Dead Bait

[Cavanman]

Hey all, jus lookin for tips on usin deadbait for catchin good sized pike. All tips on which deadbait, depth, techniques tro use are more than welcome thanks everyone

[mrwell]

Hi Cavanman....try smelt and mackerel on a heli rig/patternostor link on the rivers.....on stillwater i would use the same bait but add roach as well,method would be popped up off bottom on a ledger rig....no need to cast too far just in the margin areas would do

[Cavanman]

Cheers for the reply dude, I don't really do much pike fishin, more course fishing cause i'm only startin out I don't mean to sound stupid, but what exactly is a ledger rig? Sorry for the dumbass question, but sure gotta learn the simple things too

[mrwell]

Well what i class as a ledger rig is a ledger weight or bomb attached to a swivel/snap link....now first you must use a wire trace when pike fishing because pike bite through ordinary line easy even braid....the trace needs to be around 12 inches long maybe 18,these can be ready made from your tackle shop and vary in price...by using a snap link you can easy put the bomb/ledger on along with the wire trace.....to get the dead bait to float or pop up you need to insert some balsa wood in to the bait via it's mouth...but if you use smelt as a dead bait you will find these float without the need to do this....you could use a pike float and fish the dead bait in that way but what ever way you choose you must use a wire trace that has treble hooks on...put one hook in the head the other in the flank/side...pike take the bait head first most of the time after getting hold of it.....line i would use braid if the pike are known to be big,braid is strong and out lasts mono....the ledger set up is only a form of bolt rig really and helps set the hooks although you still need to strike on the take to help set them properly...use a good strong rod like a carp rod with a test curve of around 2.75 lb or more this will help in the casting of the dead bait and the fight of the pike....i am trying to keep it simple for you if i can because it is not a easy way to fish if your are new to it.....what i have sugested is just a little personal choice and not in no way the way some experts might do it...hope it helps you out a little cavanman...good luck!

[Cavanman]

Ah cheers for all the help, that sounds pretty much like the technique i was usin, but when you're not sure if you're right, it's worth askin! But like i said, I'm really enjoyin simple course fishin at the mo, The pike might have to wait a while

[spinksy]

I've started to use them dead bait sticks with my bait recently and they work well. They make the dead bait float up abit - seems they seem more attractive to Pike like that.

[peakpdr]

get a swim feeder and fill it with fish guts for that extra bit of atraction

[donwilliam]

pop up dead baits work really well, if you want to go cheap you can get some polystyrene and stuff that inside the spratt and the stitch it back up, i have had good success with this method rather than a simple sunken dead bait