I dont know if any other areas are experiencing this problem. I am a member of the loch of Skene pike angling in Aberdeen and the decline in the quality of pike fishing is un believable ,it is now a rarity to catch a double figure pike and if you do it has a wire trace stuck down its throat or injured through bad handling.
This loch used to be fantastic to fly fish for pike and it is a great way to catch and release without any undue stress to the fish.
It is easy to point the hand of blame at eastern european anglers but i have seen plenty of our local countrymen who are just as bad.
I think our pike fishing is under more fishing pressure now than it has ever been
and the only way i can see it improving is a total catch and release policy and proper education in the catch and release methods.
I know a lot of anglers still regard the pike as vermin and could not care less
i used to have such feelings in the past but having been an avid pike angler for a few years now i know what a fantastic sporting fish they can be. It would be good to hear others views on the subject best regards scotty

Anyone who is prepared to pay out money for bivies and proper bite allarms and the like are the ones who know there pike fishing. Its the pricks with the torn off branches from trees as rod rests and who wait untill the pike takes the bait deep
who are ruining the fishing.
Unfortunately there seems to be a going trend for this in my neck of the woods
that is why i am travelling further afield to get decent pike fishing.
I was fishing loch drumtalcheck in inverness recently and i have never seen so much rubbish lying around a loch in my life. The one large pike i caught had its gill rake hanging out ,its enough to make you bloody weep.
The greatv thing about having the boat is i can get to areas that are hard to access on foot .And the torn branch brigade are lazy bastar-s who wont hump there 40 cans of lager that distance
scotty

Fishing tackle has never been cheaper and angling is more popular than ever so most of the lochs are seeing more anglers unfortunatly most new to the sport dont have a clue (fish killers) I was at lubnaig in the camper friday to sunday and there were groups of guys who didnt have their rods out the water all weekend even when they went to bed.Any fish big or small that takes there baits is dead.
I have a loch near me that suddenly started to get heavily fished last time we fished it out of 5 pike we caught we had to remove 3 traces.I found out Glasgow angling centre staff were telling people about the loch.
Its a difficult one cos its all about educating novice anglers but who wants to approach a group of guys full of booze with a big fire and say Here yous are doing that wrong.

Spot on Fergie it is no wonder people are reluctant to post venues that are good fishing spots .

Whoaaaa... I didn't mean to tread on anybodies toes. I am sure you are experienced and responsible when it comes to bait fishing. I have nothing against it as such - did a fair amount myself in the past.

The problem is that its very easy now to walk into a tackle shop and get all you need for pike baitfishing. Many carp anglers, who are used to long sessions and self-hooking rigs, are giving it a go. You never used to see hardly anyone bank fishing Windermere, now parts of the the lake are lined with bivvies, with the inevitable discarded tackle, deadbait bags, etc. We are starting to get pike there now with traces in their throats, similar to certain areas in more northerly glacial lakes, like Crom Minh and Kilchurn bay.
If you dont know what you are doing, or dont care, then deadbaiting is potentially lethal. Most pike that die as a result of capture do so after being deep hooked by baitfishers.

The Environment Agency is worried about pike populations in Windermere, which are starting to decline. They dont know if its due to excessive eutrophication or angling pressure. My guess is angling pressure of the wrong type.

Someone has been able to walk into a tackle shop and buy some snap tackle and some dead bait for as long as I can remember. It's people that ruin fishing and harm fish stocks. Not methods, not bivvies, not snap tackle and not a few dead roach or smelt.

To me it's about respecting the environment and your prey and I don't think someone's choice of bait or lure is a good gauge on those values.

Also, it was more your grouping of this type of angler in to a 'brigade' and your reference to them as "these people" which I took exception too. It shows a degree of snobbery and ignorance which I find pathetic. It makes you sound as if you stroll around in a tweed jacket turning your nose up at everyone without a double handed salmon rod.

It's people that ruin fishing and harm fish stocks. Not methods, not bivvies, not snap tackle and not a few dead roach or smelt.


I agree entirely. Its sloppy and irresponsible bait fishing that is the problem.
It got so bad up at Awe at one point that it was common to catch pike in certain areas with traces in them.

Windermere was mainly fished from boats by pikers using livebaits, deadbaits and lures. People bait fishing from boats, using float setups, are generally taking notice of what they are doing. The livebait ban might have worked against the pike in that respect. There was also a ban on freshwater deadbaits - sea baits only can make things even slower. People get bored, sometimes waiting days for a bite, especially in winter. I see them wandering about the bank, maybe chatting to other anglers, sleeping too. Then there is frequently a wait when they do get a take, maybe to give it time to take it properly, or expecting it to run off nicely. Confidently feeding pike can swallow smaller deadbaits on the spot in seconds.
Baits generally have to be fished at some distance to clear shallows, shallows that are rocky, so that means sunk float tactics to keep line clear. You need to know what you are doing to get efficient bite indication with these setups.

The deterioration of sport on Windermere coincided with a marked increase in bank-based bait fishing. True, the place was seeing more angling pressure in general, but we never saw fish with traces in them before. That is now starting to happen. There are different types of angling pressure. The type where fish are caught and returned in good condition - they just get harder to catch again. Then there is the type that, intentionally or unintentionally, ends in mortality. Research on the lake seems to suggest its the latter.

By the way, not many tweed jackets strolling around the part of Liverpool I grew up in

Keith there are some guys fishing on loch of Skene my local pike loch
there intention is to kill as many pike as possible and then they sell them to a chinese restauraunt. That and two or three others who kill pike have ruined what used to be a great wee loch. These guys just throw in a dead bait and let the pike swallow it they dont have a bloody clue about fishing.
I think the main problem up my neck of the woods is we have very good salmon and trout fishing and many frown upon pike fishing so it is very hard to get anyone to fight to safeguard pike. In england it is regarded as a great sporting fish and appart from the dedicated pike anglers in Scotland no one gives a toss . I am sorry to hear you are having the same problems there the reason i brought the subject up
was to get others views . I hope things can improve in the future as i now love to pike fish as do some of my friends.
scotty

prob with pike is pike fishers who move them about and seed places that never had pike before. Quite rightly these pike shoud be killed when caught and usually are. pike can ruin valuable trout and salmon fishing and are not wlecome most places in Scotland.

Yes lets kill all the otters seals and dolphins and maybe some ospreys
scotty