Which lures, which colors and which animations?
At the end of the season, all regions of France experience varying degrees of temperature drops. Pike then behave differently, becoming lazy and limiting their efforts to catch their prey. This is the time to bring out the big lures to catch the big fish that are building up their fat reserves to get through the winter in the best possible condition. At the end of the season, we recommend using large soft lures such as shads and hard lures such as swimbaits, big baits or minnows. On sunny days, natural colors are excellent, but on overcast days, you'll need flashy colors like fire tiger. Personally, I use lures from 15 cm up to 30 cm. Linear fishing gives very good results, unlike jerky animation. Bring your lure back slowly and pause for a while, as this is where most bites are registered.
Adapted equipment
Sturdy, suitable equipment is highly recommended to propel large lures such as big baits weighing from 50 to 200 grams or more. You'll need a casting rod no longer than 2 metres and with a power of 50/150g, as well as a reliable, robust casting reel with a good ratio, 5.4:1 for example, fitted with 30 to 35-centimetre braid. An 80-centime fluorocarbon leader, 1 m long, will ensure that your lures are discreet and swim well.
Fragile fish
Large pikes are particularly sensitive and must be handled with great care. Use a large-mesh landing net, always moisten your hands before catching them and don't neglect the landing mat if you want to measure them.
A delicate operation: the return to the water
Try to be as quick as possible to take measurements and photos of your fish before releasing them. This delicate operation should only take a few minutes. Make sure the fish has reoxygenated itself without moving it back and forth. When the fish is ready, it will swim away on its own and disappear into the depths, hoping to see an even bigger fish one day.
