Fishing for pike and carp

[Keith_Beef]

I'm going out for an overnight camp with my son next week. I had a chat with landowner about it, and he said that there are pike and carp in his pond, maybe a duck swiming around, I can take if I want.

Now, ducks are easy, but the fish are more difficult. I've got a bit of line (13kg), and some 3-barb hooks (on 7kg line loops) that look like little grappling hooks. I reckon carp will bite on balls of bread, but what about pike?

And I'm thinking of just cutting a hazel or chestnut pole to use as a rod, and simply tying the line to the edge of the pole (like a perch pole, I suppose). But I would expect a pike to fight quite a bit. Am I going to be able to pull in a pike with such a simple set-up?


Keith.

 

[jakunen]

I wouldn't use the trebles for Carp. You'll do a lot of damage to their mouths.

Pike CAN be taken on maggot or worm, but you usually use a spinner, spoon, live (taken from the water you are fishing) or dead bait (smelt, bit of mackerel).

Pike, I doubt you'd land as they are very powerful and would probably either break the line or the pole or throw the hooks.

Small carp you should be ok with, but please get some ordinary hooks (preferably either barbless or micro-barb or Preston Pinch).

If you want to PM me we can chat about methods etc. (used to be a macth fisherman).

 

[steve a]

Not 'the' jakunen in the red beret by chance ?.

 

[jakunen]

NO!!! Unless you're talking Dean Waylands 'Contact!'.

Signals...Back then I was either 'Corp', 'Ghost' or 'Hawkeye'.

 

[steve a]

NO !!!!, there was a Jakunen who fished National Div 1 matches and he always wore a red beret. He was/is? a great angler if somewhat unconventional (no offence).

 

[jakunen]

Really?
No, I was only local club level, had my fair share of trophies though and wasn't all that conventional myself. Preferred carping a waggler on the bird rather than baitrunners and 'the method'.

 

[martin]

If your going for Pike then the hooks need to be tied to wire not just line.
Pike have around 700 razor sharp teeth and unless you hook one in the corner of its mouth you don't stand a chance of landing it.
The best bait for them is small oily sea fish such as Sardines, Mackerel, Herring and Smelt.
Aniseed Oil poured over the bait is a very good attractor, so is the oil from tinned fish.
This time of year when the water is very warm and contains less oxygen Pike tend not to feed but if they are and you hook into one be prepared for a fight. Its like fighting a living torpeado, they can fly right out of the water and shake their heads very violently. Great fun
Have a look at thiswebsite for some more info.

 

[bushwacker bob]

Kieth, I'd go for the ducks.

They taste better than carp or pike. ):

 

[Keith_Beef]

Kieth, I'd go for the ducks.

They taste better than carp or pike. ):

I think you're right. I'd better get looking through "Cooking with Elizabeth Craig" on the section on drawing and plucking water fowl.

With carp, I'm told that the flesh will have a muddy flavour, unless I put the fish into a holding tank for about three days. Good news: there's one of these in the farmyard next to where we'll be camping.

I saw Huge Furry Whippingstool prepare pike in "Escape to River Cottage"... looked like a lot of work getting out all the bones, but is supposed to be very tasty when prepared properly.


Keith.

 

[jakunen]

Despite the small, fiddly bones, pike is VERY tasty, either grilled as fillets or cultets, or mashed with cream, lemon, horseradish, fresh ground black pepper and served as a quenelle. A real delicacy in places liek Slovenia.
Hmm, I'm hungry now!

 

[Stuart]

forget the carp they dont taste very nice and they are a pain to prepare they seem to have thousends of little bones all over the place that appear to serve no purpose other than to make it difficult to eat.

the one a caught just down the road from my house so i put it in the bath for a day as i had heard of the muddy taste problem, made no difference.

you can catch duck with snares (i will be showing a set up for catching ducks with snares on the trapping workshop at the gathering if your coming)

be prepared for a fight though

 

[Keith_Beef]

forget the carp they dont taste very nice and they are a pain to prepare they seem to have thousends of little bones all over the place that appear to serve no purpose other than to make it difficult to eat.

the one a caught just down the road from my house so i put it in the bath for a day as i had heard of the muddy taste problem, made no difference.

you can catch duck with snares (i will be showing a set up for catching ducks with snares on the trapping workshop at the gathering if your coming)

be prepared for a fight though

Carp is apparently a traditional Christmas dish in the Czech republic, so it must be worth eating. Maybe you just didn't leave it in clean water for long enough. I was told three days.

