Warwickshire Avon - Twerkers and Turbidimeters

What to do, where to go ? with a hard frost overnight and clear skies, yeap, a pike would be nice !!! Now consistent success with pike involves giving them what they want on the day. On many occasions a static deadbait fits this bill, however there will be days when the pike will react for more positively to movement, and recognition of this fact will lead to more pike in the net. 

If you prefer not to livebait or if livebaiting is not allowed, you may need to put 'life' into the deadbaits to provoke a response from the pike. It is often a more interesting way to fish anyway, involving the angler in much more than just sitting and waiting. 

Mobile tactics have another major benefit in that they will show the bait to many more pike because they will cover a greater expanse of water.

Deadbaits cast out and retrieved in an enticing manner often spur lethargic pike in to action, as well as tempting actively feeding pike. The skill comes in making the fish look like a live one in distress, and also fishing it at the correct depth and speed. Takes can come either near the bottom, in midwater or even on the surface. 

This stretch of river I rarely see another angler so whilst I chilled out in the morning sun catching a few bait fish on maggots every so often I twitched the smelt off the bottom to try and provoke the predatory instinct of any waiting pike. It's a method that fellow Sean shared with me and my pike fishing has been transformed because of it. 

The bait fish to be honest as soon as the sun was high in the sky almost disappeared with bites hard to come by with the usual roach shoals failing to show, but at least the dace were up for a feed. 

With an hour to go with only a small jack grabbing a the small roach livebait I went on the rove to fish the other swims to try and drop in on pike. I swapped to a smelt and fished 3 swims upstream and moved the bait off the bottom every 5 minutes or so.

What I didn't expect was in the final swim after the float was motionless for 20 minutes using the aforementioned method that literally the final twerk of the smelt out of nowhere a pike appeared and snaffled the bait right out in front of me. 

The water is clear, very clear so it was a bit of shock at first because it was a half decent fish. I can only assume it had been sitting and watching the bait for a while and the movement spurred it on to take it before its potential meal disappeared from her gaze. 

A decent fight ensued however after a few decent runs she decided that her game was up and I scooped it in to the waiting landing net. 

It felt and looked like a decent fish and it was, going 14lb's and 8 ounces on the scales. A fine looking pike indeed and made the otherwise tough session worth the trip out. With the Avon clearing at a fast rate I think some proper sink and draw tactics would be worth a go next time and without the distraction of fishing the float for the smaller species. 

Being more mobile that led to the capture of this fish, meant I went home a happy man. Without this fish it would have been a rather lame affair, but it just goes to show just how quickly fortunes can change. That's fishing for you though and thats why we love it.