Pike & Zander Rigs & Tackle


The Rod's I use are Harrison Ballister slim blanks, three fully corked handles with Fuji screw winch reel seats, 12ft 2 3/4lb t.c. rods, with Silicon Carbide Fuji rings, the butt ring is three legged with the remainder single legged so I get a good soft progressive action, I also have two 12ft 3 1/2lb t.c. rods again with the same set up Fuji rings, these rod's I use for casting Big Deadbaits and also some Drifter fishing where you need to pull in to strike at Long distance to pick up as much stretch in the line as possible. The line I use now is the Berkley Ironsilk 16lb in Green and Brown, but you have to spool up with it very carefully to prevent Coils occurring.

Trace made up Trace wire I use depends on the circumstances and baits but generally 15lb Tec Core for Zander and 20lb Berkley Steelstrand Uncoated type for Piking. The trebles are in sizes 6 & 8 for pike and size 8 & 10 for zander. I tend to have only one treble and one Vic Bellars VB double hook on a trace for zander.

The typical link ledgered zander rig, used for either live or deadbaits and has accounted for some big zander, use just enough lead to hold bottom.

Two more zander rigs, the float paternostered live or deadbait, and another link ledgered rig.

Bobbins for Ledgering There are various drop back indicators on the market and you should use ones dictated by the weather, in the summer period when there is little or no wind, then these Bobbins will see you through as they are very light to indicate those little touches. In periods of windy weather you can add weight to them and clip up tightly, any picking up of the baits and the weight will make them drop down immediately.

Reuben Scales These Salter scales are probably the best on the market, they have an illuminated dial for when fishing in the nightime, these particular ones go up to 60lb in 1oz increments. Other scales such as the Avons which go up to 44lb do the job just as well.

When fishing overnight on those weekend sessions what I will do is lay one of these bait traps out with some bread inside and in the morning there are usually some baits caught. They can be bought online at BassPro.

Flambeau tackle box A good quality Tackle Box such as this one is a must, with plenty of compartments for all those odds and sods that you are likely to need for a session. The boxes from the USA are probably the best, names such as the Plano and Flambeau.

Tools of the Trade These Tools are a must for a pike and zander session, even though we don't like to deep hook the fish it is a fact that it does happen and tools such as Long nose Pliers, Wire Cutters and a knife should always be carried.

Pike Pencil Float These pencil type floats will show any indication to pike and zander when they pick up your baits providing you don't fish them overdepth too much.

Self Cocking Pike Float These self cocking floats are without doubt my best floats to use, what I do is fish them about 2ft overdepth with ledgered baits so some line is laying on the bottom near to the bait, I tend to use big baits with these such as Herrings and Mackeral which don't need any weight added to the line to reach the bottom.

Pike Dumpy Slider Float Various size floats such as these slider floats have a hollow middle to pass your line through, usually stopped at various depth's with sliding rubber stops or power gum line tied to the main line at the correct depth you wish to fish.

Trolling Self Locking Float These trolling floats are used similarly to the sliding floats, again line passed through the middle and the idea is that you cast from a boat and let the bait sink to the depth you wish to fish, and as you move the boat the line locks to the float and keeps your bait at that depth.

The drifter float, the idea is that you cast out preferably with the wind behind you and the wind then catches the orange vane and takes the bait out sometimes up to 200 yards.

Diawa 2 man Bivvy The Diawa 2 man Bivvy, this is a Quality well thought out bivvy, easy to put up by one person, big enough for two anglers. Supplied with Quality pegs and guy ropes. Outer material is also stronger and thicker than most dome type bivvies on the market today, which ensures a long life, and a higher protection from the elements. It is also very reasonably priced considering the high quality construction.

For those one day sessions an umbrella that is light and effective is very important. This particular one you can detach the centre pole and screw into the top of the umbrella to gain more space underneath, it also has the tilt facility and flat base to peg into the ground.

Remote Controlled Baitboat angling-technics.com The latest addition to my armoury, the Remote controlled Baitboat to get those baits in awkward spots and long range fishing. My one has the addition of the Echo Sounder to find the depth's & drop-offs. The ethics of whether bait boats are fair or not is the subject of much discussion. The initial reaction of many anglers is to call for them to be banned, a sentiment driven more by jealousy than anything. You see, the plain fact is that a boat will definitely put more fish on the bank for you. It will also save you hanging leads and lines up on overhanging trees, snagging up on islands and leaving baited hooks in positions where wildlife is put at risk.

Boat Equipment Minn Kota 55 ex with maximiser together with heavy duty deep cycle boat battery and Echo Sounder. If you can afford them they certainly help in your boat fishing sessions.

A pair of good quality boat rod rest's, these ones are adjustable in all angles dependant on how you want to set up on the boat, these particular ones are not on the market now being replaced in my view with dearer but less well made types.

Set up on the rod My set up for Zander a small 3500GT baitrunner loaded with 12lb line with an open bail arm held by a fox indicator with isotope fitted.

Delkim Alarm In my opinion the best alarm for Pike and Zander fishing the Delkim, these were my old ones, now I have the Remote control ones to save tripping over the leads at night, the Fens is no place to fall in, especially if you are on your own, with steep banks and no lighting in the area.

Various Forceps My set of various Forceps and a deep throat disgorger, a crude implement I know but it has got me out of trouble a couple of times, which after all is what we should avoid but does happen from time to time.

My Rig Bin set up Various little traces and rig's set up ready to use, the cork and polystyrene is for popping up livebaits and deadbaits around weedy situations.

The free running lead, use for casting small baits on the ledgered method, this gives little resistance and has accounted for some good Zander captures on the drains.

Polyball rig, used for livebaiting purposes where the float is not required. Depending on the bait size you can use either one or two small polyballs or just one 1" size.

The semi-fixed lead ledgered set up, similar method to the free running one above but the lead is fixed but can easily move if snags are encountered. More importantly the lead can break free should the line break.

Ledgered livebait rig Here is my Ledgered Livebait Rig set up, which has done particularly well for me in catching zander.

Float Ledger rig This Float Ledgered Rig set up has done me well particularly for large pike using large deadbaits..

Ledgered Roach Swan shot link ledgered Roach set up, very good for minimum resistance, just enough swan shot to sink the bait. When you cast out, let it sink slowly and don't tighten up until you have allowed plenty of time to sink to the bottom.

Ledgered Sandeel rig Another good bait is the Sandeel, this rig again is Ledgered with a 1/4 oz bomb with the rig set up to cast with a bait caster to prevent cast off as they are a soft bait.

Paternoster Lamprey The Running paternoster Lamprey set up, this bait over the last 2 years has resulted in some very large pike, similar to the Eel section but ouses blood all the time the bait is in the water.

Pike handling equipment Square Pike tube to retain only prior to photograph's, a 1" thick foam mat approx 48" long by 24" width, and a weigh sling with forceps/scales and essential a pair of wire cutters, nothing to chance.

Slider Rig Carp slider rig set up adapted for very weary Pike on places where it is hard going, don't be tempted to copy everyone else, try out new rig's and be ready to listen to others as you never know.

Subsurface Livebait Rig Sub surface livebait rig, use this set up when there is a lot of activity near the surface, remember to ring the changes when required, don't be tempted to lob out deadbaits on the bottom of the Lake when the Pike are in Mid Depth or near the surface.

Fixed Paternoster Rig The Fixed Paternoster rig, used for casting to those Deep trough's and drop off's that you find.