Wrestling a Predator- Pike fishing in Ireland

The trout and salmon season has closed. So recently, on a Sunday evening, dad and I went pike fishing. We went to a close by river. As soon as we arrived we saw lots of Roche jumping. Every second there were lots of Roche in the air and then the water splashed as they were falling back in. In the winter Roche come to spawn in Lough Corrib. This lot were on their way.

When we saw the Roche jumping we figured there would be pike around. I used a savage gear articulated bait which mimics a perch moving in water. As soon as I cast I saw a huge wave follow my bait! He didn't bite though. But we knew he was there.

Third time I cast, there was a tug on my rod. First I thought that I may have gotten caught in weeds.
But then, my rod began to move. Then I knew that the pike was hooked. The fight began. My rod was bending hard as if it was about to break. Dad instructed me to keep the tension on and to use side strain at different times to tire him out.

There was a lot of splashing and jumping when the pike tried hard to get the hook out. At one point he almost pulled the rod from my hands and into the water. I was worried I might lose him. But eventually he got a bit tired and I managed to reel him in close. We had misplaced the net so my dad had to pull him out holding him by the neck.


The pike was still fighting, even on dry land. I was trembling from the effort and with excitement. This was the first pike I ever hooked and reeled in all on my own.

My top Five Favourite Baits for Pike, Trout, Salmon and Perch

I haven’t had any fishing adventures of late, so here is a piece about my favourite baits instead.

Number Five

SHAD soft lure by “Fishhunter”

My favourite thing about this bait is how it swims in the water. It looks so super natural. It also has a scent of something ‘fishy’. My dad bought me this great bait for a treat. He thought it looked so attractive and I agree. So far, I have used it for pike fishing and it helped me to bring home a nice pike. If I was to name one weakness- it’s made out of soft rubber. Pike could easily break it with their super sharp teeth. I was lucky. The pike I caught got the hook stuck in its gum.

Number Four

“Fishhunter” 11grams jointed plug

This is a bait I bought myself, from my own money.
What I like most about this bait is the way it moves in the water. It’s going to be very fish- like. The mid line has a lovely silver shine which looks just like what you’d see on fish in real life. The only reason it’s only my number four is because I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I think once I do though I will get a bite in no time.

Number Three

“Mikado” Trython Double Spoon 25g

My dad gave me this bait as a present. I was using it and I really liked the way it moves in the water. It sends vibrations through the water that look as if a fish is zooming by. I think salmon, pike, trout and perch will all like it. As far as simple spinners go, this is as good as it gets. I like it a lot but not enough for the top two places...

Number Two

“Savage Gear” 4D Line Thru Trout

You should see the pattern on this baby- it’s so realistic. It was copied from real trout, and it looks just like a trout. It’s a Savage Gear, and they make the very best baits. Savage Gear baits have the best action in the water. And, not only does it look like a real trout (3D), but it also SMELLS like a real trout (4D). You can’t beat that. Despite the joints and some softness it is quite sturdy, too. You would get that bait out of a pike’s mouth no problem. Santa brought me this bait. (Thank you, Santa, if you read this.)

And finally now for my...

Number One

“Savage Gear” Shine Glider, 3D perch jointed plug

As well as being jointed this bad boy has an extra bait which looks like a prawn. Pike, salmon, and trout of all sizes, even ferrox (a very large trout species) would love this. I have already caught three pike on this bait. My dad bought it for me as a Friday treat which is something we get if we behave well all week. We bought it from Ken in Corrib Tackle, at Number 2 Kilkeerin Park in Galway, which is my favourite tackle shop.

All these of my top five baits can work together as a team. You could start with number five, and then work your way up to number one, and eventually you are bound to catch something, hopefully something very big.

Pike attack

My dad and I caught this beautiful pike last November in a small river near us.
It was a really cold, windy and rainy day. We had to wrap up in lots of layers and wore out best rain gear but the rain got through and before too long we were soaked.

But we were determined to catch a pike that day, and so we powered on.
My dad had given me a very special pike bait by Savage Gear. It looked just like a perch and I wanted to try it out.

So I fished and fished for what seemed like a very long time. No bite.
Then we moved a good bit higher up the river because we figured by now that there was no pike hanging out here.

The whole river is full of weeds at this time of year but once a year they cut the weeds from a boat with a suspended blade. The weeds had just been cut but there were still plenty which is great for the pike because they love hanging out in the weeds.

Just after we changed spots I saw a fish jumping. I cast to where that fish was. Nothing happened.
But, with the next cast it happened. My special bait was attacked. The rod was bending down hard. Almost immediately, the fish started jumping. I felt so excited, but I was afraid I would lose him. He was fighting really hard.  It was tough to hold on to the rod.

Thankfully after a while he got stuck in weeds. Dad brought him in using his chest waders, while I held on to the rod which was really difficult to do. He was just under the size limit of 50 cm.

After gutting the fish, my dad marinates pike in a mix of lemon juice, salt and olive oil, and after a couple of hours in the fridge he barbecues it. My mum says, pike done in this way is better than salmon or trout. I disagree, but I do enjoy barbecued pike.

My First Salmon License

On the photo you can see me with my last season’s salmon license. This was a kid’s license. It’s called a juvenile license for anyone under 16.  This was my first salmon license and I was so excited when our friend Frank bought it for me in Kevin Duffy’s tackle shop in Headford.

We bought a license for the Galway district. Having this license means you can fish for salmon in waters in the Galway district (which includes parts of Mayo) where the fishing rights are publicly owned. If you were fishing in private waters such as around Ashford Castle in Cong or in parts of the Clare River, fishing rights are private or club owned and then you also have to buy a ticket.

My dad and I only fished in public waters this year. But often public waters are not the best for catching salmon. Next season we may get a private ticket for some place.

The license entitles you to catch salmon and sea trout, but in Galway you can’t keep any sea trout. You have to release them. Until May 1st you can keep one salmon a day, after that you can keep up to three a day. But during the entire season you can only keep a total of ten salmon. The rest have to be released. So you have to think about how to use your license well.

If you catch a salmon you have to immediately insert a gill tag into the fishes gills and make a note in your log book how you caught it. If you forgot your pen and there’s no note in your log book, and the fishery officers come by (which they do on boats or jet skis) you can be fined or prosecuted. So always bring your pen.

The next salmon season starts on February 1st, so it’s just around the corner. Before it starts and before you can get a new license you have to post the old license with gill tags and log book back to your local fisheries office. That’s what we were doing here when that photo was taken.

An adult license for the Galway district costs 56 Euros. But a juvenile one is only a tenner. This year we didn’t catch any salmon, my dad lost two. But imagine if next season I catch a load of salmon, and the license was only 10 Euros!