I have the 'Doomsday Book of Mammoth Pike'!!! I love the stories of Monster pike to over 90lb in weight! One of these years I'd like to plan some trips to these legendary lakes with unbelievable pike in them 🎣🎣🎣
A guy I knew 10 years ago, nice fella... not yer average BS'er, who was into scuba diving (though not fishing) and went diving in lough Boderg which forms part of the mighty Shannon river system here in Ireland said he saw what looked like a railway sleeper swim slowly past him... he got so spooked he had to get out of the water.... I believe him... and I believe it was a pike.😦 😎👍☘🍺
Hi, I would say it was indeed a pike. Anything over 30lb is going to look huge to anyone down there, so who knows how big it really was. A high percentage of ordinary people have no idea what huge fish lurk in our rivers and big waters. My father was one of them. Until he read one of my fishing mags (he was 37 years old) he had no idea. Never before fished. He then started up piking, and became obsessed with the sport.
@peterfitzpatrick7032 : The trouble is most anglers aren’t much good at guessing fish weights ( especially carp which see the bank more frequently than big pike) so personally I wouldn’t put much faith in non-anglers estimates of fish weights. With the best will in the world they’ll probably be miles out so best taken with a pinch of salt .
@@Kingcarparpeggio I've had anglers see photos of my PB pike (9lb) and assume it was 15-20, seems not many are great at guessing or they are just to dishonest with themselves about their own fish
A 53 lb pike was found dead at Damflask near Ripon, in 2020, and another fish of similar size was found banked in the River Cherwell after flooding in 2013. Reservoir fish fed on trout grow fast, but tend to die relatively young. Very large specimens emerge from an unusual combination of genetics and environment. I know someone who has had a number of 30s (with photographic evidence) who lost a fish he said dwarfed all his previous captures. I believe tidal rivers may be hiding some extremely large pike.
Hi, They are about. One day someone is going to have the shock of their life when they reel one in. I agree with the genetics and environment. Tidal rivers ... one day one will pop up, I'm sure. Tight lines.
I doubt what you say about rivers, you are frankly way behind the times in terms of the predation issue. I see huge flocks of cormorants daily working the Trent and nearby pits, frequently count up to 50 sitting on the buoys above Colwick weir on the boom floats drying their wings. And in the tidal it isn’t just Otters but seals are often seen feeding away. As for people with stories of huge fish lost..funny that, they always seem to lose monsters double the size the land ai guess difficult to see through “ rose tinted glasses”. Strange all these huge fish supposedly found dead as if they doubt bloat up with gas when they die and bodies become waterlogged so you cannot weigh them accurately unless they just. So I won’t hold my breath sadly waiting for an actual caught monster to turn up to snatch the British record sadly. Of course as was said the biggest fish seem you come from the big trout reservoirs because they are constantly restocked with replace the fish taken by man and predators, even Ospreys on on places like Rutland Water. Chew probably producing the biggest still cannot threaten national record status. Dream away because that’s all it is, wishful thinking.
@@jamesrussel1133 Avian and mammalian predation undoubtedly has an effect on fish stocks, however things are more complex. There are almost certainly larger pike than the current record swimming in British waters, and that's true of other fish. People don't want the hassle of claiming records, with all the attention it attracts to the individual and the water (this thread is an example). Before stocked trout reservoirs the largest pike came from lochs and rivers with migratory salmonids. These have been depleted by a variety of factors. If predation was the only factor on predator size, pike would be getting smaller, which is not the case. There may be fewer of them, but that doesn't mean the maximum size is lower. Pike thrive on neglect. Which of us is correct will be proven by results. If the UK pike record is never broken again, and 40s stop being caught, there's evidence of declining size. If not, the largest pike have adapted to other food sources.
The other reason why carp are getting bigger aside from feeding is because they're selectively bred for their capability to turn food into mass. The same can't be said for pike so it's potluck whether the right genetic strain with the capacity to grow huge ends up in a water where there is enough food and a good chance of surviving long enough. Not saying it's not possible, just saying it'd take a lot of things to line up
My p.b pike 38lb 7oz. Came from Kifiley castle in Wales. I held the record for 2 years ( photo is in Tom's tackle store ) . She was court again, weighing in at 41lb 5oz. This was back in 2004 .
