprising when you then consider that the lure was about 60-75% the length of the Pike that it caught. Each fish had taken the front treble, with the second and tail trebles actually fouling one fish. 

Subsequently I have removed both the second treble and the tail treble. This has not affected the hook rates, because the takes are violent, and head first. I can only presume that these small Pike will only attack other Pike head first therefore almost guaranteeing a quick and energy efficient kill. 

The most effective pattern is the green Mackerel, and I have deduced that this must look something like a smaller Pike and therefore a decent meal to other larger Pike. This reinforces the cannibal theory and indicates a possible territorial theory. I own and use lures in Pike pattern, including, paw-paw Pike getums, psyclone Pike, and Real Image Pike Minnows. These all produce Pike for me, but interestingly none of these contain a rattle. 

The Pike pattern lures that contain rattles that I own do not catch Pike for me. On several occasions I have witnessed, both sunbathing Jack pike, and Jack Pike stalking bait fish suddenly being attacked by larger pike. Sometimes the Jacks are eaten by their larger cousins. Sometimes they are mortally wounded, with the attacker probably being startled away by my excitement, and sometimes the Jacks get clear away. I have formed a two part conclusion from these observations. The "territorial theory" and the "vulnerable when feeding theory," I have based both of my conclusions upon the sonic vibrations given off by panicking bait fish. 

Most commercial lure manufacturers build a sonic rattle into their products to simulate the vibrations given off by a fleeing bait fish. Therefore any predatory fish stalking a meal will not give off these types of vibrations. The vibrations that a predatory fish gives off would in my opinion be much closer to that of a lure not containing a rattle. If a Jack Pike gave off this panic type of sonic vibration, it would then be advertising its presence to other larger Pike, and become a targeted meal itself. Therefore, if a small jack was to occupy the same area as a larger Pike. Not only would be it seen as a potential meal, but also as a rival for the available food resource. Survival dictates that you obtain the best possible meal, for the least amount of energy expended. Not only is a jack Pike normally going to be a larger meal for a big Pike, but the larger Pike is reducing the competition for a finite food resource. If a larger than normal lure is presented into the territory of a Pike that is larger than the Pike pattern lure, not only is it potential food, but also a potential rival. That is why the heads of the large lures are being attacked so violently and why the larger lures are so effective at capturing Pike up to about the 12LB mark. Although I have actually caught Pike of over 15LB on lures. I believe that fish of this size are more of an opportunist feeder, only striking at lures that pass close to them and that they are more of a scavenger. Preying upon the dead, and the dying, therefore, not expending extensive amounts of energy in the pursuit of food. These Pike are possible more likely to see off a rival from their preferred territory, which requires less energy. Hence the following without striking at the large lures. I will explain my conclusions of the "vulnerable while feeding" theory, in another article.