ESOX HUNTER
UK Piking a Brief Insight
By Dave Horton   April 7, 2007

In response to a request from Gordy and Tim from “Esoxhunter” I’ve put together this general overview of Piking in the UK.  Whilst I recognize that we’re all basically fishing for the same species (Esox Lucius) I’m also fairly certain that there are mild genetic adaptations of the Pike that can often see them behave and appear a little different from one water to the next and particularly so if those waters are continents apart?                                     Typical U.K. Pike Setup The Pike is after all a master of adaptation to its environment and whilst in America it is perhaps surpassed by the Musky as the pinnacle of the freshwater food chain in the UK it remains at the very summit.   In the UK the Pike reigns king!

This piece will be a general over view of water types present in the UK and depending upon how well it’s received I may put together piece out lining how one might best tackle each of them that I have knowledge of?

So then, if we accept that the Pike can and does adapt to a multitude of different environments then it stands to reason (to me at least) that the man who pursues them must adapt too in order to optimize his catching opportunities and ultimate success.

It doesn’t escape me that the majority of Pike Esox hunters in the USA and many other countries appear to target their quarry by lure fishing for the most part.   I think I can understand why this should be the case too?   I suspect that apart from simply enjoying that approach that many of the venues that you are fishing are vast and sparsely populated with the Pike?   If this is the case it is of course prudent to go searching them out and I can think of no better way to do so that by trolling or casting a lure frequently whilst covering considerable distances.   In the UK too this is a widely used method and very effective too.   I have to admit though that lure fishing is my biggest weakness so I’ll leave that to someone else perhaps?

The UK has Pike widely spread throughout a multitude of different water types ranging from tiny village ponds to vast glacial lakes and tiny streams to large tidal rivers and all manner of waters in between.   I’m mindful as I write this though that using terms such as large or vast may amuse some of you when you compare them with your own waters though.   Depending on where in the UK you are a large water may be tens of acres, perhaps hundreds and occasionally thousands.   Naturally not all will produce outsized Pike but fish of 20lbs are a realistic target for just about anyone prepared to drive perhaps 30 miles and put in a little effort and 30 pounders though not common can realistically be targeted.

THE PIKE SEASON

In the UK the traditional Pike season ranges from Oct through to mid March and encompasses the UK winter.   Depending upon the severity of the winter (we rarely get mass freeze over’s) the Pike will feed in fits and starts throughout. Though it has to be said that early winter Oct / Nov and late winter Feb / March generally produce more fish that the months in between.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF VENUES

I’ll outline very broadly the types of venues we have access to but it will be very general and there are of course wide variations of each.   Without wishing to brag I’ll add my own catches from each venue type as a sort of gauge by which you may be able to draw some conclusions.

RIVERS

I’ll start with my favorite type, the Rivers.   Naturally Rivers vary in size and character from large tidal ones to small almost stream like ones.   One thing that seems common though with most of them is that the Pike in them are often real opportunists and rarely turn down                        20 and 30 pound river pike a well presented bait (particularly a good sized live one).   Pike like this lend themselves to my approach in as much as I genuinely feel that if I haven’t caught them within minutes of positioning a bait in a likely spot then they simply aint there and that a move is probably the best option and having itchy feet I tend to move about a fair bit when Piking.   UK river Pike rarely reach the sizes that our Still water Pike do but 20 pounders are present in many and 30 pounders are becoming more frequent too.   Rivers are best tackled by boat in my opinion but often this is not permitted so bank fishing is the only option.   I’ve been fortunate enough to catch 20’s from 10 different UK Rivers and 30’s from 2.

DRAINS

In various parts of the UK we have man made drainage systems that have been dug to reclaim surrounding land for agricultural use.   The water within them is often completely man controlled with pumps in order to maintain consistent levels during times of rain etc.                                                    A drain These matrix of drains often criss cross dozens of miles of flat barren looking land.   The drains themselves are often dead straight for miles on end and often appear uniform and barren too.   Drains vary in size and depth too, with a small one being just a few yards wide and perhaps 3 feet deep.   Mid range ones may be just 10 yards wide and 6 feet in depth and the larger ones can be perhaps 50 yards wide and a dozen or so feet in depth.   Water clarity is generally dictated by the land through which they have been dug.   Again boat access is often not permitted so bank fishing is usually the way to tackle these waters.   Many hold good fish though.   Low 20 pounders are regularly caught but 30 pounders are fairly rare fish.   I’ve caught in the region of 40, 20 pounders from Drains with a best of 29 lbs.

