Handling Handling and unhooking a captured fish is probably the most difficult area that you as a possible newcomer to pike fishing will encouter.
Misunderstanding, handed down fater to son over many years, has led many anglers to have an ill-formed view and deeprooted fear of the pike as a species - and because of this poor pike had to suffer some preety brutal treatment. From the advice given by me which I am about to tell you will see that it is possible to handle the fish you catch confidently and return unharmed.
Let's begin by clearing your mind of all the ideas you have been told of how pike should be handled, based on those ill formed stories that the pike, mam eating creature. With a clear mind and will to succeed, the main point to remember is that you are the intelligent half of the pike/human duo and as such you must approach the task of landing, handling and hook removal with calm, control and confidence.
Good handling really begins with the way you put the hooks into your bait, but assuming your next move will be when a run or bite actually comes. If you are using a drop arm indicators and these register a bite, do not hesitate or wait for something to happen. GET to your rod, take it from the rest, close the bail arm, or tighting the drag if you are using the newer free running reels, and if no line is being taken, tigten down gently and feel if there is any activity at the other end. If there no noticeable activity you will feel the resistance if you tigthen up the line fully, and gently pull the rod upwards.
If you are unsure, wind down to tigthen up the line fully, and make a firm sideways sweep to set the hooks - something took the trouble to move the indicator and even if you do not connect with the pike you will risk a deep hooking.
Experience has proven that some takes give no more than a simple jerk on the indicator, causing a single bleep on the audible incators that is sensitive enough. A skrike made after this minor indication lands nine out of ten fish.
Landing the fish
Having successfully hooked your pike you should keep a firm pressure on you fish. To keep control , apply the necessary side strain to turn the fish away from snags, and gently tire the fish in open water, taking care not to play the fish for an excessive time.
Once brought to the net, upon seeing you, the fish will endeavour to escape. It is at this point that you should be alert to the pike's actions and have your large landing net - at least a thirty two inch, long arm triangular net - ready submerged in the water.
If you have gently tired your fish it should readily come into the margins or to the boat on it side, with its head raised by the pull of your line and it should be eased over the draw cord until it head reach the spreader block at the handle, at which point the net should be raised to engulf the fish. Do not, under any circumstances, consider using a small landing net and NEVER use a gaff - these will result in more pike suffering and eventually dying.
Unhooking ;D Having netted your pike, now lift the net and gently move the fish on to grassy bank, if available, on to a wet sack or a
A proper unhooking mat On gravel pits, reservoirs with hard banks please use the same idea - a wet sack or foam carpet underlay (For boat uses) laid out well in advance. A pike can suffer serious damage if it is allowed to thrash or writhe around on loose gravel, stones or on boards in the bottom of your boat.
Once the fish is on the handling mat or sack, cover with a piece of wet material, or the special flap on the handling mat , then kneel down with one leg on each side of the fish, firmly holding it between your l
egs. Then turn to the fish on its back, so that it is ready for unhooking. It is now that you will need to apply a very confident approach to your handling
Some Pike anglers advocate using a glove for this next part of hook removal, but the best approach is to wok without gloves as they catch on the gill rakers and cause unseen damage. The glove is to suppposed to protect the angler's hand from the sharp edges of the gill raker, but in fact all they do is mask damage that is occurring when you do it wrong! It is far better to stracth your hand and take more care than to push on wrongly , unaware you are causing damage.
Having positioned the fish, take a pair of long forceps at least 8" long, either straight or angled jaws. With the other hand slide your fingers under the gill cover, gently lift it and proceed to slide your finger up to the centre point between both covers under the chin, as sown before.
Remember to take extreme care not to catch your hand in the gill filaments or on the gill rakers - if you break or damage them the pike could slowly bleed to death.
Once in postion, gently pull the lower jaw towards you and eventually the weight of the pike will cause the mouth to open. If it does not, gently push the upper jaw away from the lower jaw until the mouth open.
There is an alternative method which involves standing up and lifting the pike by the jaw with your hand again under the gill cover. The weight of the fish will ensure the mouth to stays open. Big fish are usally no trouble, but smaller ones are sometimes do not have enough body weight to keep their moths open. However, perseverance will see you succeed. On each illustration of the handling techniques there is a clock face indicating how long each activity should take. Bear in mind and remember the shorther the time you have your fish out of the water, the better.
Now that the mouth is open, if your timing of the strike was right and you used a recommended hooking layout to suit your bait size, you will find your hooks are visble in the moth. They will probably be in the scissors, the corner of the mouth, and you should find their removal is no problem. Hold the trace tight, either in your teeth if you are alone, or get a friend or nearby angler to pull it tight if possible, then gently unhook. release the nearer up trace hook forst, then the lower end hook, and carefully pull the trace clear, leaving the forceps attached to the hook.
If the end hook is out of sight, because the fish has turned and swallowed the bait, possibly your hook layout was incorrect for the baitsize or you delayed in striking. Whatever the cause, there no need to panic. If you have being using semibarbless hooks then even a deeply hooked fish CAN be unhooked with care. you must again concentrate and act calamly. Proceed exactly as before up to opening the mouth.
Once again you have located the hooks, by pulling on the trace until the upper hook is visible, this time carefully get a companion to pull firmly on the trace to keep the hook visible. Then youMUST insert the forceps through between the gills and rakers to clamp the forceps to the shank of the hook, and gently twist the hook to release each point in turn. This is when barbless hooks becomes a more obvious advantage. get the person holding the trace to pull firmly but gently until the other hook comes into sight. The throat tissue will probably start to comes out into the mouth, but don't worry or panic. Gently repeat as before, releasing the hook and gently taking the trace out of the pike's mouth, the withdraw the forceps through the gills. IF you cannot release the barb you can cut the shank at the bend with an extended pair of sidecutter - THIS is a last resort, but it is better than leaving the hooks in, sealing the throat and committing the pike to death by starvation. Confidence and care will ensure that you have the pleasure of seeing your pike survive. But remember, prevention of deep hooking is better than the cure.
We normally buy a bag of frozen sprates and free line one on a metal trace. Try 3 or four casts on a peg and move up.
We normally buy a bag of frozen sprates and free line one on a metal trace. Try 3 or four casts on a peg and move up.
Mackerel 
Wick is near Pershore on the Avon. Most of the pegs are 10 to 14 feet deep two foot from the bank. Abbots Salford again is on the Avon but i have never fished it. 
