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Little Things

Peter Waller

Little things that make a big difference are, surely, worth considering. Why, for example, do we insist on including swivels on our traces when a bait, whether dead or artificial, doesn’t spin? For my own part, if I have had a breakage, more likely than not, it has been the swivel that has broken whilst casting.  The solution was simple, stop using swivels except with spinners where there is a likelihood of line twist, and then, don’t be tight, dump old and probably worn swivels. 

Not a million miles from the trace is where we probably use some form of link or connector. I make no bones about it; I don’t trust the wee beasties. I have come so close to loosing either fish or lures when connectors have inexplicably come undone during a retrieve. How often have you got a fish in to the net to find that the lure or trace is no longer attached? Once is one to many! The answer is simple; stop using snap connectors or duolocks. The answer came from a previous article in the Lure Society Magazine, use Genie Clips. They can’t come undone; there isn’t anything to come undone! You’ll probably find them in the sea fishing department of your local angling shop.

You can see a pike striking beyond a weed bed. You know that if you cast beyond it that during the retrieve your tackle will become snagged on the weeds. The solution, once again, lies with the sea angling fraternity. They use a ‘tackle lift’. In effect a paravane that planes up to the surface on retrieve, lifting your tackle clear of the obstruction. Tackle lifts are ideal for us lure fanatics. Pop one ahead of the trace and your lure becomes a sub surface fish catcher. Great when used with big brass spoons in the shallow areas of the Broads.

One of the joys of lure fishing is to find that lure hooks have snarled up on the trace during casting. The solution lies, this time, with the carp anglers. Four or five inches of rig tube threaded onto your trace appears to solve the problem. A spot of Araldite keeps the tube against the bait end of the trace. It also means that you have a place to nip swan shot on, for fine-tuning your lure, without the fear of damaging the wire.

It is strictly illegal, so I can’t suggest that you try this. Just a case of theorising, you understand!

Illuminated lures are not allowed in fresh water so what you mustn’t do is to place a ‘star light’ into the concave side of a spoon. But then, since you are not likely to try it, it’s pointless me telling you, in theory, that you can stick a couple of pieces of silicone tube into the hollow of a spoon as a way of holding the ‘star light’ in place. If you were, quite illegally you know, to try it, then perhaps, in theory at least, a traditional cut down desert spoon might be ideal. Its shape would protect the ‘star light’ from a pike’s teeth. But then, as a law-abiding angler, you wouldn’t try it anyway. Would you?

When it comes to attracting pike, there is no doubt that a good pong does pull the ladies. Big fat mothers are drawn to a good niff!  Okay, so you can daub your lure or bait with ‘Smelly Jelly.’ Another answer is to dowse the bait in fish oils. But how do you get the blessed stuff to stay there? Simple, it’s down to an oblong of foam rubber! About two inches long and half-inch square section, threaded onto the trace with a boilie baiting needle. Soak the sponge between casts and away you go! It’s simple and effective, far less clumsy than the swim-feeder that some pikers use.

When it comes to chinning a pike the general advice is that it is sensible to net the pike if your hooks are flying outside the pikes mouth. But what happens if someone else’s hooks are still inside the pike’s mouth, left there from a pike’s previous encounter with an angler? Simple, they can catch the tip of your finger. The solution, be a little bit more wary when sliding your fingers under the chin!  Yours truly has a nasty nick on the tip of his index finger after such an encounter. Doubly annoying because the recovered rig wasn’t worth keeping.  When it comes to chinning I would suggest that a glove is sensible, if not particularly macho. But be wary of the chain mail type, these tend to stick to the pike’s gill rakers. Tescos sell a heavyweight black household glove that I have found to be ideal. Thin enough for sensitive fish handling but thick enough for protection. Also thin enough for casting with and tackle handling.

Cold hands, I hate them! Neoprene gloves are near useless, in my opinion, although they are widely recommended. But there is a solution, this time thanks to Milletts and the hill climbing and sailing fraternity. Thin, warm, wind and waterproof!!!!! Thin enough to be able to use with forceps, thin enough to be able to change lures or rigs. Not cheap but worth every penny during a session that is so cold that going for a ‘ tinkle’ is just that, a shower of icicles tinkling into the freezing water. The gale lashed river, so cold as to emasculate any imprudent brass monkeys that just happened to fancy a quick dip. The answer, go out and buy a pair of Peter Storm, ‘Porelle’ and ‘Thinsulate’ lined gloves. They are warm but not sweaty; waterproof enough to put your hands into the water for chinning a fish, breathable and comfortable. A piker’s dream!

So what else can help? It’s well recognised that ‘triggers’ can lead to success. Trouble is, with man made triggers, the pikes’ survival mechanism kicks in eventually and a previously successful trigger can turn into a kiss of death.  The pike senses danger based on its experiences. It may have a small brain but pike do, I’m sure, wise up. At one time, on the Broads, hitting the reeds with an oar would probably induce a feeding spell. Oh yes, it may still do so, where a new generation of Esox has yet to take onboard the warning. The same can be said of dropping an anchor. I am convinced pike recognise, if that’s not to strong a word for it, repetitive behavior patterns of anglers who regularly fish a venue.  So, in a nutshell, help yourself, break your habits and patterns when regularly fishing a water. It isn’t always a case of a water going off, more a case of wising up. Something you have control over. 

So now, maybe there is something here worth taking on board, if your lines become tighter then great, lets see the picture in the ‘gallery’.