Hi Andy, that's a huge fish that most of us can only dream of catching. They are out there, but only the lucky few get to witness seeing one of these beautiful monsters in the flesh. Lucky you. Tight lines.
G'day Dom and ginger fisherman, good to see you two guys fishing together. Awesome Pikes wow i remember frezzing my arse of fishing while it was snowing, didn't catch anything i just fed the robins. Hope your little finger didn't get frost bitten 😂😂😂. All the best form down under mates 👍🏼👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@@suffolksquitter2268 , oh no i had plenty of the crappy weather growing up in London. I've been in Australia for 50 years now . Beautiful country I've loved every minute , 26 when i left the UK with my wife and two children . Have a nice evening 👍🏼
I have netted and electro fished many lakes rivers and few canals. Sooo many people said to us that we would find 40 and 50lb pike were seen in one of the lakes and one river that fed a trout farm! All we ever caught were really fat 30s- biggest! I would like to think theres one or two out there but i doubt it!!!
Hi, They are out there somewhere, but are probably very rare. Just like exceptionally tall people (7 footers). And some pike may never, ever in their lifetime get seen in these huge reservoirs.
Abberton reservoir in Colchester, possibly will hold fish of that size. When fishing was allowed, it was in a very small part of the water, but still produced big pike, fishing has been banned their for years but as pike thrive on neglect, who knows.
Who knows, is right. Alton Water is another (fishing allowed) and it's full of silverfish. Finding the big pike is another matter. When someone catches a mid 30 pounder and shout about it, they'll flock there.
Unlikely. I fished Abbo back in the late 80's, best I had was 30.04, but most of the time we caught doubles. It's a coarse fishery. Most likely waters to do 40+ pike are still the main trout reservoirs... such as Chew, Grafham, Pitsford, Rutland, Blithfield and a couple more that are hush, hush.
@mauricetoussaint7283 I weighed and witnessed a 37lb fish there in the 80's, remember its 12000 acres of which you could fish about 2000 mtrs of bank. Big fish could easily avoid being caught with the odds stacked against you, like that. The valve tower was a hotspot, but I believe they stopped fishing their long before the 80's, if it was ever legal in the 1st place.
A fish of 72lb caught in 1774. It’s recorded in the Domesday. Ok of mammoth pike. I think we can safely say there is no photographic evidence of that one 😉
If there is no pressure, pike will grow . And as we all are pretty certain , if there was a 50lb to be caught it would more than likely come from a trout water . I spent a lot of my time piking on the fenland drains , such a shame to see the diminish . Let’s keep our pike alive and unfortunately become part of the secret squirrel club
Hi, Trout waters are usually the producers of big pike for sure. My mate and I have fished the Waveney (Beccles area) quite a few times with no success, not a run. Other anglers have next to given up as they're not catching either. Umpteen rods out, hours of rod hours waiting for nothing. Not sure what is really going on. Loads of speculation. I can understand the SSC. Shout about your catches and everyone will be there thrashing the water to death.
Hi, I had read about the 90 before, but that seems too far fetched. 60 is pushing it, but half as big again at 90. No, I can't see a pike getting that big. Makes a good story though!
@@suffolksquitter2268 The largest claimed pike is an American specimen of almost 67 and a half pounds. It was reported to be 5.29 ft long, which if correct makes the weight possible. The largest pike measured and confirmed was a fraction under 5ft long, in 2004 in Canada. According to Mona's Scale, the traditional weight for length approximation, that would be about 66 lbs. While those sizes are conceivable for Scottish lochs in the past, I'd guess the low 50s is the likely maximum for a UK water today.
@@borderlands6606 It is a different World over the pond, they're huge fish and of course they have the Muskies as well. But I reckon you're right about a low 50 over here. Let's hope one turn up.
