Pike behavior
The pike is a very efficient hunter with several assets that make it formidable. Its color and the patterns of its skin allow it to hide from its prey. It is often found in grass beds or near submerged branches. This fish generally prefers to hide and wait for a prey to pass near him to emerge and catch it in passing.
The length of its body allows it to have a great amplitude of movement, very useful to make fast starts. Its mouth, lined with sharp teeth and turned backwards, prevents the prey from escaping once seized. The pike therefore usually attacks by opening its mouth wide, to suck in its prey without giving it a chance. It can be very patient to choose its prey, but it is possible for us to trigger it with certain techniques.
Effective animations for pike fishing
To successfully provoke a pike attack, certain animations work particularly well. These generally depend on the season and the prey that pike are looking for. To imitate a fish in distress, a favorite prey of the pike, we use hard lures suspending, which we can animate erratically and then make long pauses. The majority of the attacks occur during the pause, which is the right moment for such a predator to seize the lure.
If you are fishing with soft lures, there are two animations to know, the linear and the traction. The linear is the most basic technique, yet very effective in any season. Pulling is the most basic technique, but it is very effective in all seasons. Pulling is used to trigger aggressive and territorial attacks by emitting a maximum of vibration in the water.
Adapt to the season
Knowing the animations is a good thing, knowing how to use them at the right time is another. The seasons give rhythm to the life of fish, influenced by the temperature of their environment. Cold water slows down their metabolism while warm water speeds it up. Therefore, pike do not feed in the same way in summer as in winter.
In winter, the key word for catching pike is slowness. In order to make life easier for the pike, we must take our time in the animation. The animation of a hard lure must remain erratic, but interspersed with longer pauses and / or more frequent. A soft lure must be handled in such a way as to pass close to the bottom as slowly as possible.
In summer, on the contrary, the objective is to trigger the pike by disturbing them. The use of noisy balls in the lures or fast animations irritate the pike in position. The latter will attack to feed, but also out of frustration that a prey is wandering with impunity on their territory.
