Fishing for pike in the fall with a spinning rod: choosing the best gear and the right technique

Pike is a large, voracious predator that lives in fresh water bodies. If you want to catch the largest specimen possible, then it is recommended to go hunting in the autumn. It is during this season that the predator is most voracious and active, so the bite will be of the highest quality. So how does catching pike in the fall with a spinning rod go? Let's figure it out.

When should you go hunting for toothy fish?

Despite the fact that you can ensure a good pike bite almost throughout the fall, you still need to know the specific seasonal characteristics in the behavior of this predator:

1. As soon as the first summer heat subsides, you can go fishing.
2. But, with the onset of freeze-up (that is, late autumn), the activity of the predator will decrease, therefore, it is necessary to get into exactly this time interval.
3. In September, as soon as the leaves begin to fall near the birch in the middle zone, the pike will bite quite intensively in the morning and at dawn. October is the peak of activity. But, as the weather becomes cooler, the fish will move into deeper layers of water. As a result, it is better to go fishing in the first half of the day.
4. But in November it is better to go fishing starting at noon and hunt for pike until the evening.

If you want to get a trophy specimen in your collection, then you need to take into account the effect of “pike weather”. The fish loves when there is a slight wind, causing light ripples in the water, a little rain and the air is quite cool. But, with all this, the atmospheric pressure must remain stable. Together with certain hours, this significantly increases the chances of catching large specimens.

Sizes – does it matter and where to find a large one?

You need to know for sure that not all pike are allowed to be caught. For example, an individual that has not reached 35 cm in length is prohibited from being caught.

Specimens that reach 1 m in length are considered quite large. Their weight typically ranges around 6-8 kg and their age is around 8 years.

THIS IS INTERESTING!!! The record that has been achieved to date is a trophy pike weighing 34 kg, which was caught almost 100 years ago in the Novgorod region in Lake Ilmen.

Naturally, in addition to taking into account the characteristics of the season, it is necessary to know exactly where large fish live. After all, adult large pikes themselves are solitary predators that avoid the company of other representatives of their species, regardless of their size. Therefore, if you want to catch big fish, then you should look for the following zones:

1. Sections of the river where there are pools or deep holes at the bottom.
2. Where the influx enters.
3. If there are sufficiently powerful crevasses at the bottom of the river.
4. Large and deep pools.
5. If there are powerful snags, driftwood, which in a flooded state create good conditions for an ambush for a predator on its hunt.
6. If the river is less than 3 m deep, then the food supply for such a large active predator will be insufficient. In addition, due to the lack of volume, it is quite difficult for fish to find places to ambush here. For these reasons, it will be possible to catch only small specimens weighing no more than 4-5 kg.
7. To hunt for large pike, it is better to go to large deep reservoirs, rivers and lakes.

Choosing the right tackle

In order to fish as efficiently as possible from the shore or boat in the autumn, you need to understand that at this time of year there is still vegetation in the reservoir. Therefore, casting too far from the shore will not bring results. Here is what gear is used in the early and later seasons:

1. At the beginning of autumn, spinning rods with a length of up to 2.4 m will be optimal. It is better to choose a speed of up to 25 g. You can choose a medium-fast action. You can buy a spinning rod that is average in price.
2. As soon as autumn enters its second half, the spinning rod can be changed to a longer one - from 2.7 to 3 m is suitable. It will allow you to make powerful and long-distance casts from the shore.
3. The fishing line must be thick enough in cross-section to support such a large, muscular predator. The monofilament version ranges from 0.22 to 0.35 mm. If you prefer to use wicker, then you can take it thinner in cross-section, suitable in the range from 0.15 to 0.2 mm. These fishing line parameters will allow you to support pike weighing from 8 to 15 kg.
4. It is necessary to understand that the jaws of a predator can easily cut even a thick fishing line. For this reason, it is necessary to equip the fishing line with a metal leash with a length of 30 to 50 cm.
5. The reel must be completely suitable for the selected gear. Both multiplier and inertia-free options with a capacity in the range from 2500 to 3000 are suitable. But, in this case, you must not save and buy original branded products. Since reels made in China quite often malfunction and cause failures and fish failure.

The best baits in the autumn

It is important to understand that it is in the autumn season that pike are voracious and active. She is ready to attack almost anything that even minimally reminds her of her natural food. Therefore, almost all baits that are large enough in size, have a bright, rich color and an active game of their own are suitable.

Let's look at all the suitable baits for catching pike.

Spoons

When using a spinning rod in pike hunting, it is better to take rotating and oscillating spoons. But, they are suitable for those expanses of water where there is no intensive vegetation.

Experienced fishermen advise:

• In September, choose a spinner, that is, a spinner that rotates. The optimal size would be a spoon of 2-3 cm.
• In October, the spinner can only be used to catch small predators.
• If you want to catch a large pike in the second half of autumn, then it is better to use oscillating spoons. They are large and heavy enough to attract big fish.

