Pike Fishing

Sprat Bashing

River Medway, Tonbridge, Kent. UK

It's been a long time since I really dedicated any time into Pike fishing, a favourite past time target of mine, with techniques and tactics passed down from my father and honed during British Pike Championships. It was time to change that, I have moved and now within 15mins drive have vast swathes of the River Medway from Tonbridge to Maidstone, ideal for last minute trips, where a few hours is ideal to travel light and search out every nook and cranny of the River and it's back waters. and it was these back waters where I decided to start my campaign. I was to travel light my Snowbee Sea Bass Special lure rod combined with a Shimano Stradic 5000 with 30lb braid. a simple box with a few choice lures and a few traces, and a bag of Sprats as bait.

I set out to old but familiar swims, and already in my mind, I had decided not to lure fish, I don't know what it is, but my lure fishing has a lot to be desired, even back in my day it was almost non existent, a discipline I have yet to learn. My plan was to flutter a small 4" Sprat head hooked onto a size 3/0 circle hook under a small Fox pop up using it as a control float, the waters were shallow, and I fished around 2' deep most the time, I drifted the bait down stream in the light current, hoping to waft a sprat in front of any Pike waiting to ambush an unsuspecting prey. I allowed the bait to drift bouncing along the margins and right under overhanging trees, and then slowly reeled in, back past the features which makes the Sprat excitedly flutter higher up in the water. I spent no more than 5 minutes in each swim, I hadn't had any takes in 6 swims, so I made the decision to walk 15mins to an old favourite spot, which turned out to be productive.

I arrived at my old spot, and sett up very quietly so as not to disturb any fish in the swim, where a large tree over hung 3/4 of the River, providing plenty of cover and making the clear route down stream long and narrow, somewhere where you would expect a hit, I wasn't wrong, as I drifted my Sprat down it dived right without any warning, I lifted into a fish and had a fantastic little scrap with a small Jack of around 3lb, well, it was a start to my Pike season at least. I had a few more hits after but after seeing the Pike hit the Sprat, they just left the head hanging on the circle hook, although I was really testing these circle hooks, I have to admit, 2 trebles would have been a better rig, and would have resulted in a few more fish.  Even so, I had caught my first of the season Pike, a small lively Jack Pike, and things can only get better, I've got a lot of water to explore, I got a bike to get me to the furthest reaches and I'm setting myself a challenge to get a 10lb plus pike from the River this season, start small then we'll see where we end up.