observatiosn on lure fishing tactics

So...

I have a lake and a river within the 2 kilometre limit so we trudged (teenagers in two) down to the river yesteryday.
It's still quite high but the riverside pastures are now clear and relatively solid underfoot. Water very murky. And its deep.

Out came all the lures and soft plastics purchased for Florida and we agreed to test them out, sure enough there was a few jack pike in the section in front of us.
We never landed one!
Some would follow the lure in almost bank to bank, pausing, clearly either not hungry enough or unsure of what the hell that thing was...
Some did actually attack the lures - in fact I watched as one jack (about 2 lbs) slammed a white wriggly worm soft plastic, no more than a few feet from the bank, just as it was let drop... exactly as predicted by all the gurus. It smashed the tail end and missed the hook. The sink is far more important than the draw.
So that lit up ned rigging (using small or even halved soft plastics) but also the rain came and the session was over.

Aside from the white worm, the best performing lures were all metals, illustrating eve on a fairly bright day, just how filthy dirty the water is.
A little disappointed that such a prime stretch of river yielded so little, especially since its a trek to get there, but it may be we just picked a poor section.
Heading properly into the bog section this evening if time allows.

All comments welcome.

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious. Something I see beginners and experienced anglers alike do, be it coarse, sea or game fishing, is to slow down their retrieve if the lure is being followed. The opposite is what should be done....speed it up. Fish will always be able to swim faster than you can retrieve. Speeding it up turns from the fish being able to have a good look at the lure to having to an agressive chase...most of the time

Your a lucky man Kieran that you have a river and lake close to you. I do a lot of Pike fishing with lures and deadbaits and havent been on the bank since 22nd March . Everyone has lures which they enjoy using and they have confidence in, but even some days these lures dont work whether its the water temperture, barometric pressure or time of day and water colour. Sometimes the Pike just arent hungry and they will follow but wont take and then times they will smash a lure. Its all good fun but can be frustrating. I have often missed pike right at the bank as you said they followed the lure in. When the Pike are like this I would retrieve my lure right to the bank and before i lift it out i would bring it to the surface and let it drop right down. I had a 15lb pike i never saw fly in and hammer the lure. I was watching the lure drop and bang this fish came out of the shadows. I have found that using jerkbait lures are brilliant as you twitch them they glide from side to side and hang in the strike zone longer. bad water clarity can make lure fishing very tough, I would use deadbaits in this situation. Enjoy.

You know those old rusty metal lures - you know the old German sprat or Toby or nondescript thing you picked up that's not looking too shiny - well, I have just discovered that a 48 grain bench grinder and a coat of spray lacquer does an AMAZING job! Not alone does it shine it back up (granted you might lose a gram) but it adds a shimmer quality (that could be my unsteady hand). Lacquer is important as it stops the underlying metal oxidising and losing its sheen. Did three lures in about 20 minutes. Needs a bit of care on the more complex shaped pieces, but I am well happy...

Good man Kieran , well worth giving these re vamped lures a shot. I have a copper spoon 15 years and it still catches Pike, even had a follow from a salmon one time. Enjoy

No need to clean up old lures just do what I do and wrap them in tinfoil shiny side out they are then great reflecting lures
mickser

Hi Kieran,

A good thing to try in this situation when Pike are not hooking up on the lures is to bring a packet of frozen smelt or roach and if you get a follow on the lure be careful not to spook the Pike by moving.
Wearing clothing that blends in works well too. You often find the pike is nearly under your nose especially if you are in the water.
Change over to the smelt or Roach on a dead bait wobbling setup with a float a few feet above it and drop into the water roughly where you think the Pike is and twitch back very slowly taking lots of time.
In a lot of cases the Pike will take the deadbait and it is a tactic that has worked for me many times. In fact some anglers use the lures to draw the fish in and then switch over to deadbaits to catch them.
Hope this helps.

Would you believe an ancient small Toby, re-polished on one side, and sprayed with copper paint on the other, accounted for two small jack pike and an absurdly small perch last evening. I won't insult you with the pictures. River is badly polluted again, which is a disgrace given the EPA are down the road. Slurry run off by the look of it. Won't be going back there any time soon. Still... actual fish!