Wobblers

If you use minnow-class wobblers on reservoirs before or after vegetation has settled, you will be able to achieve the desired depth. Such a wobbler will pass through any vegetation in order to effectively reach the places where the pike is hiding.

You can use the following types of this bait:

1. Those that dive can be used at depths of up to 6 m using a uniform retrieve technique.
2. Those that sink operate over wider depth ranges. They can also be used when fishing in the bottom layer. Such wobblers show their effectiveness best when jerking.
3. Suspenders have neutral buoyancy, so they are able to maintain depth when there is a pause during the retrieve. Thus, this bait imitates the behavior of a predator’s prey as much as possible.

Silicone types for jig

Among the silicone types of bait used are worms, leeches, vibrotails, twisters, and cuttlefish. They can be made from either edible rubber or regular silicone.

Very often, experienced fishermen use this type of bait to “probe” new places. Even though it may break, it is not too bad to lose it due to its affordable price.

Poppers

This type of bait refers to wobblers that float on the surface of the water or in the upper layer. Poppers lure pike by making a specific splashing sound. But the fish can be selective about such bait. She most readily pays attention to it in the month of September, that is, when she has not yet gone into deeper layers of water.

Other types of bait

Also using spinning rods, the following types of baits are used in the fall to catch pike:

1. Jerkbaits - outwardly they resemble wobblers as much as possible, but have their own, different game. They are used to imitate early fish. The main advantage of jerkbaits is cutting off bites from small fish.
2. The bucktail has a colored feather in the shape of a fluffy fly and a jig head. Most often it is used for fishing at depth, so it is better to use it in the second half of autumn.
3. Fishing with mugs is similar in principle to fishing with a zherlitsa. The principle of fishing here is that you must first reel out a certain amount of fishing line, and then only make the hook. Don't miss the opportunity to use fishing with mugs.
4. You can also fish with live bait. But in this case, it is necessary to clearly understand the behavior of the predator during a certain period. This method also has its own advantages, which is why many anglers use live bait techniques, taking into account the correct attachment of the fish so that it remains alive for as long as possible.

Not effective baits for autumn pike fishing

Experienced fishermen who have studied the behavior of pike well enough recommend not using the following types of bait for this predator in the autumn:

1. Spinnerbaits don't go deep enough.
2. Mandulas have a superficial effect, as a result of which the pike simply does not see this bait.
3. The spinner can get caught on any vegetation in the water, so you can simply break the line or lose the bait.

Autumn lures for pike

As already mentioned, in the fall the toothy predator becomes very active and pays attention to almost everything that is in its field of vision. Therefore, what to use to catch pike in the fall is not a very difficult question. The most common and effective baits for spinning fishing are:

1. Oscillating and rotating spoons of various sizes and colors.
2. Various wobblers.
3. Silicone baits used for jig fishing.

The main criteria when choosing baits are their size, which determines its weight, and therefore the necessary spinning test, as well as their color. What’s good is that wherever you go fishing, catching pike in the fall with a spinning rod can be successful when using baits of a wide variety of sizes and colors .

The autumn predator can attack both small and quite large baits. Sometimes the size of the caught bee-eater is not much larger than the size of the wobbler used to catch it. But you should still remember that the larger the bait, the less often small fish bite on it , the greater the likelihood of catching a large specimen of a predator with it.

Also, large baits most often work when fishing in rivers. There, usually, in backwaters or near holes, trophy pikes are hidden, which need to be hunted only with the help of large, from 10 centimeters , wobblers or using a jig, weighing from 18 grams . Large “oscillators” can also work in such places.

The color range of baits used is also very diverse. The most important factor when choosing a color is the degree of transparency of the water. The clearer the water, the less bright the bait you can choose. Therefore, if you are wondering what to use to catch pike in September, when the water has not yet cooled down enough and is not as clear as at a later time, then you should pay attention to bright silver, yellow or red baits. Be it a spinner, wobbler or silicone.

Pike fishing in October, when the water becomes much clearer, can be successfully carried out with less bright baits. The main thing is that they must move correctly and actively . During this period, the brightness of color fades into the background.

However, as many advanced anglers have noticed, the presence of a red tint on the bait attracts pike at any time . To do this, you can choose either silicone, partly red, or a wobbler with a red nose or stripe. Spoonbaits, regardless of their design and principle of operation, are often equipped with red terry, a petal or a tassel. It’s not at all difficult to complete this modification of the bait yourself, using red thread.

