Pike fishing gear: the most catchy equipment and installation

Among the predatory fish species that live in freshwater rivers, lakes and reservoirs, the most numerous and popular among fishing enthusiasts is pike. Found in almost any body of water (from a small forest lake to a large deep river and reservoir), this toothy predator is so loved by fishermen, primarily due to the wide variety of gear used to catch it.

What gear for pike fishing is used in the open water season and in the cold season will be discussed in this article.

Trolling tackle

This tackle is a very hard (ultra-fast) spinning rod 180-210 cm long with a dough from 40-50 to 180-200 grams, a powerful multiplier reel, a strong braided cord, a deep bait - a heavy oscillating spoon, a sinking or plunging wobbler, a large twister or vibrating tail on a heavy jig head.

Since this type of fishing involves pulling bait over hard-to-reach river and lake holes, in addition to the most expensive gear, it is not possible without a boat equipped with a motor.

Options for equipping a spinning rod for pike

The usual spinning rig for pike fishing is with a leash on a swivel, on the other side of which the bait is attached to the rig through a carabiner. This method is suitable for ordinary baits - spinners and spinners, crank wobblers and shads in a uniform game without jerking, jigs, and many surface decoys. However, in addition to this, large minnow wobblers on a jerk, that is, when twitching, and spaced jig rigs are effective for catching pike. Let's take a closer look at how to equip a spinning rod for pike fishing correctly in each of these methods.

A simple combination of fastener + swivel equipment, like for a perch, will not work - even a small pencil can easily cut the braided line with razor-sharp teeth. Therefore, in any version of the equipment for pike there is a metal leash.

Zherlitsy

Of all the do-it-yourself pike gear, the girder is the simplest, but at the same time quite catchy. This tackle consists of a wooden slingshot, on which 10-15 meters of monofilament fishing line with a thickness of 0.30-0.35 mm is wound, a sliding sinker weighing from 5-6 to 10-15 grams, a metal leash with a double or triple hook. Live fish (live bait) no more than 8-9 cm long are used as bait for the girdle.

In the working position, part of the fishing line with the equipment is unwound from the slingshot, a live bait is put on the hook, and it is thrown into the water.

DIY pike rig

How to properly make a pike trap with your own hands, self-trap

Mugs

A circle is a floating vent consisting of:

A foam disk with a diameter of 15-18 cm and a thickness of 2.5-3.0 cm with a groove for winding the main fishing line with equipment.
Mast - a wooden or plastic stick 12-15 cm long.
10-15 meter supply of monofilament fishing line.
A rig consisting of an olive sinker weighing from 6-8 to 12-15 grams of a meter line leash, to which a 20-25 centimeter string with a tee is attached.

They are caught with mugs in reservoirs with standing water or weak currents. In this case, areas with a flat bottom and a depth of 2 to 4-5 meters are selected.

Victoria Leshchenko

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A type of circle is a kolobakha - a tackle in which, instead of a foam disk, an empty yogurt bottle is used to wind the main one.

DIY pike circle

How to make a circle for pike fishing with your own hands

Live bait float rod

In small bodies of water (lakes, ponds, bays and oxbow rivers), a live bait float rod is used to catch pike, consisting of:

a rigid 5-meter Bolognese rod;
spinning reel size 1000-1500;
20-meter supply of main line with a cross section of 0.25-0.35 mm
a large float with a long antenna and a weight of 6 to 8-10 grams;
3-5 gram sliding olive sinker;
metal tungsten leash 15-20 cm long with a large single hook No. 4-6.

Pike with live bait

Pike with live bait: collecting gear and fishing rules

In a live bait float fishing rod, it is very important not to load the equipment too strongly or weakly, as this will worsen the sensitivity of the tackle and increase the number of idle and false bites

Less often in summer, for pike fishing, they use a rubber band - bottom tackle with a rubber shock absorber, more adapted for catching bream, roach, silver bream, carp, and carp.

Pike on a spinning rod

To make a spinning rod for pike in the simplest version, just put a reel on the rod, wind the cord and attach the spoon through the leash, tying it to the braid with a regular fishing knot. However, there are fewer and fewer regular rough sticks available. More and more anglers are using normal spinning rods with various baits and equipment - spoons, wobblers, jigs. The number of equipment variations is also growing. A good spinning rod in skillful hands is not a hastily assembled tackle, but a well-thought-out tool that allows you to catch predators in various conditions.