I'd prefer trout, lovely fish, and no problem with bones. But there's no river where we're going, and maybe I should mention that this is going to be my second ever attempt at fishing (the first was shore fishing, and I got nothing).

I'll not be at any workshops for the foreseeable future I don't mind wrestling with the odd bird now and again and a couple of ducks would be worth it. Maybe I could get one with a bola.


Keith.

 

[jakunen]

Carp was a very popular dish in the courts banquets during the middle ages (and hence the 'stew ponds' in a lot of old monasteries).
3 days is about the right time to 'soak' your carp, but even then it can be something of an acquired taste.
It is quite nice roasted however.
Sorry, the medieval cook in me keeps coming when people start talking about this type of food...

 

[Keith_Beef]

Carp was a very popular dish in the courts banquets during the middle ages (and hence the 'stew ponds' in a lot of old monasteries).
3 days is about the right time to 'soak' your carp, but even then it can be something of an acquired taste.
It is quite nice roasted however.
Sorry, the medieval cook in me keeps coming when people start talking about this type of food...

Don't apologize!

Got any hints for catching and preparing swans and peacocks?


Keith.

 

[jakunen]

Don't apologize!

Got any hints for catching and preparing swans and peacocks?


Keith.

Erm, yes, but swans are mainly the property of the Crown and are damn viscious buggers, therefore not only difficult to subdue, illegal to catch and eat. But they taste VERY nice, roasted. Nicest one I had was at Leeds Castle. A linnet in a pigeon in a duck in a goose in a swan. DEELISH!!!!!

Peacock, probably got a recipe somewhere, and I know someone who wants a lot of tail feathers...Best way to catch one? Don't point a camera at it!

 

[Stuart]

Carp is apparently a traditional Christmas dish in the Czech republic, so it must be worth eating. Maybe you just didn't leave it in clean water for long enough. I was told three days.

your probably right most things taste nice if prepared in the right way, however i dont think my wife would be very happy if i left it in the bath for three days :shock:

 

[Keith_Beef]

Erm, yes, but swans are mainly the property of the Crown and are damn viscious buggers, therefore not only difficult to subdue, illegal to catch and eat. But they taste VERY nice, roasted. Nicest one I had was at Leeds Castle. A linnet in a pigeon in a duck in a goose in a swan. DEELISH!!!!!

Peacock, probably got a recipe somewhere, and I know someone who wants a lot of tail feathers...Best way to catch one? Don't point a camera at it!

Of course, I wouldn't dream of doing this in England, England. But I live in France. I don't think that the swan is a protected species, but I've never seen it described as game, either. I should check that out a bit further, of course. An apparently useful technique, as explained to me by a gypsy I used to know, involves a slice of bread and a cricket bat.

And the peacock is not a native European bird, though it might be considered livestock, or at least a private possession. Then again, if it escapes into the wild, and doesn't have a ring on its leg...


Keith.

 

[jakunen]

Should learn to check people location on threads...

Hmm, slice of bread and a cricket bat. Not very sporting! What!. ):

If you do get either, I certainly have recipes for swan, and morethan likely for peacock.
I'll dig out soem recipes for you. Just remember to send me an invite to dinner...

 

[bushwacker bob]

( I don't mind wrestling with the odd bird now and again and a couple of ducks would be worth it.

was 'ducks' a mispronunciation ?
:rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:

 

[Buckshot]

Kieth,

It's currently the close season for ducks in the UK because it's the breeding season.
I have no idea about France but I suspect it's a similar sort of thing if they have a season at all... :?:

Worth checking

Cheers

Mark