Did my first Pike session of the year yesterday and managed a ten pounder but the wire trace cut into the corner of its mouth which left me less than
enthralled. Has anyone tried using Braid or Kevlar as a hooklink as an alternative to wire and if so how did it perform ? ie.did it fray or snap ?.Ive also
found with wire that after a couple of fish the wire tends kink or twist. Any comments from regular Pike anglers that would help.
Wire or Braid ?
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 bnbond |
Wire or Braid ? |
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Posts: 575 (14/10/2009 07:48:56) |
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Margin Man |
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Posts: 210 (14/10/2009 11:37:48) |
Heavy braids like quicksilver or tonup are too floppy, tangle easily especially with livos, also quite visible ,I dont trust them with sharp pike teeth . Same
with fluro carbons I had several little pike this year on seaguar 80 but they ruin it , a bigger pike would chomp straight thru it. Not used any kevlar stuff ,
but reccomended to me for zeds .
Gerry, stay with wire, you were just unlucky with your 10, it happens to us all sometime , I use a lot of ET stuff, 49strand wire or Mr Softee .....does kink but straightens easy, stiff enough to present livos properly., I also use the Fox easy twist 30 , I know ive said before that Fox stuff is rubbish but their trace stuff is good , also carboflex if you are a crimper. If you buy readymade traces the ET ones are best, never those crappy unbranded ones off ebay. Even the fox ones kink and twist , dont last more than 2 or3 fish, just part of pike fishing, like making a new trace on a freezing february morning and smacking yourself in the teeth as you spin the forceps !! Get on Pike and Preds forum , loads of debates on there about wires, braids, singles, circles, but they always come back to the old method , good wire and 2small trebles,Jardine got it right first time ! Was walking the drains last week saw a piker using new product recently advertised . better not say the name .Bite indicator , use with front alarm, its a alloy bar that pivots on the rear bank stick with a bent bit to hold the line (open bail) and counter balance weights. Spoke to him and had a close look and a fiddle with it , ........ IT IS HOPELESS ,,, do not buy ....no no no . Ive seen some rear drop offs set wrong before but this thing just invites bad bite detection and deep hooking. Whens it gonna get colder!! Chris. |
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Maurice Johnson |
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Posts: 141 (14/10/2009 16:24:00) |
Hi Gerry,
I've been using quicksilver for pike fishing now for many years, in fact ever since it first came out! Hand on heart I have never lost a pike due to a bite off. You often have to replace it every fish or two but then you do with wire anyway and quicksilver is a lot easier to handle and rig up. If you want it stiff use quicksilver gold, I've not had a problem with tangles using gold. Regards, Maurice |
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marc portch |
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Posts: 347 (14/10/2009 17:33:07) |
your results surprise me maurice.. ive had pike bite straight through 45lb quicksilver on a couple of occassions when catting and they were only jacks.
gerry, take a look at titanium mate.. some brands can be knotted and it feels softer than standard wire.. it also lasts a long time, typically at least 5 times as long as wire... it is pricey though but worth every penny imho. some of the stuff on the market is a bit dodgy though so let me know if youre interested and i'll send you the links to the goodstuff.. or anyone else for that matter. cheers, marc |
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bnbond |
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Posts: 575 (14/10/2009 18:58:39) |
Hi lads thank you for your very helpful replies all comments have been noted. Today I was given a 25mtr spool of Steel-Kevlar which as the name implies appears
to be a combination of both materials.As I am not a regular Pike angler only a part time dabbler I have not used this before (even tho I have had a small
amount in 10lb BS knocking about in my tackle box since last year) has anybody used this stuff before?, it appears to be a bit on the thick side for the
breaking strain.
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Maurice Johnson |
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Posts: 141 (14/10/2009 19:28:13) |
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FarmerJilesy |
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Posts: 174 (14/10/2009 22:25:04) |
I'd also recommend the titanium, I use the drennan and think it works brilliant, had some great results with it. It's fairly supple for a wire and doesn't kink at all, the pike don't seem to mind it either, well worth the extra pennies. I've tried the braided type wires 49x and kevsteel x, they are well supple, but a bit too much for lives and twists quite badly on the retreive with deads from far out, alright for the margins tho. |
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bnbond |
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Posts: 575 (15/10/2009 08:34:09) |
The wire I`ve been using is Drennan Soft Strand Micro Filament Stainless in 15 and 20lb BS.After reading the info from you fellas it appears that for the
present at least I should stick to what I`ve got, I must admit tho that I did think of using Quicksilver gold.Regarding the stainless, Im not sure if I like
the idea of using wire that wont rot away if a fish is deep hooked and is lost or am I being too picky.
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msatch |
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Posts: 1708 (15/10/2009 08:36:04) |
hiya gerry ,haveing spoke to mark portch about the titanium stuff i am going to switch over to that , haveing said that, i previously used carboflex [even tho i aint a big fan of fox gear] i find the coated wires far better and kinder on fish ,but you must crimp it .i have landed pike on braid [while catting ]but wouldnt recomend it ,the thought of leaving a pike with hooks in it after biteing me off doesnt warrant good angling to me .atb gerry .regards mark. |
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bnbond |
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Posts: 575 (15/10/2009 08:59:36) |
Hello Mr Satchwell I thought we`d lost you for the winter,good luck with your Piking.As you have probably worked out I havent remained too clued up on the Pike
scene for the last few years so am a bit green. Even tho I`ve fished for Pike on and off since I was a kid I`ve never managed to get a twenty so Im really
going to go for it this winter.It looks as if there are yea`s and nay`s on the braids and kevlars so I think I will play safe and stick to wire for the
present.Mark portch the link for the good stuff would be very helpfull, I bow to experience
 . Thank you for your advice lads its been very helpful, good Piking.
