1.Hi Nathan ,How did you get into pike fishing.
I got into pike fishing about 9 years ago after having a small roach grabbed whilst out float fishing for bits & pieces and I was amazed at the speed and pure aggression and savagery of the take.From that
Moment I wanted to learn everything about esox lucius.I had a well informed friend and soon to be mentor Dodgy Dagenham Dave,who was schooled in piking ,rivers,pits and resovoirs like abberton
In Essex.He took me on my first piking trip,which of course I blanked.,that's piking eh,but I did have a follow and saw a pike of about 15 lb cruise up behind my bait,it was sinister and so stealthy seeing the dark torpedo shape lying there.Next time we went I had a jack and from that moment on I've never looked back,I may have caught that jack but pike caught me forever.
2.What are you're preferred venues for pike and why.
well pete I could narrow it down to anywhere that's wet and would willingly fish anywhere and have in lots of places.The said rivers are my forte and where my heart lies.There is something about wild
River pike that gets me and difficult to quantify into words.I suppose that river pike carry a certain amount of respect within the piking scene and my guess is that this is borne out of the fish itself and efforts you put into catching them.Dont get me wrong I have fished chew and other places and I can understand the attraction and please don't think for one minute I consider any style of pikeing easy because I don't think it's easy pike fishing exists .My love of river pike fishing was borne out of necessity of fishing waters available to me,there is a lack of still waters available where I live so I learnt my craft exploring rivers and fell in love with them.If I could choose anywhere to fish then I would pick a river any day of the week.I might not catch 40,s or even 30,s ,but every single pike I catch of any size is well earned and I love it and them.
3.What is your preffered method for catching pike and why
My preffered method for catching pike is a simple float rig with a live or deadbait trotted down a marginal slacks of the river.Its what has produced most of my fish and is my preffered method and one i developed on my own really with a single rod approach.Moving swims every 5-10 mins,moving down river until you find a fish thats feeding.Its not in my name to sit still for too long ,plus having a family and not much money its a simple and deadly effective way of catching pike and maximising the little time i have to fish.
4.You have caught some awesome pike,how many over 20.
Ahh the odd numbers game,to be honest im not a huge fan of numbers so i will answer like this,very simple not enough!!!!...In the last 2 years i have caught 70 over the magical 20 pound figure.Size isnt important,to some it is and thats fine with me,however whats most important is consistancy in my pike fishing as i hate blanking and my motto is big or small love them all and i do.
5.If you could choose only one method for pike,lives,deads or lures which woud you choose
For me lives every single time.The reason being they get takes quick and like i said im married with 2 children and working full time means time on the bank is extremley limited and therefore i get results quickly.If your not bothered about the size of the pike you catch then lives will always will alays get you a fish quick and i have said consistancy is the key for me.I sometimes wish i had time to travel around targetting select waters all day for weeks to grind out pike with large deads but thats a sacrafice thats too much for me.Family come first and fishing second so ill take a live anyday,please if you have any ???
6.When you fish rivers how do you choose tactics for the session.
Simple ,i only have one,a roving approach with one rod !!!!...Ok maybe there is a bit more to it than that.I love lure fishing and do lots of it and my experience has been that whilst it doesnt produce big pike consistantly it is a great way for getting out there and covering ground.My tactics are to get out with the lure rod,study the river,note follows and missed takes ,changes in the riverand features as they develop and get back to the hotspots with baits as soon as i can.The thing with rivers is that there in constant change and therefore you need to be constantly changing tactics accordingly.It makes river piking exciting but also challenging,truth be told most times i go i dont decide till the night before or when i get in the car in the morning.
7.Do you fish for other coarse fish besides pike.
There are other coarse fish ????.wow who knew????.oh you mean bait,well yes then i do after all any piker worth his salts could give any matchmen a run for there money when it comes to bagging up.Sorry i could not resist,ok seriously no i dont ive yet to find a species in the uk that inspires me enough to consistantly get out there fishing.That said i might try a bit harder to target chub ,barbel and perch nexy year.But hand on heart im a one species man to my true love Mrs Esox Lucius and im very lyal and faithful guy.
8.You are now a sponsored angler,what companys.
I am very fortunate to have a few sponsors and thanks for the opportunity to plug (pun intended).For lures im with www.jerkbaitmania.co.uk who have some fantastic lures including a lure named after me the edgell bomber.I have also been promoting and testing lures for a finnish company called www.lunkermania .co.uk
have a look at the s-killer one of my top 5.Im also sponsored by a float company floats online who produce premier pike floats and are the floats that have nailed me so many big fish.My fav is the self cocking vaned no 2 which is really an exceptional float that allows fantastic freedom of movement for the bait.And Finally
i have just been sponsored by www.team30plus.com which is a huge achievement for me.They are more a mainstream company which are big and established with a wide vareity of tackle,incl rods and clothes e.t.c
i relish the opportunity of working with them over the next year and putting products through there paces.
9.Being a keen river angler,do you stactic fish for pike.
I very rarely static fish for pike,not on rivers anyway.The only time i do on rivers if im targeting a wide deep bend or a slack area of a weir.I love weir,s.And in my experience of them on rivers is that they are a natural larder and pike move up river at different times of the day to feed as they hold bait fishLike ive said already its not in my nature to sit still for long and with limited time factor i prefer to get out there and go to them rather them come to me.
10 I f you could give advice to any up and coming pike angler,What would it be.
First and foremost have fun and enjoy your fishing and go with someone experienced as you will learn more in a day than you will going it alone.Put the time in and persevere as its actions that get results,learn your waters and your craft.Join the P.A.C as its a wealth of information and full of passionate people who really care.Try to get along to talks and look up your region for talks by guest speakers.www.pacgb.co.uk
Also dont be afraid to ask questions,its always better to ask than not to.You are more than welcome to ask me anything ,you can find me on facebook.com/adventures of a riverpiker.
I,d like to thank nathan for the interview,tight lines mate for the season ahead.
Nathan will be giving a talk for Region 31 at the caledonian hotel ashton in makerfield at 7pm on tuesday 3 december 2014.It will be his first talk in the north west,dont miss it .
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