As winter is slowly but surely shifting into spring, looking back on what should have been ”winter” hasn’t been exactly what it is supposed to be every single time for the past couple of years. With warmer temperatures becoming more of a standard here in Holland, the water also cools down, well not so much anymore. The good thing about this is that fish, and pike in particular, remain active throughout most of the ”cold water” period, as the water often stays above 4C or 40F and the fish are in an ever-feeding mode. With frost becoming a thing of the past, unfortunately, the time that ice slows down entire bodies of water for 3 weeks or more seems to be over, at least for now. This type of environmental change asks for a different approach, and that is what this article is all about!
Nothing better than the shore bite in the colder months!
If you are like me, and always looking forward to ”slow things down” at least take a break from boat fishing now and then and target pike from the bank, this type of fishing can be great when winter season officially kicks in, but even weeks beforehand when the reeds start to lose color from green till yellow this type of fishing can be greatly rewarding as it can be fulfilling with nice results. Now that the season is over, looking back it has been a strange season with water temperatures going up and down, and so did the fishing, so going for a different approach in speeding things up has made the difference for me still being able to catch fish. On days when the bite was off, choosing between slowing down or speeding up I chose the last and that triggered the bites over and over again in these smaller waterways.
Scratched and attacked!
To speed things up I also had to change my setup, and this year I have done so with the Abu Garcia BEAST 41 High-Speed Reel, which I have been using in my left hand. Previously a slower type has been used, and although this has been great, now let’s say fishing jerk baits, in glider style that go from left to right don’t have slacked lines anymore, which means you are always in direct contact with the fish. This for me alone has made a huge difference this season, let alone hooking into fish in the first place. Often in smaller waters, there is a lot of fishing pressure, and the pike can be slow to bite, yet while there is no slack line on the cast, and once you start to fish, the contact from rod tip to bait is much more direct, hence the less bite you will lose!
Berkley Zilla Glider 13 with Mustad KVD ELITE ROUND BEND TREBLE HOOK in 2/0, setting the hook without Slack will be instant!
For this kind of fishing from shore I also like to use a somewhat lighter setup, this winter I have been using the Abu Garcia BEAST PRO Casting in 40-100gr. This rod has a very forgiving action and at the same time a parabolic tip section to also set the hook on strikes close to shore. Combined with the reel, I have it spooled up with a 65lb Berkley Sick Braid, just a tiny bit heavier than previous setups. The reason for this is that the line creates lift in the water and also enables me to fish fairly heavier baits shallow with ease. This rod and reel combo has been an absolute dream for me to fish, and is in my perspective a dream come to when doing so, everything is just greatly balanced and enables you to go the extra mile. Fishing a setup of this kind with a faster reel, you can always strike gold, at least when the bite is on!
All you need is the Abu Garcia BEAST 41-HS-L & BEAST PRO Casting 40-100gr!
Next time when you are out on the bank, make sure to go to a similar setup, or perhaps get the same set as I used in the colder months. I am sure the fishing will increase for you as the tendency of hookups tends to increase dramatically, especially a faster rod and reel combo can make all the difference for you. The fish in the cover photo was hooked 5 times and didn’t want to commit to feeding, but eventually, I managed to set the hook. I just ate every single time with a gentle strike, but at last, I concentrated on fishing my Berkley Zilla Glider in a steady phase when she decided to strike, and this time the hook was set. It shows what can happen all of a sudden and what magic you are able to get yourself into. This fish was only hooked with one treble but on a slower reel setup, I would have never been able to land it. So whenever you are going to the water, make sure to follow the same guidelines, whether it is big or small water. Sometimes the slack line can be a good thing to fish certain jerk baits but more often than not in smaller waters, having direct contact will make all the difference!
Only hooked with one treble, but landed safely!
Good luck on the water!
Christian Drost
