Winter pike on lures

Getting a rod licence last year was one of the best things I did. I know it's not sea fishing and don't get me wrong; nothing will compare to chucking a lure into the infinite blue abyss but the thing is, winter is a struggle for me and this year with the help of a pike or two, dare I say it hasn't been too bad.

Last January I struggled to catch. Put that down to my novice approach to lure fishing or the fact that my target saltwater species are few and far between at that time of year, whatever it was things were tricky and starting to get a little frustrating as I remember.

This year with a few freshwater sessions under the belt so far and only one blank, it’s a nice feeling to know you’re keeping a hand in. Successfully locating, hooking and playing in the odd fish even when it is mainly for practice has definitely been a good feeling. Not to say it’s been easy, it’s the first time I've targeted winter pike on lures and have had to work pretty hard some days but have been rewarded with a few quite explosive takes that until now I wouldn't have associated with winter fishing.

Safe to say I'm definitely hooked on lure fishing for pike, big or small, summer or winter. It's all good fishy fun!