Can I fish for pike without experience?

Yes. You get an explanation of casting with a baitcaster and of where the fish lie, and the tackle is ready on board. Say how much experience you have in your request and Luc adjusts the day to it.

When is the chance of a big pike greatest?

In autumn and winter. From October the fish feeds heavily and large lures work best. The fish of 111 to 117 centimeters all came in that period.

Why do we not fish along the bank?

Because the pike here often holds out in the middle of the flat and not against the reeds. Luc fishes the zone further from the bank first, so the fish does not spook before you get there.

Am I guaranteed a big pike?

No, and nobody honest promises that. On a fishing day you almost always get one chance, and the point is that you are able to take it.

Species

Pike fishing on the river

River pike is Luc's specialism. On the Hollands Diep, the Haringvliet and in the Biesbosch there are pike that grow large and fight hard, because they have spent their whole lives in flowing water. The biggest fish come in autumn and winter, when the water cools and the pike feeds heavily. October produced a river pike of over ten kilos and winter one of 117 centimeters.

We fish by casting, and when that does not work we troll. No experience is needed. You get an explanation of casting with a baitcaster and of where the fish lie. What you mainly take home is reading water, so why a pike holds in one place and not twenty meters further on.

In short

Best season: Autumn and winter
Biggest so far: 117 centimeters
Techniques: Casting and trolling
Lures: Swimbait, jerkbait and chatterbait

Through the year

Autumn is the best season for big pike. From October the fish feeds heavily and large lures work remarkably well. Those months brought pike of 111, 115 and 116 centimeters into the net.

In winter the chance of a really big one remains, but the fish then holds more often on the deeper edges. Even so it also comes onto shallow stretches where the last plant remains stand.

In summer we catch pike in between the other species, often with chatterbaits through the weeds. If the water is warm we keep the fight short and the fish goes back quickly.

Wind helps. A windless week is far from ideal for pike, and you notice that straight away in the number of bites.

How we fish

We mostly fish by casting with large lures. Swimbaits up to nearly forty centimeters, jerkbaits and the big Roach, a lure Luc rates as having few equals for big pike. If large does not work we drop back to a piece of fourteen centimeters, because sometimes that is exactly the difference between nothing and fish.

When casting fails we troll the slopes agonizingly slowly with planer boards. Those are small boards that set your lure out wide beside the boat, so you cover a far larger stretch of water.

Where we look differs from what most people do. Pike has a reputation for lying against the bank, but Luc catches them out in the middle of the flat. That is why he fishes the zone further from the bank first, so the fish does not spook. A spot with a shoal of bream is almost always worth it.

Chris with the river pike of over ten kilos, under an orange October sky breaking open

A river pike of over ten kilos, in October

How it went on the water

6 reports from the water

Autumn
A masterclass in fishing for big pike
Hard wind, colored water and hours of nothing. Once we started trolling, the last few meters produced a river pike of over ten kilos.
Winter
A day never to forget
Missed takes, a broken line and a spot that gave nothing all day. Then, on the very last drift, a pike of 117 centimeters came up.
Autumn
One bite can be enough
Hours without a touch, and then a pike of 111 centimeters lifted off the bottom above a weed bed. For Jasper the biggest in thirty years.
Autumn
Oktoberfest has started
A week and a half of dead calm, far from ideal for pike. Even so, Danny caught a pike of 115 centimeters in two casts, out on the flat.
Summer
A huge pike, a fat catfish and good company
A father with his two sons aboard. A pike of 115 centimeters, zander caught on the LiveScope and, to finish it off, a catfish.
Summer
The fish of a lifetime and your very first zander
A warm day with passive fish. Even so a pike of 116 centimeters slid over the lure a meter from the boat, and Tijmen caught his first zander.