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Although pike anglers are always dreaming up rigs to deal with specific situations or to overcome particular problems there are a couple of simple rigs that are easy to set up with the most basic of tackle, and are both successful and safe for the pike. They will also work well in most circumstances! Neither of these rigs involves the use of specialised tackle, and because they incorporate floats you will have no need for expensive bite alarms to detect takes - provided you keep a close watch on the floats!
The first rig is a float leger rig for use with deadbaits. Set the rig up as shown on the right, with the float slightly overdepth. As soon as the float starts to move off or goes under you should strike. With all rigs ensure that your main line is at least fifteen pounds in breaking strain, and that your wire traces are well made from wire of at least 30lb test. Use a reliable knot to join trace to line.
> The second rig is a paternoster which can be used with dead or live baits. With the paternoster link tied to the eye of the upper treble (as shown on the left) a livebait cannot swim up and around the mainline - and so the risks of a pike biting through the line when it takes the bait are almost nil.
By removing the float, stop knot and two of the beads from the float leger rig you have a straight leger rig. In very windy conditions this will hold your bait in position more efficiently, as a float can be dragged by the waves. The leger weight can be increased to two, or even three ounces, with no loss of sensitivity of the rig as it is free running. If the bottom you are fishing over is snaggy add a short weak link of nylon between the swivel and the bomb. Always use a reliable drop off indicator to alert you that a pike has picked up your bait when you are using a rig without a float.
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