There is no chance sadly, have you not heard of predation? The adverse affect is twofold. Cormorants and Ottersare taking the prey fish from which they could otherwise grow big. Only waters artificially supplemented with new prey stock, that means trout waters, can ever grow massive pike in the U.K. now. These waters are too large to Otter fence. So even if there was the food available, the second huge reason why monsters won’t appear is that there isn’t much prospect now of a long life of eating growing for years unmolested by man and animal predators too. The Otter is the worst at taking the biggest, most visible fish often early upon arriving at a new food larder of a lake to exploit before it devastates stocks and moves on. I would say because of human interference deliberately seeding our country with artificially reared Otters and the impact of hoards of cormorants now permanently based inland there’s less chance of a monster pike popping up now than in the last 100 years or more. A twenty pound pike was a huge fish when I was a boy and still is now, anything 30lb plus a monster. Whereas the size of carp, tench, bream has got steadily bigger in recent years, as you say largely off the back of anglers supplementary food, you got that at least right, the biggest tend to reside now in Otter fenced waters. The big fish in large natural venues are being lost year upon year due to the Otter. You seem oblivious to the predation issue somehow but for that terrible reason there is frankly little prospect of an unknown monster ever cropping up now. They neither have the abundant food sources they once had or the protection from both human and animal predators who would take and kill them before they reach a grand old age. Pie in the sky this monster fish dreaming sadly.😢
Hi James, I seem oblivious to predation... I don't think so! This otter and cormorant business infuriates me. And I'm seeing it every week. In my book I mention the 70 cormorants (at the last count) on Alton Water, NR Ipswich, which between them scoff near on half a million roach, bream, rudd, etc, a year, let alone the nearby river Gipping that's now becoming devoid of silverfish. I'm almost to the point of giving up fishing as its so bad in our area. If you like carp fishing it's fine, but I don't. Every still water fishery seems to think that carp is all that everyone is interested in. The good old days have gone. But getting back to the main subject, you have made a lot of valid points that I agree with entirely, it all makes sense. But... I still believe that super, monster pike will still pop up somewhere, some day. Thanks for your message. Interesting for all. Tight lines.
So the big pike on the Norfolk Broads, the lochs in Scotland and Ireland, most large lakes and reservoirs in England have all evolved with otters, so based on your theory how would any of those pike have grown to record proportion's? Admittedly cormorants are a major problem, but they have been on Abberton reservoir for years, there was a hell of a lot back in the early 80's, but it still had 30's in it. With regard to your comment about human interference with artificially reared otters. You are completely wrong on that comment. If you look up the facts about otters you will get the actual true facts. 117, captive bred otters released between 1983 and 1999 mainly in East Anglia. So that with a low reproduction rate and short life span, is not a factor in, the size a pike could grow to. Pike live on neglect so waters like Abberton where fishing is not allowed could easily have very large fish. With the trout waters where pike fishing is allowed for short periods along with other restrictions, do you honestly think that the biggest pike have actually been caught in the Limited time allowed?
It's been done, some dude from Liverpool got one in a trout fishery, got i can't remember it's exact wait but well into the 50s, easy found on you tube.
50lbers have been caught at blagdon but you can only boat fish it and not allowed to takes a fish to the bank. That’s the only way you can claim a record not from a boat
Alleged 48lbs is the biggest from Blagdon, hushed up by the management at the time. Fly fishing only at Blagdon for Pike and yes, from a boat. Cost of Fly fishing for Pike on VERY limited days is £240 each, or thereabouts.
god help the big pike of our waters if a pole catches it.
Vedy good taste pikes no
Yes, the pike would be exhausted after stretching the elastic to the limit for a couple of hours.
@@portcullis5622😂
@@rokerdogyes, pike are good eating, lovely white flesh.
A lot of them catch and release now.
I have the 'Doomsday Book of Mammoth Pike'!!! I love the stories of Monster pike to over 90lb in weight! One of these years I'd like to plan some trips to these legendary lakes with unbelievable pike in them 🎣🎣🎣
A guy I knew 10 years ago, nice fella... not yer average BS'er, who was into scuba diving (though not fishing) and went diving in lough Boderg which forms part of the mighty Shannon river system here in Ireland said he saw what looked like a railway sleeper swim slowly past him... he got so spooked he had to get out of the water.... I believe him... and I believe it was a pike.😦
😎👍☘🍺
Hi, I would say it was indeed a pike. Anything over 30lb is going to look huge to anyone down there, so who knows how big it really was. A high percentage of ordinary people have no idea what huge fish lurk in our rivers and big waters. My father was one of them. Until he read one of my fishing mags (he was 37 years old) he had no idea. Never before fished. He then started up piking, and became obsessed with the sport.
😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣he was the one armed fishershitter 🤣🤣🤣
@peterfitzpatrick7032 : The trouble is most anglers aren’t much good at guessing fish weights ( especially carp which see the bank more frequently than big pike) so personally I wouldn’t put much faith in non-anglers estimates of fish weights. With the best will in the world they’ll probably be miles out so best taken with a pinch of salt .
@@Kingcarparpeggio I've had anglers see photos of my PB pike (9lb) and assume it was 15-20, seems not many are great at guessing or they are just to dishonest with themselves about their own fish
A 53 lb pike was found dead at Damflask near Ripon, in 2020, and another fish of similar size was found banked in the River Cherwell after flooding in 2013. Reservoir fish fed on trout grow fast, but tend to die relatively young. Very large specimens emerge from an unusual combination of genetics and environment. I know someone who has had a number of 30s (with photographic evidence) who lost a fish he said dwarfed all his previous captures. I believe tidal rivers may be hiding some extremely large pike.
Hi, They are about. One day someone is going to have the shock of their life when they reel one in. I agree with the genetics and environment. Tidal rivers ... one day one will pop up, I'm sure. Tight lines.
I doubt what you say about rivers, you are frankly way behind the times in terms of the predation issue. I see huge flocks of cormorants daily working the Trent and nearby pits, frequently count up to 50 sitting on the buoys above Colwick weir on the boom floats drying their wings. And in the tidal it isn’t just Otters but seals are often seen feeding away.
As for people with stories of huge fish lost..funny that, they always seem to lose monsters double the size the land ai guess difficult to see through “ rose tinted glasses”.
Strange all these huge fish supposedly found dead as if they doubt bloat up with gas when they die and bodies become waterlogged so you cannot weigh them accurately unless they just.
So I won’t hold my breath sadly waiting for an actual caught monster to turn up to snatch the British record sadly. Of course as was said the biggest fish seem you come from the big trout reservoirs because they are constantly restocked with replace the fish taken by man and predators, even Ospreys on on places like Rutland Water. Chew probably producing the biggest still cannot threaten national record status.
Dream away because that’s all it is, wishful thinking.
@@jamesrussel1133 Avian and mammalian predation undoubtedly has an effect on fish stocks, however things are more complex. There are almost certainly larger pike than the current record swimming in British waters, and that's true of other fish. People don't want the hassle of claiming records, with all the attention it attracts to the individual and the water (this thread is an example). Before stocked trout reservoirs the largest pike came from lochs and rivers with migratory salmonids. These have been depleted by a variety of factors. If predation was the only factor on predator size, pike would be getting smaller, which is not the case. There may be fewer of them, but that doesn't mean the maximum size is lower. Pike thrive on neglect. Which of us is correct will be proven by results. If the UK pike record is never broken again, and 40s stop being caught, there's evidence of declining size. If not, the largest pike have adapted to other food sources.
Might surprise some, but on many of the trout waters I fish for pike, most of their diet is course fish.
Thank you mate and get the reels and rods setting up for record Pike.
Someone is going to be the lucky one, one day. Just like winning the lottery!
The other reason why carp are getting bigger aside from feeding is because they're selectively bred for their capability to turn food into mass. The same can't be said for pike so it's potluck whether the right genetic strain with the capacity to grow huge ends up in a water where there is enough food and a good chance of surviving long enough. Not saying it's not possible, just saying it'd take a lot of things to line up
Hi, I'm 100% with you there. Good reasoning. Tight lines DJ.
My p.b pike 38lb 7oz. Came from Kifiley castle in Wales. I held the record for 2 years ( photo is in Tom's tackle store ) . She was court again, weighing in at 41lb 5oz. This was back in 2004 .
Hi Andy, that's a huge fish that most of us can only dream of catching. They are out there, but only the lucky few get to witness seeing one of these beautiful monsters in the flesh. Lucky you. Tight lines.
G'day Dom and ginger fisherman, good to see you two guys fishing together. Awesome Pikes wow i remember frezzing my arse of fishing while it was snowing, didn't catch anything i just fed the robins. Hope your little finger didn't get frost bitten 😂😂😂. All the best form down under mates 👍🏼👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hi Peter, I don't know if you've messaged on the wrong vid, but g'day to you too. Tad warmer where you are!
