As soon as the ice melts, the water warms up a little, the fish in the water begins to be active. The inhabitants of rivers and lakes begin spawning zhor, dropping the remnants of hibernation, especially a predator, begin to scour in search of prey.
Pike is a particular activity, which is usually caught on a jig in the spring from the shore, but other types of lures will work just as well.
But not everyone will be with the catch, so that the prey was on the hook you just need to know some features of the gear:
- Catching is carried out at a shallow depth, where the water can warm up well in the daytime. These are usually beaches with minimal current or with stagnant water, up to a maximum of one and a half meters.
- To attract the attention of predators choose small bait size. It is in the spring period that the pike lures should be miniature, the same applies to silicone, turntables and vibrations.
- Preference should be given to more relaxed types of postings, fast and aggressive can easily scare away.
- In most regions there is a spring ban on the period of spawning for fishing, including pike. Before you go fishing it is worth considering.
A special feature is the time of catching: they walk on pike in the early spring in the morning from 9.00 am until lunchtime, and then in the evening from 17.00. It is also worth paying attention to the weather, on cloudy days with consistently low thermometer indicators, the probability of catching a predator is very scanty. But the sunny weather, on the contrary, will cheer up the toothy inhabitant of the reservoir.
Putting tackle
Based on the characteristics of fishing, and in particular from the used baits for pike and other predators, it is worth knowing that the bait is chosen with relatively small casting. The length will depend on the reservoir and the place from where the casting will be carried out. This is best seen in the table:
| spinning rod length | where used |
| 1.8 m-2 m | from a boat to catch small rivers with a weak current |
| 2.1 m-2.4 m | for catching from the shoreline on small lakes and streams |
| 2.7 m-3 m | for fishing large reservoirs: reservoirs, rivers, backwaters |
Having decided on the length of the spinning, you should pay attention to the coil, with a length of up to 2.4 m and a test of up to 15 g, it is quite possible to use 1000-1500 spools, the test 18-20 will require already 2000 size.
The foundation
So that the selected bait flew well, and in the process of posting went smoothly, without braking, it is better to put a braided cord with a thickness of up to 0.1 mm. Such a basis will be an excellent start for beginners, the more experienced spinningists often have 0.08 mm. The breaking load of a cord is higher than that of a mono-tree, and due to its small thickness it is less noticeable in water and practically does not create a sail when cast.
If the first fishing is to be done, then for fishing pike you should put a fishing line, at what thickness choose no more than 0.2 mm.
Leads
For proper posting of baits on pike and perch, you should use a fluorocarbon leash or put a tungsten product. Stalk during this period is not needed, since the predator is not aggressive yet.
It is best to make the leads yourself, and fluorocarbon is preferable to knit, and not to make under a compression tube. Long leashes should not be done, 20 cm is enough for spring fishing.
When self-fabricating leads, it’s worth looking not at the thickness of the flux, but at the rupture values. Correctly chosen material should be inferior in strength by 2 kg.
Fittings
Will you make the leashes yourself, or will you purchase ready-made accessories anyway? The easiest way to work with the swivel and the American Crab. More experienced anglers use a knotless lure for tying. In order not to apply, it is worth remembering that the size should be minimal. Large swivels make the tackle heavy, and they can easily scare off a predator; in spring pike is especially careful.
After collecting all you can proceed to the bait, they can be used a lot in the spring.
Lure selection
The best baits for pike in the spring are artificial, the predator that has not yet departed from winter will not always respond to live bait. Based on this, you can make a rating that tells you what is best to use.
Popular types of artificial lures
Among the variety presented in stores with fishing gear is very easy to get confused. The newcomer will not be able to decide exactly what he needs. In spring, it is preferable to catch pike on a jig, but which silicone should you prefer? We will look for an answer to this question together.
Dzigovye bait on a predator is better to choose from the edible series, but the color will depend on the reservoir and water turbidity in it:
- pike in rivers with muddy water will pay attention to silicone of elongated shape and acid color; a twister, a worm, a dragonfly larvae would be the best option;
- in reservoirs with more pure water, purple violet, lube, caramel, dark green with glitter will work well;
- shallow streams with a small current and translucent water are great to set off Tioga-type silicone from Lucky John of milky color and a transparent model with glitter.
Ripers will also be good options, Kopito Relax has proven itself well, and the colors are bright and acid with glitter. Mans is also popular, pike fishing on a jig in May never goes without this bait.
Rattlins will work well with poppers, they are chosen with bright colors and with dots on the sides. Small rotating with bright flies on the tees and colored petal perfectly attract the attention of any predator in the pond. As for the oscillator, then the preference should be given to micro-variants with a single hook. It is not necessary to look for acidic colors at all; gold and silver will be able to entice a pike not worse.
Weakly working artificial bait
In the spring, small-sized lures work better; even a large predator after wintering is unlikely to chase silicone for more than three inches. It is not advisable to choose large shakery, ryper, vibrotails, twisters, this type of bait will work well from the shore in the autumn.
A large petal dresser or a pinwheel of more than 9 g will not be able to attract the attention of the pike either, most likely the predator will lie low and wait for smaller prey.
A wobbler like a minou more than 70 mm will only be able to scare away fish, they are not included in the top spring baits.
Live bait
In the spring, pike on a jig is best caught, but you should not forget about the live-stock method. Such a tackle is collected from a stiffer rod, it turns out to be bottom. Indicator bite will be a float on sagging or normal gear under the float with a sinker. This method is most effective when night fishing.
As a bait it is best to take small fish from the same body of water.
Where and when can you catch pike in spring
With the warming of the water and the inhabitants of the reservoir begin to become more active, during this period the fry go out to bask in the shallows, followed by larger predator specimens.
Observing this behavior, fish and fishermen set the highest priority places to catch, among them:
- sandbanks with ridges and rolls;
- reed beaches along the coastline;
- backwaters and bays;
- floodplain lakes.
There pike will come to life after hibernation faster. But it is necessary to take into account the ban on fishing in the spawning period, it is very important to preserve the amount of fish resources.
Usually the ban is imposed in early April, but its duration for different reservoirs differ.
