Hints And Tips II: Catching On Deadbaits

Mark Barrett is back with a bag full of tips and advice for catching more fish using deadbaits...

Author: OnlineFishing.tv
Date: 29 January 2010

In the second and final part of his Hints and Tips programme on fishing with deadbaits, Mark Barrett is back with more excellent advice on how to catch pike.

Enhancing Your Presentation
Great advice on the use of bait flags, scoring your baits, adding flavours and oils and how to safely inject those flavours into your deadbaits.

Tackle And Clothing
Mark covers the bases with regards to tackle for pike fishing, with advice on the ideal rods, reels, nets (including why he prefers round nets), unhooking mats, digital scales for weighing fish, weigh slings, and vital accessories like unhooking forceps and warm, waterproof clothing.

Indicators
How you set up your indicators makes a big difference to hook-ups and fish safety when it comes to avoiding deep hooking fish. Mark uses a front bite alarm with a drop off indicator, and shows the importance of having the butt rod ring in the right position, and how your bank sticks should be angled. He also explains why it’s vital that the indicator is behind the spool on the reel.

Striking Correctly
Mark is a professional angling guide, and one of his biggest frustrations is customers who lose fish because they don’t know how to connect with them properly. Mark shows his foolproof technique that gives the fish no chance of any slack line and results in more of those runs turning into fish on the bank.

Location, Location, Location
You aren’t going to catch pike if you can’t find them, and there are tried and tested ways of locating the prey fish and therefore the predators, which are never far away. Mark explains why he always starts in the north east corner on gravel pits, and discusses how you can identify underwater features like gravel bars and weed beds, and where the fish are likely to be in relation to them depending on the time of year. He also discusses how to locate pike on other kinds of venues, like rivers and drains.

Catching On Deadbaits