@@suffolksquitter2268 got no idea what happend there ,thanks and yes 29 degrees in Brisbane today .👍🏼
@@petercalthorpe7966 About 5 degrees here in Suffolk. 😒👍
@@suffolksquitter2268 , oh no i had plenty of the crappy weather growing up in London. I've been in Australia for 50 years now . Beautiful country I've loved every minute , 26 when i left the UK with my wife and two children . Have a nice evening 👍🏼
I have netted and electro fished many lakes rivers and few canals. Sooo many people said to us that we would find 40 and 50lb pike were seen in one of the lakes and one river that fed a trout farm! All we ever caught were really fat 30s- biggest!
I would like to think theres one or two out there but i doubt it!!!
Hi, They are out there somewhere, but are probably very rare. Just like exceptionally tall people (7 footers). And some pike may never, ever in their lifetime get seen in these huge reservoirs.
Abberton reservoir in Colchester, possibly will hold fish of that size. When fishing was allowed, it was in a very small part of the water, but still produced big pike, fishing has been banned their for years but as pike thrive on neglect, who knows.
Who knows, is right. Alton Water is another (fishing allowed) and it's full of silverfish. Finding the big pike is another matter. When someone catches a mid 30 pounder and shout about it, they'll flock there.
Unlikely. I fished Abbo back in the late 80's, best I had was 30.04, but most of the time we caught doubles. It's a coarse fishery. Most likely waters to do 40+ pike are still the main trout reservoirs... such as Chew, Grafham, Pitsford, Rutland, Blithfield and a couple more that are hush, hush.
@mauricetoussaint7283 I weighed and witnessed a 37lb fish there in the 80's, remember its 12000 acres of which you could fish about 2000 mtrs of bank. Big fish could easily avoid being caught with the odds stacked against you, like that.
The valve tower was a hotspot, but I believe they stopped fishing their long before the 80's, if it was ever legal in the 1st place.
No amount of anglers will find all the fish, as you say. You can have several needles in a haystack but you won't find them all.
I'm sure there was the remains someone said or I maybe read a while ago of a pike estimated 70 pounds on Loch Ken, anyone shed any light on this.
A fish of 72lb caught in 1774. It’s recorded in the Domesday. Ok of mammoth pike. I think we can safely say there is no photographic evidence of that one 😉
If there is no pressure, pike will grow . And as we all are pretty certain , if there was a 50lb to be caught it would more than likely come from a trout water . I spent a lot of my time piking on the fenland drains , such a shame to see the diminish . Let’s keep our pike alive and unfortunately become part of the secret squirrel club
Hi, Trout waters are usually the producers of big pike for sure. My mate and I have fished the Waveney (Beccles area) quite a few times with no success, not a run. Other anglers have next to given up as they're not catching either. Umpteen rods out, hours of rod hours waiting for nothing. Not sure what is really going on. Loads of speculation. I can understand the SSC. Shout about your catches and everyone will be there thrashing the water to death.
Nice
Wasnt the endrick pike 90lb ,loch ken ,,,maybe a 50lb in one of the trout waters they definitely need lots of food ,😮
Hi, I had read about the 90 before, but that seems too far fetched. 60 is pushing it, but half as big again at 90. No, I can't see a pike getting that big. Makes a good story though!
No, the Endrick pike was estimated at 70lbs, the Loch Ken fish was 72lb…..both alleged. They are in Fred Bullers book.
@@suffolksquitter2268 The largest claimed pike is an American specimen of almost 67 and a half pounds. It was reported to be 5.29 ft long, which if correct makes the weight possible. The largest pike measured and confirmed was a fraction under 5ft long, in 2004 in Canada. According to Mona's Scale, the traditional weight for length approximation, that would be about 66 lbs. While those sizes are conceivable for Scottish lochs in the past, I'd guess the low 50s is the likely maximum for a UK water today.
@@borderlands6606 It is a different World over the pond, they're huge fish and of course they have the Muskies as well. But I reckon you're right about a low 50 over here. Let's hope one turn up.
It's probably got 20 pounds if plastic in it.
Boiley eating pike..evolving ..who would have thought ?..
A flouro popup caught a 20lber from the next peg that I'd had live baits, big pike can't be ars+d - carrion eaters?
