Pike Fishing Season UK: When It Starts and Why I'm Ready for It
- James
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
A great Pike caught on a canal
Pike Season Quick Summary
First cast, first bite, first pike, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. That was back in 2020, and I've been hooked ever since. Pike season kicks off on 1st October here in the UK, though Barnt Green go by water temperature rather than the calendar. After the summer we've had, at FFF I've been genuinely counting down to this one. Here's how I actually got into pike fishing, what's behind the season dates, why this year's a bit different after the drought, and the kit I'm taking out with me once I'm back on the water.
How I Got Into Pike Fishing
We started pike fishing in lockdown, trying to find something to do to kill time and get outside. Had no idea what we were doing, still don't half the time if I'm honest.
Started out on the canals in Birmingham city centre, down in Digbeth, after watching the Snag Bros on YouTube. Local lads too, which made it feel more relatable straight away. They're genuinely funny, and they know their stuff when it comes to pike fishing the canals. I think that's where it all started for them too, they've grown a lot over the past few years, loads of followers now, doing really well. That's genuinely where I learnt most of what I know about pike fishing.
The first pike I ever caught was down in the Black Country, Dudley Canal near Netherton Park, 17th December 2020, I still remember the date. First cast out under a canal bridge and bang, a bite, and a good pike too. I properly panicked, had no idea what to do with it. We got the bug after that though, spent a fair bit of time researching online for new spots to try, and started catching more and more, in different spots all over.
Worth saying too, canal fishing in the middle of a city isn't quite the same as being out on a quiet stillwater. You get some very strange people wandering about down there, so keep your wits about you and stay aware of your surroundings, not something you need to think about as much fishing somewhere like Barnt Green.
Since then we've not been out for pike as much as I'd like. Honestly, we didn't go for years at one point, only picked it back up again about 18 months ago, mostly it's been fly fishing for trout since. But the last few times we were out at Barnt Green on the boat, before this mad hot summer hit, we started catching pike on our fly fishing rods completely by accident, light 6 weight rods with light leaders and tippets, and some of them were absolutely massive. The big ones we couldn't even get in the boat, thank god, our trout net would've been nowhere near big enough anyway. They normally come off right as they get close to the boat, since we only run barbless flies and lures.
So now the season's starting back up, we can't wait to get back out on the boat, decent gear this time, and try and catch some genuinely good fish. Makes a nice change from fly fishing all the time, even though it's been a good three months since we've done much of anything, way too hot for it.
James holding his first ever pike catch, Dudley Canal, Black Country James pike fishing on Digbeth Canal, next to his cousin's artwork Location Map of first pike catch
When Does Pike Fishing Season Start
Traditionally pike season opens on 1st October and runs through to 14th March on rivers, some stillwaters and lakes run to the end of March instead, depends on the venue.
Barnt Green Fishing Club do it a bit differently though. Rather than sticking to a fixed date, we wait until the water's actually dropped below 12°C before anyone's allowed to target them, and the season runs until the pike start spawning. Makes a lot more sense to me given everything we've been through this summer with the heat, better to go by what the water's actually doing than just flip a calendar page. Davo's a member there too, and we've both been keeping an eye on the water temperature the last couple of weeks waiting for it to drop.
The reasoning behind waiting for cooler water goes back a long way regardless of which system a club uses. Pike don't cope well being caught in warm water, the stress and lactic acid build up from a hard fight can genuinely harm them when oxygen levels are already low. Cooler water means safer fights and a much better recovery once you let them go. It's also just when they're feeding hardest, fattening up before spawning in spring, so the timing works out well for anglers too.
Why This Year's a Bit Different
After the drought and the heat we've had, I wrote about not being able to fly fish for months because the water was just too warm. Same logic applies here. Even though 1st October is the traditional start date, it doesn't automatically mean the water's actually ready.
Water above about 18 to 20°C is still enough to stress pike out, and with how warm autumns have been running the last few years, that traditional date can end up a bit late some seasons. Worth checking the actual water temperature before heading out rather than just going by the calendar, same as we had to do with the trout all summer.
Jake Pike at Barnt Green Fishing Club
I get most of my pike gear from here in Herefordshire
Getting the Kit and Pike Fishing Lures Ready
Been sorting my gear out while I've been waiting, same as I mentioned before with the fly stuff. Every club's got their own rules on this, ours included, but the basics stay pretty similar wherever you fish.
