Pike Fishing hots spots
1. Trout Resevoirs
Today I bought my first copy of Angling Times for about 8 years! Coincidentally the front page featured article was on pike fishing in reservoirs normally only open to trout fishing. There seems to be awesome potential for record breaking predators in a venue that is unfished (for pike at least) and well stocked with a prime food source.
The standard of pike fishing in large open waters is understandably much better than in small slow flowing drains and ponds. The abundance of high quality food and expansive area to roam ensures top quality fully muscled fighting fish. I always found it upsetting when fishing some of my local ponds how unhealthy the fish stock always seemed. For my sins, the first 10 years of my working life was spent as a fish farmer and I am only too well acquainted with the sort of fish health and quality resulting from poor waters.
Naturally the pike fishing tackle required for large reservoirs is at the top end of the scale in terms of strength and, well I suppose size. A long rod of at least 12 foot and strong enough backbone to long cast at least 8 ounces or more will be needed, with line strength and reel capacity to match. Fishing at 100 plus yards and aiming for 30 to 40 pound (and more) specimens means that you m ust be well prepared with your pike fishing tackle – it would be a sin leaving your end tackle in their mouths and many yards of line trailing behind these magnificent pike.
These trout waters are usually more prolific than other prime venues such as Loch Awe and other Scottish pike fishing hot spots. This is as a result of the amount of food available which will always support a strong head of pike. It is a shame that very often the trout fishery owners will cull large numbers of pike from their wayer in an effort to stop them eating the valuable trout which need to be stocked regularly. The more forward thinking fishery manager will see that the pike will act as top of the food chain predators ensuring that the trout population is at its prime – the loss of some trout can be offset by opening the water to pike fishermen at certain times and in any case the loss is insignificant compared to that from cormorants and other fish eating birds!
I would see no harm in anglers being instructed to cull any injured or sick pike that they encounter.