I was talking about carp getting fatter on boileys, like feeding them on steroids. Too much stuff is being thrown at them that's fattening.
@@TheXJRMAN That's right. Pike are after all scavengers. Just like crows, they'll pick up the smallest of things.
There is no chance sadly, have you not heard of predation?
The adverse affect is twofold. Cormorants and Ottersare taking the prey fish from which they could otherwise grow big. Only waters artificially supplemented with new prey stock, that means trout waters, can ever grow massive pike in the U.K. now.
These waters are too large to Otter fence. So even if there was the food available, the second huge reason why monsters won’t appear is that there isn’t much prospect now of a long life of eating growing for years unmolested by man and animal predators too.
The Otter is the worst at taking the biggest, most visible fish often early upon arriving at a new food larder of a lake to exploit before it devastates stocks and moves on.
I would say because of human interference deliberately seeding our country with artificially reared Otters and the impact of hoards of cormorants now permanently based inland there’s less chance of a monster pike popping up now than in the last 100 years or more.
A twenty pound pike was a huge fish when I was a boy and still is now, anything 30lb plus a monster. Whereas the size of carp, tench, bream has got steadily bigger in recent years, as you say largely off the back of anglers supplementary food, you got that at least right, the biggest tend to reside now in Otter fenced waters. The big fish in large natural venues are being lost year upon year due to the Otter.
You seem oblivious to the predation issue somehow but for that terrible reason there is frankly little prospect of an unknown monster ever cropping up now. They neither have the abundant food sources they once had or the protection from both human and animal predators who would take and kill them before they reach a grand old age.
Pie in the sky this monster fish dreaming sadly.😢
Hi James, I seem oblivious to predation... I don't think so! This otter and cormorant business infuriates me. And I'm seeing it every week. In my book I mention the 70 cormorants (at the last count) on Alton Water, NR Ipswich, which between them scoff near on half a million roach, bream, rudd, etc, a year, let alone the nearby river Gipping that's now becoming devoid of silverfish. I'm almost to the point of giving up fishing as its so bad in our area. If you like carp fishing it's fine, but I don't. Every still water fishery seems to think that carp is all that everyone is interested in. The good old days have gone. But getting back to the main subject, you have made a lot of valid points that I agree with entirely, it all makes sense. But... I still believe that super, monster pike will still pop up somewhere, some day. Thanks for your message. Interesting for all. Tight lines.
I forgot to mention the 60 great crested grebes also on Alton Water, as well as including the pike, eating the estimated 500,000 silverfish per year.
So the big pike on the Norfolk Broads, the lochs in Scotland and Ireland, most large lakes and reservoirs in England have all evolved with otters, so based on your theory how would any of those pike have grown to record proportion's?
Admittedly cormorants are a major problem, but they have been on Abberton reservoir for years, there was a hell of a lot back in the early 80's, but it still had 30's in it.
With regard to your comment about human interference with artificially reared otters. You are completely wrong on that comment. If you look up the facts about otters you will get the actual true facts.
117, captive bred otters released between 1983 and 1999 mainly in East Anglia. So that with a low reproduction rate and short life span, is not a factor in, the size a pike could grow to.
Pike live on neglect so waters like Abberton where fishing is not allowed could easily have very large fish. With the trout waters where pike fishing is allowed for short periods along with other restrictions, do you honestly think that the biggest pike have actually been caught in the Limited time allowed?
It's been done, some dude from Liverpool got one in a trout fishery, got i can't remember it's exact wait but well into the 50s, easy found on you tube.
Can't seem to find it on UA-cam. If you put up a link, then others could see it too.
You are talking about the wykeham lakes fish it was 46 and reared in a pen
50lbers have been caught at blagdon but you can only boat fish it and not allowed to takes a fish to the bank. That’s the only way you can claim a record not from a boat
Fairy stories !!!!
Alleged 48lbs is the biggest from Blagdon, hushed up by the management at the time. Fly fishing only at Blagdon for Pike and yes, from a boat. Cost of Fly fishing for Pike on VERY limited days is £240 each, or thereabouts.
Theres bigger out there trust me there just wise to fishing that's all
Never trust someone who says “ trust me “ !!!!!
😂😂😂😂😂 bullshitter , "trust me" ...NOT 😂