Have we created the most cautious generation of pike ever? - Dom Garnett

I’m not going to lie to you, recent fishing has been a grind. My results wouldn’t flatter Sheffield United right now, especially when it comes to trying to catch a better pike or two.

It would be nice to think that after 30-odd (sometimes very odd) years of pike angling, these fish would be a formality. But no, they seem as moody as I’ve ever found them.

Pike seem as moody as I’ve ever found them

Have I got worse as an angler? Probably not. What I lack in free time, I ought to make up for in experience. But the one massive culture shift since I first started casting plugs and spinners in anger is the huge increase in fishing pressure. When I was growing up in the 1980s, it was a genuine novelty to see a pike angler. Devotees of the species were seen not so much as specialists as ‘a bit special’.

The far better tackle and greater respect for pike we have decades later should be welcomed. However, the massive increase in angler numbers has taught us that pike are not as daft as we thought.

Have we created the most cautious generation of pike ever? From fish that have a phobia of lures, to ridiculously gentle takes on bait, this would seem to be the case. If anything, it probably helps protect them against poaching – not that it’s much consolation when you’re sat by a canal contemplating a third blank on the trot!

Maybe you could argue that picky fish force us to be better anglers. Fly fishing has been a revelation on waters peppered with lures, while groundbaiting, popped-up baits and even night fishing have also helped me avoid blanks.

The real magic bullet, however, is to find venues and spots that haven’t been relentlessly fished. Easier said than done when the options are limited by Covid rules, or you live in an area with quite underwhelming pike fishing.

My results speak for themselves in terms of sheer desperation! Perhaps three-quarters of my pike have been caught on a fly rod after increasingly long walks from popular swims. Meanwhile, it’s also telling that I’ve really struggled on standard deadbaits. Or, at least, the only times I still seem to catch much are when the weather is horrendous or I stay on the bank into darkness!

Another cold day on the canal, where I have failed spectacularly so far

One thing you can say about pike is that on any venue with deep margins they will still feed close to the bank if you can only find ‘bite o’clock’. Just don’t expect them to feed at sociable hours or send line spilling of the reel like a runaway train. 

The incredibly feeble bite my last double gave is symptomatic of this new school of pike fishing – to succeed, you need to cast away your assumptions, walk further and fish smarter than ever before.