Before I start on the review of this dvd I must admit that I'd never heard of the presenter, Paul Gustafson. However his achievements are gob smacking, and his ability to regularly catch double figure pike with relative ease is astounding.

The Pike (Esox lucius)
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As you may or not know the pike is a freshwater predator. It has a powerful streamlined body
which allows it to attack its prey with explosive bursts of speed. This makes it one of the most exciting and powerful fish for the freshwater angler. It's natural diet is wide and varied and can include... live fish, ducks (and other small water birds), frogs and dead fish. It's mouth contains over 600 sharp teeth so ordinary monofilament will not do for the terminal tackle, instead wire traces are used.
With that said lets look at what's on the dvd.

How to make a Trace
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Trace wire
Treble hooks
Crimping sleeves
Crimping tool (or pliers)
Swivel

The first hook should be threaded onto the trace wire through the eye, then loop the wire back around and thread it through the loop again. Now lie the wire along the shank of the hook and stop it half way down the shank. Three turns, heading back up to the eye, should hold this in place. The end should then be threaded through the loop half way down the hook and tightened. That's the first hook done.......... now onto the second.
Push a crimping sleeve onto the wire trace, now thread your hook and slightly kink the trace wire where you want the second hook to be. The loose end should then be threaded back into the crimping sleeve and through the other side. Now bend the end of the wire back on itself and thread it through the sleeve yet again, slide it down the trace until it's near to the hook and crimp it into place.
The trace should then be cut to length and a Berkeley swivel attached in the same way as the second hook.

Bait (Dead)
==========

Rainbow trout
Snapper
Sardines
Sand eels
Mackerel
Small pike

The list above is just a small selection of the many baits available all of which catch pike. Sea fish are absolutely fine to take with you, but if you intend on using trout, roach, gudgeon etc. It's best to either catch them at the waterside or purchase them from the owner. This helps to stop the cross contamination of fish stocks.

The Pikes Location
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You should always spend the time to plumb the depth at any water to find out any variances in the depth and any possible features on the bed of the lake. Points of land that protrude into the lake often produce good catches of pike since all fish that want to navigate from one bay to the next have to go past this point, that's what makes it an ideal ambush point for pike.
Submerged Islands and shallow water are also a good places to fish for pike, especially during the summer months when roach and bream tend to feed in these locations.
In cold weather pike tend to head for deeper troughs, so a ledgered dead bait along the edge can prove very effective.

Gravel Pit Fishing in Winter
======================

To give yourself the best possible chance of catching a winter pike you should arrive at the waters edge as early as possible. This gives you the opportunity to view the water at first light. If you see loads of roach or bream surfacing, which looks like water coming to the boil, or hear a strange fizzing sound then the chances are that a pike is in the area scaring the fry. This is an ideal place to set up.

Tackle
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11ft, 3lb test curve rod with a through action (close range)
12ft, 4lb test curve rod with a fast taper (further out)
½ Mackerel dead bait
28lb Wire trace (20 to 24in long)
Two No. 8 trebles
Berkeley swivel
Bait support link
Length of monofilament

The trace is attached to the main line by means of a swivel. The lower end of the swivel (attached to the trace) then has a bait support link attached to it. This will take the weight of the bait during the cast so that the hooks don't pull free.
The mackerel is prepared by cutting it in half from the dorsal fin to the stomach, then trim off the tail. This is done to improve the aerodynamics of the bait for when you cast out, and to allow the juices to ooze out into the water to entice your quarry.
A long length of monofilament line should then be tied together to form a loop, just make sure that the loop of line is a little shorter than the length of your wire trace. Now tie the loop of line to the tail end of the bait. Several half-hitches should do the trick.
The loop of mono should then have the trace passed through it, I'll explain why later. Now the hooks should be set into the bait, one near the tail end and the other about halfway down the flank of the fish.
The loop should then be placed onto the small ledge of the bait support link. Now It's ready for casting out.
After the bait hits the water the mono loop frees itself from the bait support link allowing you to tighten your line right up to your bait.

The reason for threading your trace through the supporting bait loop is quite simple, you see if a pike takes your bait and you strike the hooks will come free of the bait leaving it in your swim. Since pike may only feed once a day in winter leaving such large free offerings is not advisable, you may miss out on the fish of a lifetime just because of a free bait. That's where the loop comes in, you see it tends to catch on the top treble, and since your bait is tied to the loop, you manage to retrieve it without any hassle.

River Piking - Weir pools
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3lb test curve rod
Multiplier reel
Trout dead bait
Wobble bar
Wire trace
Size 8 treble hooks

The wobble bar is attached to the first hook on the trace with the use of a short piece of trace wire. This is then inserted into the trout's mouth. The first hook is then pushed through the lips of the trout, bottom one first then the top one, this will take the force of the cast without any problems. The second hook is then lightly nicked into the flank of the trout.
It is fished sink and draw style, with a fairly slow retrieve to allow the larger pike to attack it. If the retrieve is too fast the chances are you'll only hook small pike which is fine if that's all you want to catch, but if you want something a bit bigger slow the retrieve down a little.
The wobble bar makes the bait act in rather a strange way, not dissimilar to that of an injured or dying fish and that's what makes this method one of the best for fishing weir pools, a dead bait ledgered on the bottom is a most un-natural site because most dead fish tend to be washed down stream so why bother when a wobbled bait looks so good.

How to Unhook a Pike
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The best way to unhook a pike is to lie it on a unhooking mat, then place your legs astride it and kneel down. This will stop the fish from hurting itself should it flap around a little. Now one hand should be placed behind the gill raker and the bottom of the jaw grasped quite firmly. It's mouth can now be opened. With the use of a pair of forceps carefully remove the hooks making sure that they don't flap around and injure the fish. This is a quite safe procedure.......when done correctly.

Fluted Floats
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The shape of these floats is rather unusual. The sides are not round, like conventional floats, but squared with concave flutes running down the length. They should be used on rivers when there's an up-stream wind and you want to trot your bait down-stream. If a conventional float is used in this situation the up-stream wind holds back the float, and the terminal tackle, so it doesn't present the bait naturally. The fluted float combats this by trapping the flow of the water in the concave parts of the float, this produces more drag, to overcome the up-stream wind. The bait is then presented in a more natural way.

Finally there's a short interview with the famous angling author Fred Buller, telling of his preferences when he goes pike fishing, how large he thinks pike can grow and of course the story of the one that got away.

The picture quality of this title is similar to that of a vhs tape and certainly not up to the standard of today's dvd's. The sound quality is acceptable but yet again it's not quite right being slightly muffled. But with all that said I found this dvd a thoroughly enjoyable watch and I would recommend it to anyone who is considering taking up fishing for pike. If you already know the basics then I suggest you leave this title alone because you'll learn nothing new from it. I would also recommend that you search around for a second hand copy because its full retail price is way too high.

Runtime 1hr 31mins
Made in 1993
Cost £11 to £20 (but I bought mine for £5 second hand)
Rating Exempt
Extras None

Many thanks for reading

© Stan 2006