Bait fishing ( Dead or Live) wise you want decent strong line, mono around 15lb or a heavy braid up near 50lb to running down to a solid wire trace so a pike can't just bite through, 18 inches minimum, 30lb breaking strain. No more than two trebles, and the barbs want flattening or semi-barbing, makes unhooking a lot kinder on the fish.
Worth explaining why those two numbers look so different too. Braid's got no stretch and packs a lot more strength into the same thickness of line, so 50lb braid actually comes out roughly the same diameter as 15lb mono. Mono needs to be physically thicker to hit the same breaking strain since it's just one solid strand. So it's not that one's really stronger than the other for the size, it's just how the two materials are made.
Worth saying too, deadbaiting isn't the same style as lure fishing at all. Lures are all about the retrieve, casting out and working the lure back to you. Deadbait's the opposite, you're presenting a dead fish and waiting for a pike to come to it, either under a float or legered on or near the bottom with a bite alarm set up. Under a float tends to be the go-to for a lot of anglers, you can see exactly when something's happened rather than relying purely on an alarm, and it lets you cover different depths depending on where the pike are actually sitting that day.
Landing gear's where people cut corners and shouldn't. You want a good big knotless net, forceps with a bit of length to them so you're not right on top of those teeth, side cutters strong enough to snip a treble if it comes to it, and a decent sized unhooking mat. Doesn't need to be fancy, just needs to actually do the job.
Lure fishing, my favourite style, uses similar gear in some ways, braid up around 50lb breaking strain down to a shorter wire trace, about 12 inches and 30lb breaking strain, and barbless or flattened hooks where you can manage it. You're actively casting and retrieving rather than sitting waiting. Even if you're dropshotting, stick to barbless jigs, I do anyway.
My own kit's a proper mixed bag at this point. Here's roughly what I've got:
Pike fishing gear:
Mostly Savage Gear stuff, glide baits, jointed swimbaits, soft plastics & paddle tails, hybrid & gliding Lures in all sorts of colours and patterns
Traces, Kodex Predatory Pike Rigs, Savage Gear's Last Meter traces on the business end, and E-Sox Revolver wire traces
Line, Savage Gear Silencer braid, plus Ultima MemoryX for snoods and rigs, 30lb to 50lb, holds up well
A few big deceiver style flies knocking about too, proper bucktail and flash ones, for when we take the fly rods out on the boat
Landing net i use is a Savage gear large
Forceps & landing mat, wet it before use
Rods and reel:
Savage Gear XLNT3, 8'3" (251cm), 100g
Black Savage 7'3" Trigger, 220cm, casting 15 to 50g
Both tick the club's minimum requirements for pike rods, just down to which one feels right on the day
Reel's an Abu Garcia Pro Max, 8 bearings, been a solid bit of kit for me so far, no complaints
One thing worth doing if you're new to it, don't just wing it. Ask someone who knows what they're doing. Every club's got a few pike anglers who'll happily show you how to handle and unhook one properly rather than you working it out the hard way with an annoyed pike on the bank.
And handle them gently once you've got one. Let it sit and recover in the net for a minute before you even lift it out, get your photos and scales sorted quick, then get it back in the water and give it time to swim off properly rather than just chucking it back in. Doesn't take long to do right, and it makes a real difference to how the fish comes through it.
Pike fishing tackle, lines, traces and lures laid out ready My Pike Rods and reel with more equipment My Savage Gear Forceps
Where I'll Be Heading
We'll be heading to some local reservoirs, and out with Barnt Green Fishing Club, that's a members only club, once the season's properly under way.
I'll be having a proper chat with some of the other pike anglers at the club too, asking their advice on tactics and what to do, and any help they can offer. Given how little we've actually been out for pike compared to trout, no harm picking the brains of people who know a lot more about it than we do.
The Verdict
Fishing's all about getting out there really. Doesn't matter if you're an expert or a complete novice, until you actually try it you'll never know, and from that point onwards it's all about learning, every single time you're out, and just being out in nature.
You don't need to spend loads on equipment either, just get the basics sorted, look online, ask people who know what they're doing. Expensive doesn't always mean it's the best, or even good.
I still haven't got a clue half the time if I'm honest, but I don't really care. I'll still be having a go at beating the Snag Bros one day.
Related Reading
Thanks James | Fishing Field Fork
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