Assembling a spinning rod, choosing a cord and reel for it, directly equipping the equipment - everything depends on the specific nuances of fishing. An angler catches pike with a heavy jig or ultralight, with spinners or wobblers, on a pond or in a deep river with a current - a certain approach to equipment is suitable for each case.

Read more about fishing for pike with a spinning rod

For many fishermen, the process of assembling equipment for pike is already a hobby. Everyone tries to assemble a tackle that is convenient and tailored to their needs - and this directly affects the nuances of the equipment. Accessories, leashes, methods of tying - everything affects the configuration of the equipment and the desired animation of the artificial bait. Let's take a closer look at how to implement full feng shui in your pike fishing equipment, taking into account the requirements for proper play with various lures.

But first, let's touch on the basics of assembling a spinning rod - the correct rod, reel and cord, and provide links to articles on each point. To properly tie the equipment, you need to understand what it is needed for. And the requirements for the equipment itself come from the configuration of the spinning rod as a whole, depending on the fishing conditions.

Ice fishing gear

In winter, pike are caught using stakes (winter girders), and tackle for vertical trolling.

Winter girders

The most common factory rate model consists of the following parts:

plastic bracket with coil;
square or round stand with a slot for fishing line;
a flat spring signaling device with a bright red flag at the end;
equipment - 10-15 meters of monofilament fishing line with a thickness of 0.3-0.35 mm, an olive sinker weighing 6-8 grams, a steel or tungsten leash with a tee No. 2/0-3/0

Experienced winter pikemen advise placing such girders near the shore, on the upper and lower edges of sharp slopes, and in deep holes. The most convenient is a two-row checkerboard arrangement of these gears.

Thanks to its simple design, such tackle can not only be bought at a fishing store, but also made with your own hands by performing the following manipulations:

On a wooden round pole 30-40 cm long, using a self-tapping screw, secure a reel from under the fishing line with a soldered small handle. The reel should rotate freely, releasing the line when biting.
A square stand with a slot for a fishing line and a hole for a pole is cut out of a piece of waterproof plywood using a jigsaw.
Apply a signaling spring to the top, fixing it with a small casing made of outer insulation from a thick cable.
A fishing line is wound onto the reel, a sliding sinker and a silicone stopper are put on, and a leash with a hook is attached.

All wooden parts of homemade gear are torn with black oil paint. To store and carry the girders, use a homemade freezer box with several compartments and a convenient harness.

You can see more clearly how to make such a tackle for pike fishing in the following video:

Tackle for vertical trolling and fishing on a balance beam

For winter fishing for pike with a balance beam, vertical spoons, and a bulldozer, a carbon fiber rod 40-70 cm long with an inertial reel with a diameter of 6-7 cm with a 25-30 meter supply of monofilament fishing line with a cross section of 0.22-0.27 mm wound around it is used. a thin tungsten 10 cm leash.

Spinning rod

The correct tackle for catching pike with a spinning rod starts directly with the rod. Test, action, length - these characteristics are selected by the fisherman for himself. Heavy spinning rods, ultralight, medium universal caliber - all this is selected based on your own needs. Features of choosing a spinning rod for pike, depending on fishing conditions, are described in detail in the corresponding article at the link. Let’s immediately focus on the equipment, we’ll look at how to make a spinning rod for pike correctly - attach a bait or equipment system so that it performs its functionality correctly.

Fishing equipment for pike fishing

All fishing gear for pike requires the use of such special devices during fishing as:

A small fishing hook with a comfortable handle, needed for removing large caught fish from the hole.
A good landing net with a strong long handle and a voluminous mesh bucket.
A set for removing the hook from the mouth - a yawner, an extractor, and tongs.
Kana is a container for storing live bait.
Lil-grip is a special clamp with which the fish is removed from the water and held while the bait hooks are removed from its mouth.
Kukan is a durable nylon cord with fasteners. Used for hooking caught pikes and keeping them alive.
Malyavochnitsa is a small spider lift, the square mesh fabric of which has a cell of no more than 10 mm.
The cut is a sinker with a line ring located on the side. Used for repelling baits caught on snags, grass, and measuring depth.

When fishing from a boat, an echo sounder is often used - a device that allows you to determine the depth, bottom topography, the horizon in which there is a predator or schools of small fish.

