Top 3 deadbaits for pike

Coarse fish

They are the most natural bait a pike will see, and they have been naturally prebaited!

Another plus is that you will also catch zander using these, so it’s always worth having one rod with a ‘silver’ on it.

Rudd are a tough bodied bait and are a nice golden colour . Bream for whatever reason catch fish, though it’s important to keep them fresh.

Smelt

These seem to work everywhere.

They can be hard to get hold of, especially in the larger sizes – it’s often a case of stocking up in April/May when they are more available.

They are a soft and pale bait that has a unique smell, and the pike love them!

Occasionally pop them up, but pike find these through smell rather than by sight… which is why they are mainly fished tight on the bottom.

Herring

Despite most anglers preferring mackerel, these have caught a lot of good fish.

They are readily available – you can get them from most bait companies as well as fish counters.

They are a big bait which is one of the reasons they work so well. Try fishing them with the head cut off and legered hard on the bottom or fish them whole under a drift float.