NEW Bucket List Trip:
I haven’t fished the UK for pike, and I didn’t know they had such a productive fishery for them. I know they have them in Minnesota and a lot in Canada, but I didn’t realize the beasts they have in the UK. Really large fish.
New bucket list trip for me especially since I like the English Countryside. I don’t mind inclement weather and like the nature when you get out of London. With the Pound so week, it’s also a very affordable place to fish now.
Pike:
The pike is the largest native UK predator fish. They have an array of senses to detect their prey, even nocturnal hunting in colored water.
Fish account for the bulk of a pike’s diet, although they will eat amphibians, birds, and mammals and often younger pike.
It is a skilled ambush predator, hanging motionless in the water, gaze fixed on the target. Capable of accelerating from naught to caught in a millisecond, the pike tends to grasp and swallow their prey whole.
Traditionally, pike fishing has been regarded as a winter pursuit in the UK, running from October 1, to the close of the river coarse fishing season on March 14.
Pike are relatively common in the waterways of Britain, providing good sport for anglers.
Gearing up:
You are going to see rain, wind, and cold/wet conditions almost whenever you go. Be prepared. Layer up.
From a gear point of view, a 9 foot, 9 weight rod works well. You will be throwing big flies either from the water or shore. You will most likely be making a lot of casts. Accuracy will matter more than distance unless you are trying to hit the opposite shore of some of the rivers.
Typical lures run large – some over 9 inches. As always, try to talk to a local tackle shop to see what’s working.
Line Set Up: If possible, I’d have both a medium sinking line as well as a surface line for plugs that will make some noise. Opinions vary but you will have to decide whether to either use wire or heavier fluorocarbon as the tippet. My preference would probably be light 20–25-pound, nylon coated wire set up.
Before heading out, be aware of local laws on fishing from shore, licenses required and so forth.
Destinations:
1. Esthwaite Water, Cumbria, England
This vast lake venue regularly produces 30 pound-plus pike, with some specimens weighing more than 45 pounds. Esthwaite Water is a beautiful private reserve situated in the English Lake District, boasting excellent facilities for both bank and boat fishing.
A natural lake situated near the village of Hawkshead, a stone’s throw from Grizedale Forest. The 280-acre lake offers some of the best predator, coarse, and trout fishing to be found in the whole of the UK.
Guided Pike trips seem to be very reasonably priced.
2. Lower River Bann, County Antrim, 4Northern Ireland
Producing numerous large pike annually, many suspect it is just a matter of time until the Lower Bann sets a new Irish record. Anglers have fly-fished for pike here for several years, with a number of good fish taken weighing up to 42½lbs.
3. River Wye, Wales
Stretching 134 miles in total, the River Wye is the UK’s fifth longest river. It traverses the English/Welsh border, with many historic towns built on its banks, including the Welsh towns of Monmouth, Chepstow, Hay-on-Wye, Rhayader, and Builth Wells.
Renowned as one of the most bountiful river pike venues in the UK, the River Wye runs through unspoiled Welsh countryside, the pike thriving on a lack of pressure. Captures of 30-pound plus specimens are frequently landed.
4. Loch Ken, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
One of Scotland’s finest pike waters, Loch Ken is located at the heart of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere. The waterway enjoys an excellent reputation among anglers, in particular for the pike, perch, roach, and bream caught in recent seasons (always nice to have multiple species to target).
Lying in the Glenkens, Loch Ken is a 9-mile-long freshwater loch that is fed from the west by the River Dee, and from the north by the Water of Ken. Best known for its pike fishing, Loch Ken is exceptionally productive, smaller fish on average but occasional landings of 20 pounders.
Boasting some of the cleanest water to be found anywhere in Europe, Scotland is a haven for anglers, with no license required to fish its waterways, although in many cases anglers need to obtain a permit to fish individual lochs and rivers.