Whether or weather when to pike fish!

[Santiago]

This summer I'll be fly fishing for pike in several Thames weirs. It would be nice to increase my catch rate, currently zero. I'm not new to pike fishing, and have noticed I rarely have success on summer days that are cold and windy, when using plugs and spinners. So my question is chaps, in your humble opinions what is the best weather and time of day to lure fish for pike during the summer months? And what about water temperature?

My friend Nick who occasionally fly fishes for pike with me says that I'll catch if I can learn to strike differently that one normally does with a coarse rod. My casting is OK apparently, and I've had numerous takes, so I should catch a pike on the fly quite soon. I just want to increase my chances weather / conditions wise!

[Phil Arnott]

Most of my piking was done in winter so I don't know how much of my experience will apply to summer fish. The biggest factor in winter was a rise in temperature after a cold period so just above freezing rising to 10C+. All fish became active including the pike. I would bet money that pike will be attracted to spawning fish. They are certainly attracted to anglers bringing in fish.

More relevant to summer was that dull conditions and a wind rippling the surface both seemed to stimulate the pike to feed. I'm sure wind is good if it's not cooling the water.

I'm sure that pike, like a lot of predators, often lay semi-dormant and the disturbance caused by splashing wakes them up and gets them going. So delicate presentation of the fly would probably be a mistake.

Some of the biggest pike I caught were taken at dusk and I think this is a strategy they employ, striking from the dark depths with the prey silhouetted above. Smaller fish I think are more opportunistic.

Weir pools are great places for pike and pike have no problem with fast water as I sure you know. I'm surprised how many anglers stay clear of fast water when after pike.

I've just bought a heavy weight fly rod for sea fishing so I may have a go myself. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Santiago]

Cheers Phil, that's very useful information. I'm gathering confidence in one's technique and tackle is key, and the weather is only part of catching. Perhaps I mainly need to practice my strip striking. Compared to dusk, we appear to have better success in the early morning on the Thames.