Pike season is here. I know, how slow am I noticing?

So I thought it time to update and round off what should be the end to my summer fishing with the light gear and time for some serious pike fishing with some proper gear. Well I'm hardly the proper winter piker as I don't particularly target big winter pike. All year long I target fish on the lures, mostly it's pike but this year I managed to avoid my pike spots while the sun was shining as I felt it wasn't right for esox in favour of mostly perch. The cold seems to finally be here even if it's not frosty or snowy yet. However for the last month or so I've casually carried on with the light gear. The occasional large lure has been thrown but only the odd hour here or there. The weather has kind of held off a little and so I decided to stick it out with the light gear in the hope of more fun. However I've still resisted the urge to go to a few places where I know I have a chance of a big perch in favour of trying out somewhere new that I have no knowledge of and don't even know how big the perch go. The banker canal where I had my pb last year I know has been hit by a few lure anglers. With my ear to the ground and my beady eye on the forums plus a few chats with lads who I know there's been a good few lure chuckers chasing the big perch and I decided to keep clear.


I've been trying my best to find some river perch close to home, however the closest I've come a few times now is a big perch shaking the hooks. No record breakers but easily fish in the two and three pound bracket. A shame but at least now I know a few places where I stand a chance. Problem is the fish move as soon as a few have been caught so it's a waiting game. Maybe I should wait until about March time when they're fat as pigs? I've also had a few chucks at some canals that should throw up a fish or two and again I wasn't sure how big. I've managed a good few pound and pound and half fish with stacks of small perch to 10oz size and then finally I dropped on a good fish that went 2lb 12oz. I was happy with that one as it was a hard earned fish and also a good finish to my summer light lure fishing.

Well it hasn't really finished. I've enjoyed throwing small stuff about and haven't been in a rush to chase pike. I haven't even got sorted for winter where I was supposed to be getting a dead bait set up or two bought but instead I've spent money on other stuff, such as the gear from LureFactors to make my own soft lures. I've enjoyed the process and even though I know I'm not creating things on the level such as Matt Holmes does, it's still an extra pleasure to catch on something you've created yourself. For my latest lures I went and made a couple of half decent shad moulds so 2-5 inch lures are now a doddle to make. They're not as neat and perfect as the moulds you can buy but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. The fish don't check to see your craftsmanship and as was the case today, a lure I made last night was trashed in no time. I'll just have to melt that one down again to make a new one. Here's a selection of my last batch. All simple and no fancy stuff with the colourings yet (if ever) but they all work perfect. So there's another reason I haven't made the switch to serious pike fishing. Making lures and testing them out and then enjoying a fish or two on them has been a distraction from getting the large lumps of wood out. I've managed a few fish, pike, perch and a chub too.

So is it now time to make the switch to pike as the colder weather draws in? I'm not sure I will yet. I might just give this ultra light fishing a bit longer and see where it goes.

Soft lure making

 

Loads of people are in to it nowadays, making your own lures. I'm not sure I have the skills or perseverance to make super jerk baits like some, but recently I started looking in to making my own soft plastics. By luck, at the recent PAC convention there was a stand there with a couple of lads showing off their product. LureFactors is the place to go and start off if this is something you have been thinking of doing. When I saw the demonstration it did look simple and then just recently they introduced a trial kit for fifteen quid. You get a mould, a couple of colours, some lube, glitter and of course some Lure Flex to get you started. So I took the plunge and bought the kit (plus a microwaveable jug) and then the other day I had a bash.

£15 for this, plus £5 for jug

There was a set of instructions so I carefully read through. To be honest it's pretty simple, shake the bottle, put some in the jug, nuke for a few seconds to minute or so, pour in to mould and wait a minute before marvelling at your creation. Yes it is that easy once you get the hang of it. Though at first I struggled a little. I was too cautious with the microwave, fearing burning the rubber and stinking the house out. The first time I poured the Lure Flex it was just  warm Lure Flex and so it never set in to rubber. I guess there's some scientific thing that goes on when it gets to 260 degrees. I eventually realised I wasn't giving it long enough to get hot but when a visible change occurred, It was a kind of "eureka" moment, for myself anyway. After that I was away and before I knew it I had a good handful of grubs in a couple of colours, some with glitter in and I was ready to test them. Shame it was pitch black outside, now where did the summer go?

Luckily I wasn't starting work until 10am so that meant I could get an hour in before a hard days graft (honest, I do work hard). I arrived and stuck on a curly tailed grub that I'd lovingly made just the night before. Well either the perch weren't impressed at my handy work or they weren't where I expected them. I moved a little further along the bank to try and find them and then within a few minutes I felt the first pluck. Here is the first fish I caught on my new lures, I was over the moon. God knows how much joy others must get with their real hard work making their lures and catching on them. I'm never one for using curly tail grubs so to catch on them was good too.

I ended up with 17 perch in less than an hour fishing so was chuffed to bits with that. Two perch were just short of the pound barrier but I was thrilled to bits when I managed to snare an even better perch, probably a bit over a pound and a half. A top result if I say so myself.

So next on my list is to get enough Lure Flex to make me a stack of lures. I also need to make some moulds so that I can make other lures of various shapes and sizes. One lure I wanted to make was the kopyto in a few sizes. I can wait for Lure factors to make even more lure moulds or I can get the right gear from their shop and make my own moulds. However I was sat bored, thinking of what I could make when I came up with a plan. Digging out a tub of Polyfiller I set to making a mould and when I got home from work today I was ready to give it a test. Now I knew it wouldn't be as good as the flexible rubber moulds you can buy or make but I still reckoned it would work, if not as neat and here they are. I might have to go catch on one tomorrow now.

"Copytos"

So a great product and if you're in to using soft lures I can't recommend getting in to this enough. Mark from LureFactors is a great chap, catches plenty of fish himself so he knows what he wants and he's knocking out lures of all shapes and sizes so will help you along as you get started. It really is that easy and much cheaper than buying them. A 2.5 inch Kopyto will cost 3p to make compared to 70p to buy. Something I forgot to mention is there's no waste either. All the rubber that is left, has set in the jug or been spilled on the worktop will just set, but you just chuck it back in the microwave and it melts again, same with all your old lures that are bashed, ripped and bitten to hell. There's no mistakes, just use it again mix and add more colour and you can even pour your rubbers in layers to give multiple coloured lures. The possibilities are endless and it's just up to you and your imagination once you take the plunge. From now on I'll only be making my own.