Good cast with deadbait?

wobblinbrush

To all the seasoned pike anglers on here, what do you consider a good long cast with say half a mackerel? I'm useless to judge distance but imagine I could throw about 40 yard max.

twin_beacon

it depends on the conditions, but macks are one of the easiest baits to cast. once the hooks are buried correctly into them, it takes a lot to crack it off on the case. Ive often got well over 40 yards with them. If you need to fish at distance, reduce the size of the bait, the larger the bait, the more force it needs. Also, the larger the bait, the more air it air catches on the cast, you wouldn't believe how much that effects it (try casting a drifter float!). also, the smaller the bait, the quicker the strike!
Make sure your rods are up to the job, a good all rounder would be a 12 foot, 2.75 test curve, but if you do most of your fishing at distance, go for a 3lb test curve.

wobblinbrush

twin_beacon wrote:

Make sure your rods are up to the job, a good all rounder would be a 12 foot, 2.75 test curve, but if you do most of your fishing at distance, go for a 3lb test curve.

That's exactly what I use, with 50lb power pro. Which is kinda why I'm asking. Being a tight b***** the price of a spool of pp fairly stings and I've wondered if I would be safe with cheap mono backing and using half a spool, 75 yards at a time.

twin_beacon

yea, I always use backing on my spools with braid as its expensive, and takes a lot of it to fill a spool.

hiujn

Cut all the fins off including tail fin.

dodderangler

hiujn wrote: »

Cut all the fins off including tail fin.

Heard that before but never effected me.
Op Just when your putting the bait on hooks make sure you start off tail end first and 2 treble in it's flank.
Pike swallow prey head first. They'll drop a lot of baits if it's bait is hooked in the head first. They'll feel the hook and drop it

hiujn

dodderangler wrote: »

Heard that before but never effected me.
Op Just when your putting the bait on hooks make sure you start off tail end first and 2 treble in it's flank.
Pike swallow prey head first. They'll drop a lot of baits if it's bait is hooked in the head first. They'll feel the hook and drop it

They will swallow it either way with the tail fin cut to shape

ComfortKid

When deadbaiting for pike, do you just cast in the mackerel and leave it there, or do you have to play with it to make it look alive?

And do you need a float

hiujn

ComfortKid wrote: »

When deadbaiting for pike, do you just cast in the mackerel and leave it there, or do you have to play with it to make it look alive?

And do you need a float

Normally i would leave a mackerel sitting on the bottom punch a fe small holes in the sides of it to let the oils out to create a better scent in the water. floats are optional.

twin_beacon

hiujn wrote: »

They will swallow it either way with the tail fin cut to shape

or the head missing!

pheasant tail

Smelt and a heavy bomb are great if your looking to cast a good distance.

dodderangler

hiujn wrote: »

They will swallow it either way with the tail fin cut to shape

Nope
Pike are a lot more cautious of baits than we think. Yes they can smell a mackerel from a long ways a way but they study it first before actually deciding whether to take it or not.
I didn't know this till I watched underwater Ireland on YouTube

hiujn

that might be true on heavily fished waters they do study baits i saw a jack one time following a dead bait on the retrieve he wouldn't take it no matter what way it was retrieved we watched him following it in several times right to the bank without him touching it but i have seen lads catching pike on all sorts even a sausage and a few on chicken drumsticks if it hasn't been caught before they normally will take anything with a life like resemblance

wobblinbrush

Thanks for all the replies guys. So can anyone put, even vague, actual numbers on say their longest cast with a dead bait? Cheers.

dodderangler

wobblinbrush wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies guys. So can anyone put, even vague, actual numbers on say their longest cast with a dead bait? Cheers.

Said this a million times on this site before. Pike aren't always a hundred yards out from the bank.
I've caught pike 10-20 foot from the banks on bottom , float and spinning.
Pike aren't always in deep water.
I've seen shoals of roach and plenty of perch in 1-2 foot of water and you can bet your arse that the pike aren't that far away either and will be watching.

hiujn

dodderangler wrote: »

Said this a million times on this site before. Pike aren't always a hundred yards out from the bank.
I've caught pike 10-20 foot from the banks on bottom , float and spinning.
Pike aren't always in deep water.
I've seen shoals of roach and plenty of perch in 1-2 foot of water and you can bet your arse that the pike aren't that far away either and will be watching.

very true i always cast close to the bank first more times i've seen lads just plow into the water and chuckin baits out without thinking i have caught a good few doubles close in they do like to rest in the weed close to shore as a matter of fact my pb was about 8 meters out from the shoreline.

ComfortKid

hiujn wrote:

very true i always cast close to the bank first more times i've seen lads just plow into the water and chuckin baits out without thinking i have caught a good few doubles close in they do like to rest in the weed close to shore as a matter of fact my pb was about 8 meters out from the shoreline.

Me too. Caught my biggest pike on a spinner she took it about 3 meters out is all in very shallow water

The other fella

hiujn wrote: »

Normally i would leave a mackerel sitting on the bottom punch a fe small holes in the sides of it to let the oils out to create a better scent in the water. floats are optional.

Are alarms essential if your not using a float? I never really deadbaited without a float for fear of not seeing a take early but if you reeled in all slack would watching the rod tip be enough for bite indication?

twin_beacon

dodderangler wrote: »

Said this a million times on this site before. Pike aren't always a hundred yards out from the bank.
I've caught pike 10-20 foot from the banks on bottom , float and spinning.
Pike aren't always in deep water.
I've seen shoals of roach and plenty of perch in 1-2 foot of water and you can bet your arse that the pike aren't that far away either and will be watching.

yep, often walking the banks of rivers in the summer, you will see pike dashing from the shallows only inches from the bank of your shadow lands on then, often in inches of water. They will always follow the coarse fish, find them, and you will find the pike. However, sometimes a long cast is needed if the coarse fish are in a deep hole far from the bank in winter.

The other fella wrote: »

Are alarms essential if your not using a float? I never really deadbaited without a float for fear of not seeing a take early but if you reeled in all slack would watching the rod tip be enough for bite indication?

IMO, yes. I always use alarms with a heavy drop off indicator, and an open bail arm. Technically, you don't "need" an alarm, however, it only takes a few seconds for a pike to swallow a bait. If you get distracted or your phone rings, you may not notice the drop off moving. its much easier look at a float than a dropoff!

hiujn

I used alarms in the past i don't anymore tbh i do very little piking anymore had my fill of it but yes alarms are a good thing to have if you are big into i,ve seen rods half way across lakes due to bait runners not being switched on so if you are chilling out an alrm is a good thing to have in the arsenal

ComfortKid

How long would ye leave the mackerel in the water before retrieving it and casting elsewhere,?

hiujn

20 mins

twin_beacon

ComfortKid wrote: »

How long would ye leave the mackerel in the water before retrieving it and casting elsewhere,?

lots of variables to take into account. If I'm confident my deadbait is not stuck in weed and presented correctly, I will leave it out for over an hour. I would give it a little twitch, move it a foot or two, leave it for 5 mins, then recast. On weedy swims, I'll only give it 30mins ish, in case its in the weeds. That goes for any dead bait, not just Mackerel.