Fishing technique

Here are the most effective and popular techniques among experienced fishermen for catching pike in the fall using a spinning rod:

1. Twitching has a soft manner of conducting and is able to attract pike due to its smooth movement in the horizontal direction.
2. Jerking, unlike twitching, has a larger amplitude, but also extends in the horizontal direction.
3. Riping has a fairly deep penetration of the bait due to the fact that the spinning rod makes the bait move up and down.
4. You can also use aggressive fishing techniques. At the same time, the fisherman performs sharp jerks of the hook, which imitate the movements of a fish trying to hide from the attacker.
5. The “demolition” technique is used only in those reservoirs where there is a sufficiently intense current that can pick up the bait with it. But in this case, it is important to select a significant weight of the bait in order to avoid it floating up and plowing the bottom.
6. You can also use the jumping technique. In this case, it is necessary to sharply twitch the spinning rod, which will tear the bait upward by 5-10 cm.

Types of autumn spinning fishing

Spinning fishing in our country is perhaps the most popular type of fishing. One of the advantages of spinning fishing is the wide variety of baits, both animal and plant, and artificial. For successful spinning fishing, you should learn fishing techniques and some tactical tricks:

1. The even fishing method should be used by beginner fishermen. This type of wiring is carried out at the same speed. The speed of the retrieve depends on the depth.

2. Fast retrieve is used in the upper layers to catch active fish.

3. Classic wiring takes place in the water column. It is universal for all seasons and suitable for catching all types of fish.

4. Slow wiring is the most difficult to execute. It passes close to the bottom, but without touching it.

5. Uneven wiring means that the movements of the bait become jerky and chaotic. This is achieved due to the uneven speed of rewinding the fishing line.

6. Hard wiring is done with quick and powerful jerks of the spinning rod. Between jerks there are stops, the duration of pauses depending on the types of fish and seasons. Experience is required to use this type of wiring.

7. Soft wiring, unlike hard wiring, is performed with soft jerks, using acceleration, pulling, and so on. Such wiring is very useful when the predator is inactive.

By studying various types of fishing, a spinning fisherman gains experience that will be useful to him when fishing in any conditions.

Some features and subtleties of fishing in the autumn

With the onset of autumn, weather conditions change; frequent rains and low air temperatures quickly cool water bodies. This leads to the fact that the oxygen concentration becomes uniform in all layers of water. And pikes of sexual maturity begin a period of seasonal feeding before breeding. All these features need to be taken into account before trying to catch a fairly large pike in the autumn:

1. Due to the fact that in September the temperature has not yet dropped sufficiently, the pike's zhor is at an average level and below this indicator. Therefore, it is best to use live bait gear. Spinning in September is less effective.
2. In the month of October, the pike bite peaks. This predatory fish needs to build up a fairly thick fat layer during this month. For this reason, the fish becomes indiscriminate and tries to attack everything it sees. This season is the best for spinning.
3. The month of November forces the overfed predator to become more attentive and careful. It goes deeper, so you have to use appropriate baits and fishing techniques. As soon as the first ice crust appears on the reservoir, pikes lie to the bottom and the fishing season for them comes to an end. But where freeze-up does not occur due to certain circumstances, including weather conditions, you can continue to hunt with a spinning rod until winter.

Using these recommendations, you can easily catch a fairly large fish and, with a combination of circumstances, some luck and knowing what to fish for each month, catch a trophy specimen.

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Ways to catch pike in autumn

Of course, many anglers know how to properly catch pike with a spinning rod in the fall, but, as you know, every business has its own subtleties, which sometimes determine whether the fishing will be successful or not. One of the most important factors is the proper preparation of the angler and equipment for the upcoming fishing trip. Both the tackle, the bait, and the spinning equipment must correspond to the conditions in which pike fishing will take place in the fall.

Fishing for pike with a spinning rod in September can be done both from a boat and from the shore. For fishing from a boat, you need to choose a spinning rod no longer than 2.2 meters ; most often, a 2-meter fishing rod with a weight of 8 to 25 grams . This can be a fast or parabolic stick. As the main fishing line, it is better to use “braid” with a diameter of 0.15 - 0.2 mm . The leash should be made of thin string, steel, or tungsten, since pike often bite through leashes made of other materials.

The spinning rod is equipped with a corresponding spinning reel. This is usually 2500 or 3000 coils . But many people know how to catch pike in the fall using lighter gear, with reels from 1500 to 2000. With such gear, they usually catch small specimens in very clear water without a current. For example, catching pike in the fall with a spinning rod on a small lake requires the angler to be more careful in movement and more inconspicuous gear.

Fishing for pike in September from the shore requires more thorough equipment. In such conditions, it is better to use a whip with a length of 2.7 meters , with a dough of up to 35-40 grams . Although the spinning test depends entirely on the baits used. If your baits are light and have a high windage, like most wobblers, then you can take a rod with a smaller cast, but it should have a medium or slow action. This will make it easier for you to cast longer.

Also, we must not forget that wherever and whenever you catch pike in the fall on a spinning rod, it is always useful to have an extractor , landing net , yawner and flashlight . Without an extractor and a yawner, it is often very difficult to free a toothy fish from a hook without getting injured, especially if it is a large specimen. A flashlight can be useful when fishing in the evening, especially if pike fishing takes place in October or November; it gets dark quickly in the fall.