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Dave Aylett.barbelfishingworld |
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Posts: 81 (15/10/2009 15:26:08) |
Gerry,
Last Edited By: Dave Aylett
15/10/2009 15:28:14.
Edited 1 times.
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bnbond |
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Posts: 575 (15/10/2009 16:49:59) |
Thanks Dave will check that out.
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marc portch |
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Posts: 347 (15/10/2009 16:58:03) |
hi lads,
hi maurice; i'm amazed youve never had a problem to be honest mate... i watched a jack fly out and hit my livebait a few years back and as he bit down he went straight through the quicksilver like a hot knife so i could never condone using braid for pike fishing as it just isnt suitable, although i do appreciate your results say different mate. as for ti ; all of these are highly recommended... good delivery as well, especially agm.. http://www.rokmax.com/product.php?prodid=222&name=Titanium+Single+Strand+Leader+Wire http://www.agmdiscountfishing.co.uk/knot2kinky-nickeltitanium-wire-25lb-113kg-p-811.html http://www.thetackle-shop.co.uk/search_results.asp?section=240 Gerry; if you are only fishing bait then i would probably stick with wire if i were you...at least for now.. your drennan soft strand in 20lb is perfect for deadbaits, although you might want to use a 7 strand for livebaits mate. As jilesy has said, the soft stuff does tend to twist on the retrieve but if you get a good quality swivel it should be manageable. good luck with the 20 mate, they really do look impressive when they get to that size. cheers, marc ps. just re-read the first post Gerry; how far down were the hooks to cause wire damage? pps.. you could always use 80-100lb fluoro! |
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bnbond |
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Posts: 575 (15/10/2009 17:22:13) |
Hi Mark thanks for your help mate, the hooks on the fish were quite a fair way down,past the gills.To be honest it could have been because the fish really put
up a scrap throwing itself out of the water and "tailwalking" then it wrapped itself round the wire taking a small patch of scales off the flank, no
serious damage but too much for my liking.As you know Pike despite their ferocious looks are a lot less hardy than say c.a.r.p or Cats and my concern for the
welfare of fish doesn`t end with Catfish.
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Maurice Johnson |
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Posts: 141 (16/10/2009 10:55:49) |
Hi Marc,
I seem to be outvoted here but that's ok, I can only relate my own experience. When I first tried quicksilver I was a bit hesitant about it. Bear in mind that this was when it first appeared on the market which is 15 years ago at least, maybe more. The wire for pike fishing in those days was *#*!, which was what promptet me to try something else. It was a case of suck it and see. As time went on with no problem there was no reason to go back to wire. I would certainly go back to wire if a problem ocurred but as it has been ok all these years it does seem unlikely now. I also use quicksilver for Zander which I've had to almost double figures with no problem. (not quite made to 10lbs yet - still hoping) Maybe somebody up there likes me! 
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pheel steel |
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Posts: 402 (16/10/2009 18:00:38) |
Maurice, you've been lucky so far. A bite-off WILL occur!
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RedtailRob |
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Posts: 235 (19/10/2009 11:18:09) |
Maurice all i can say is you must be blessed with Golden testicles!!
I wouldn't dream of using ANY Braid for my Pike fishing as a Hooklength. I've encountered too many bite off's whilst catting including a definite low 20 that i could see shaking its head & flaring its gills in the margin as the line went slack & that was quicksilver 45lbs! (Now use Catfish Pro -Pike safe on waters that contain pike - as the idea of losing fish & leaving hooks in them upsets me  )
I can understand your reluctance to change however if you've never had a problem..... ...yet! I use a range of wires depending on the circumstances but generally stick to Drennan 7 strand in 28lbs for the majority of my fishing. I use something stronger and stiffer though for my Uptraces - sorry cant remember what it's called. I'll have a look. Need to get out my pike rods |
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Ady Schindler |
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Posts: 22 (16/11/2009 16:09:40) |
I know this is an oldish thread but i've only just read it.One thing i have found that usualy stops mouth damage from wire are the fox rig tidys slipped
over the eyes of the trebles.Unless the pike is hooked further back in the mouth they generaly cover the pivot point.Failing that a 3 or 4 inch length of rig
tube above the top rig tidy should prevent any cutting.
Regards Ady. |
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marc portch |
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Posts: 347 (16/11/2009 19:37:49) |
sorry folks,
my earlier post referred to using 20lb wire.. apologies i meant to say 28lb for pike fishing. marc |
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RedtailRob |
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Posts: 235 (19/11/2009 12:28:37) |
Shame on you Marc !! 20 lbs wire for Pike Indeed!
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marc portch |
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Posts: 347 (20/11/2009 17:09:13) |
i know.. what a tit!
zander on the brain at the time! |
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