A growing list of pike fishing tips

With much of the country in the grip of ice and blizzards, the closest a lot of us are going to come to pike fishing this weekend is reading about it.

Pike fishing tips is one of the top predator-related search strings on Google. It's clearly why a lot of people come to sites like this.

And they're not just beginners, or people turning to pike fishing from other branches of angling. There are plenty of experienced hands out there who go online in search of inspiration when their fishing goes slow.

We're constantly adding links to articles on all kids of ways to catch pike. You'll find them if you scroll down on the right.

Here are some of the latest additions, ranging from basic rigs and fish handling, to more advanced stuff.

If you're new to pike fishing, we've got all you need to know on the basics. Our information library covers all the basics - from rigs to safe fish handling - here.

There's also a good beginner's guide here - hat tip Improve Your Coarse Fishing.

Dave Lumb's put together a slightly more advanced series of articles, which detail his thoughts on rigs and cover things like resistance, setting up alarms, the pros and cons of free-running vs fixed leads etc - click here for the first one, from which you should be able to follow links to the rest.

Bait's something newcomers often ask about - ie what's the best bait for pike on (insert type of water/time of year here...). Bait dealer Neville Fickling's written a guide to different deadbaits you can find here. Click here for Andy Wilson's thoughts on bait choice.

Which wire to use and how to make traces are two subjects which frequently crop up on forums. Neville's done a guide to wires here. We've got a guide to making traces here.

How to make a start on different types of water is another subject which sometimes vexes seasoned pike anglers - let alone beginners.

Here are some basic guides to pike location on the Fens, small drains, gravel pits and rivers.

Why not check out the rest of our links - there's stacks more, including a whole section devoted to lure fishing.

Sharp hooks catch more pike

Look sharp chaps... If the weather's kept you off the bank, how about checking the hooks on your lures to up your chances of connecting with a fish or two next time you do get out..? There's a great guide to how to sharpen your hooks on Dave Lumb's blog here.

"If there is one thing you can buy which will increase your lure fishing success when using lures with large hooks it is a hook file," writes Dave.

"A few quid spent on one of these simple pieces of kit will put more pike in your net than any expensive lures or rods ever will."

It doesn't just hold true for lure fishing, either. Keep the hooks sharp on your bait fishing traces and you'll cut the number of takes you miss, or fish which seem to fall off as soon as you bend into them.

New tips on pike fishing with baits

We've just added the first of what will doubtless be many links to articles about bait fishing for pike.

They include everything from basic float or leger rigs for pike, to more advanced tackle tips.

Have a scroll down the right-hand side bar to see them. And check out our rapidly-growing collection of lure links too.