THE BROADS

Perhaps the most famous of all UK Pike venues are the Norfolk Broads.   Steeped in British Piking folklore the Broads have for decades and decades produced numerous 20’s 30’ and very occasionally 40 Pound Pike!   Large bodies of water connected by smallish Rivers, the Broads Pike have much water to lose themselves in.   Often affected by tides and with migratory runs of additional food fish the Pike also lack nothing in the way of a meal.   Boat fishing is a must on the broads and my best from them is 27 off a broad and 33 a connecting River.

GRAVEL PITS

Depending upon where you live in the UK there are often quite vast (Hundreds of acres) of gravel pits that have been manually dug to gain the aggregate for civil building and infra structure such as Motorways.   These vary dramatically upon the method of extraction used and are often very varied in under water topography and depth.   The size and depth of these Pits depends upon the size and depth of the Gravel seams from which they are dug Some small pits might be just a couple of acres with depths of under 20 feet whilst large ones may be a few hundred acres in size and as deep as say 40 or 50 feet in places.   Pits usually offer good water clarity and often explode with life during their first 20 years or so of existence and then settle down to a more consistent aquatic balance.   Young pits often produce 20 pounders within a decade and occasionally 30 pounders shortly after.   Some go on and on producing good Pike for ever but few produce 30 pounders consistently.   I’ve caught 20’s from a dozen or so Pits with a best of 33lbs.

NATURALLY FORMED LAKES AND LOCHS

These are simply not present in my part of the UK so my experience of them is rather limited.   These types of water are often vast (thousands of acres) and may have depths exceeding a hundred feet.                          A vast Loch Unlike the Pits mentioned earlier these waters seem in my opinion to get better with time from a Pikers perspective and recent times have seen good numbers of 20’s and a few 30’s too being caught regularly from a few of them.   Boat fishing is by far the best bet on these vast waters but bank fishing does of course catch fish too.   My infrequent visits to these types of water have seen me catch good numbers of 20’s to a best of 31 pounds.

MAN MADE LAKES AND RESERVOIRS

These again vary dramatically from small (5 acres or so) natural banked Estate lakes to vast (1000 acre) concrete bowl type construction.   Depths vary dramatically too as does water clarity.   Dependant upon food sources for the Pike, many of these types of water produce 20’s and occasionally 30’s too. Boat access, as is often the case in the UK, is usually restricted and by bank fishing you can be left feeling as though you are just scratching the surface of the potential.   My best from a non stocked Trout water type of these venues is 28 lbs.

THE GREAT TROUT WATER REVOLUTION

Here in the UK Game fishing for Trout and to a lesser extent Salmon is often far better catered for, with coarse fish such as the Pike playing a very second fiddle.   Some venues cater for the Game angler solely and Coarse anglers just are not permitted to fish them!   More recently though some of these fisheries have opened their doors to the coarse and particularly the Pike fisherman. This is due in part to them recognizing the financial benefits of allowing us limited access. Trout in particular are frequently stocked on a put and take basis in just about every water type that I’ve covered above.   One thing that has become very apparent though is that the Pike in these put and take type venues prosper very well on the additional man introduced food source and these waters have produced the majority of the UK’s outsized Pike in recent years.

Back in the Mid 1980’s a Trout Reservoir in Sussex England was the first of them to open its doors to the UK’s Pike anglers.   Ardingly as it is known, went on in the course of just 1 winters fishing to re-write the Pike fishing history books.   In the year prior to Ardingly opening the UK fishing press reported just 10 30 pounders for the entire country.   Ardingly in its first winter produced at least that alone and many many good 20’s as well!   Recognizing the money to be gained from Piking others were soon to follow and when a Trout Reservior in Wales (UK) opened some years later 4 - 40 pounders were caught within weeks of that being the case.   That all seems such a long time ago now and to be honest the Trout Water Revolution does seem to be winding down a bit now as access to most of them has been explored to some degree.   That said there are new ones popping up year in year out so we keep our fingers crossed.   Boats are often provided at these venues but bank fishing also produces many fish. My best catches include my PB of 37 lbs and a brace of 30’s from this type of water.

I hope this was of some interest to you all and like I said from the outset it really is just a general overview of UK Piking.

Kind regards Dave Horton Upiker.

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Last updated on ... May 31, 2007