Thus, a wide variety of gear allows you to catch toothy predators almost all year round. At the same time, it is very important for the fisherman not to forget about the ban on catching this fish during the spawning period. It is prohibited to use nets for pike fishing both during the open water season and in winter: the use of net fishing gear is punishable by large fines and, in some cases, criminal prosecution.

Spinning rod equipment for wobblers for pike

Wobblers are often used by amateur spinners in the same way as spinners - on a uniform retrieve or with pauses (stop-and-go). That’s why we have a lot of fishermen who don’t like these baits - like they don’t catch with us, except when they’re hungry, when the pike takes anything. If small wobblers have already firmly settled in the boxes of our spinning rods for catching perch, chub and asp, then large ones for pike - not so much. And all because of the improper use of these baits.

Sometimes the pike takes well on even stretches of large cranks and bellies, that is, fats. However, the most effective way to catch toothy fish with this type of artificial bait is by twitching large 110, 130 or more minnow wobblers, as well as bladeless rattlins. Twitching, simply put, is fairly sharp twitching, and constantly according to a certain pattern. At the same time, the wobbler causes aggression in the pike; it grabs it to drive the competitor away from its point. Therefore, with proper wiring, wobblers catch when the pike is not feeding at all.

Large wobblers are very stubborn when jerking - an ordinary spinning rod of medium action will bend and not pull correctly. What you need here is a powerful, but at the same time light stick with a fast or extra-fast action. That’s why large pike minnows don’t work for many novice wobbler operators; they carry them with soft spinning rods.
The second reason for this dislike is incorrect equipment. If you attach a wobbler for twitching or a rattlin to a regular soft leash with a swivel, when jerking, the front hook of the bait will overlap the leash. And so on every wiring.
Wobblers are a subtle bait in terms of its understanding. An important characteristic is buoyancy - slowly floating, slowly sinking, suspenders when hanging in the thickness (zero buoyancy). Suspenders (SP) are most prized by pike fish. However, a heavy leash, and even one with a swivel, can so affect the buoyancy of the wobbler that it loses its killer game.

More details - the right wobblers for pike

To properly equip a spinning rod for pike with large wobblers, you need:

Choose the right rod - a special twitching rod or a universal one with a fast action to pull stubborn wobblers on a jerk.
In the rig, use not soft leashes, but steel twists, which, due to their rigidity, do not overwhelm the tee of the bait when jerking.
When making jerks, give back the tip of the rod each time, loosen the tension - only in this way will the wobbler perform those same residual vibrations and rolling that are lethal to pike.

String twist

To equip a spinning rod for pike with wobblers, we install not a soft metal leash, but a steel twist. You can make it yourself from 0.3-0.4 mm wire. In stores, twists are also sold for 100 rubles for 10 pieces. To start mastering wobblers for pike, just buy ready-made strands of 0.3 mm wire, 20 cm long, with swivels at one end.

We tie the cord to the swivel with a palomar - a wobbler to the other end of the twist, right into the eye. We remove the factory winding ring on wobblers - it is absolutely not needed there - there will be less chance of overlaps. The weight of such leashes is not enough to impair the performance of such large pike killers as Rudra, Kanata or Ito Shiner.
Further, when the angler dives into the wobblers and adjusts their buoyancy, by making homemade twists of different lengths (and using steel of different thicknesses), adding or removing a swivel, this characteristic can be adjusted, achieving the ideal position of the suspender.
The twist leads can be twisted manually using pliers. After several unsuccessful attempts it will start to work. It is more convenient to do this using a screwdriver with a special attachment. But the best thing is to use a special machine, a leash, for example, from the Ramenskaya Stringa company. There you can also get a supply of the correct wire for twisting.

Knotless installation

Experienced twitchers usually catch pike only with wobblers, without using spinners. This means that a swivel is not needed in the rigging system. When equipping a spinning rod for pike with large minnows, instead of a swivel, a knotless connection is used in the equipment. The braid can simply be woven into the top twist.

However, it is safer to use a knotless clasp . The diameter of the knotless wire is 2-3 times thicker than 0.3-0.4 mm twist. Therefore, there is less pressure on the cord under load at the connection point, according to the laws of physics. And tests show that tying to a knotless knot is stronger than simply weaving into a twist or knot.

Read more: how to attach a wobbler to a spinning rod