Winter Pike Fishing

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

Most species go quiet as the water cools, yet plenty of UK anglers save their pike rods for the coldest months, because pike fishing in winter still produces. Pike keep feeding, but they hold close to shoaled prey fish in deeper, steadier water and won’t chase far.

So static deadbaits and very slow lures do the work, and the swim you pick matters more than the bait you buy.

The Canal & River Trust notes that pike are traditionally fished from 1 October to the end of the river coarse season on 14 March. That is tradition, not law, and it reflects how badly pike cope with low oxygen in warm water.

Below: where to look, the best bait for pike in winter, the rig, lures, fish care and the rules in England. For other species and months, see our seasonal fishing guides, including the same cold-water approach applied in our winter carp fishing guide.

Where to Find Pike in Winter (and When They Feed)

You fish the weedy margins that produced fish all autumn, and you blank. By December the pike have usually moved.

In cold water, roach and bream shoal up in deeper water where the temperature stays steadier, and pike stay close to them. Find the prey fish and you have found the pike. Where that is depends on the venue:

Venue type	Where winter pike sit	What to look for
Rivers	Deeper water near where silver fish shoal	Deeper areas and structure such as fallen trees
Canals	Deeper sections and around moored boats	Lived-in boats, which raise the water temperature slightly and draw small fish; structure
Lakes and reservoirs	Deeper water and drop-offs close to prey shoals	Drop-offs, the edges of deeper water, any feature where silver fish gather

Lure angler and guide Darren Starkey, writing in Angling Times, suggests asking match anglers where pike are troubling their catches. Pike follow the shoals, and match anglers know where the shoals are. On Windermere I look for drop-offs and the edges of deeper water near where prey fish hold, rather than the shallow bays that fish well earlier in the year.

When winter pike feed

Sources disagree on timing. Some anglers favour late morning to early afternoon in deep winter, while Angling Direct points to milder, overcast days with a ripple on the water, and says dawn and dusk can still produce. No single feeding window holds for every water, so fish through the day and note when your takes come.

Many anglers believe a sudden cold snap puts pike off for a day or two. Treat that as bankside wisdom rather than fact, and read up on how weather affects fishing before you plan a session.

If you are new to a water, start where the match anglers are catching silver fish.

Best Bait for Pike in Winter: Sea vs Freshwater Deadbaits

In winter, pike are scavengers as much as hunters. That is why a dead fish lying still on the bottom can outfish a lure on a cold day.

A cold pike wants an easy meal it can find by scent, and a static deadbait gives it exactly that: no chase, and a scent trail leading to it. The best bait for pike in winter depends on your venue and its rules:

Bait type	Strengths	Watch out for
Sea deadbaits, such as mackerel	Cast well, strong scent	Some fisheries set their own bait rules, so check first
Freshwater deadbaits, such as roach	A natural bait that suits pressured waters	Banned on Windermere and the other listed Lake District waters
Livebait	Movement attracts pike	Under the England national byelaw, only if bait fish are kept at and used in the water they came from; some local byelaws ban it; moving fish between waters needs written Environment Agency consent

One more national rule: you must never use crayfish, dead or alive, as bait or in bait.

The Windermere rule

The Environment Agency’s North West rod fishing byelaws ban any dead or live freshwater fish, salmonids or eels as bait on Windermere, Coniston Water, Ullswater, Derwentwater and ten other listed Lake District waters. Sea fish are not named in the ban. On Windermere I fish sea deadbaits for that reason.

Angling Direct adds two tips: recast every so often to freshen the scent, and give a popped-up deadbait the occasional twitch, which can trigger a take.

Best for: the coldest spells, coloured water and pressured venues. Skip if: you are thinking about livebait and the venue or local byelaws don’t allow it. Our guide to pike deadbaits covers each bait in more depth.

A Simple Winter Deadbait Float Rig

One float rig covers most winter venues. One setting on it, keeping the bait no more than about 2ft over-depth, does more than anything else to limit deep hooking.

The specs below come from Angling Direct and Angling Times:

Rod and line. A carp-type rod of about 3lb test curve is fine. Use 15lb mainline as a minimum.
Float. Fit a sliding float attached bottom-end only, with the depth set by a stop knot.
Trace. Tie up about 2ft of roughly 24 to 28lb wire with two treble hooks, sizes 4 to 8. Angling Times treats a wire trace as a minimum requirement for pike, so never fish a nylon or braid hooklink. Our explainer on pike wire traces goes into the options.
Depth. Plumb up and set the bait no more than about 2ft over-depth.
Bites. Watch the float and strike at once. The care section below explains why waiting is a mistake.

Ledgering suits distant or windy swims where a float is hard to see or hold. Where you can watch one, a float shows the shy winter bites described below.

The England national byelaw allows up to four rods for coarse fish, but you must never leave a baited rod unattended. The rules section below has the rest.

The verdict: a sliding float, a 2ft wire trace and a bait set just over-depth will catch winter pike on most rivers, canals and lakes.

Lure Fishing for Pike in Cold Water: Slow Right Down

A pike follows your lure all the way in, then turns away at your feet. In winter that usually means the retrieve was too fast. Cold pike are less active and less likely to chase, so slow everything down.

Darren Starkey’s cold-water approach, as described in Angling Times, comes down to four points:

Use large-tailed soft plastics on a slow retrieve, letting the lure sink near the bottom.
Fan-cast to cover the water from each spot.
Work the lure right into the edge, because followers often hit at the bank.
Fish strong braid (he uses 60lb) and rig weedless around snags. Hardbaits work too.

Lures are also a quick way to find fish. Angling Direct suggests a few casts per spot, noting any hits or follows, then returning to the productive areas with deadbaits. On Windermere I use slow lure work and trolling to search a lot of water before settling down. For more detail, see our pike lure fishing guide.

Lures carry a fish-care advantage too: the Canal & River Trust points out that they reduce deep hooking compared with baits.

Quick comparison: use lures to search and when you can keep moving; use deadbaits to sit it out in the coldest spells. Conditions change by the day, so take both.

Winter Pike Care and the Rules in England

In cold water a pike often sits on the spot and eats the bait without moving off. Your float may barely twitch. Wait for a classic run and the bait can end up deep in the throat, which is how winter pike end up deep-hooked.

Angling Times and the Canal & River Trust agree on the basics of handling:

Strike straight away when you get a bite.
Net the fish quickly, lay it on a padded mat and use long-nosed forceps.
Support its weight evenly, one hand under the jaw and the other arm under the vent, not carp-style.
If you are experienced, unhook in the water to cut time out of it.

See how to unhook a pike for the full method.

The rules in England

These rules cover England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ.

Licence: you need an Environment Agency rod licence from age 13 (the junior licence for 13 to 16 is free). Check the current price on GOV.UK.
Close season: the coarse close season runs 15 March to 15 June on rivers, streams, drains, some canals, most SSSI stillwaters and most Norfolk and Suffolk Broads waters. Most lakes, reservoirs, ponds and canals have none.
Taking pike: the national byelaws allow one pike of up to 65cm per day where removal is allowed, and stillwaters need the owner’s permission.
Bait and local rules: see the bait section above, and always check fishery rules and local byelaws.

If you are new to pike, have the mat and forceps out before you cast.

Frequently asked questions

Do pike feed in winter?

Yes. Pike in winter keep feeding, but they stay near shoaled prey in deeper water and feed less aggressively, so slow, static presentations work best. Look for deeper water, drop-offs and moored boats where roach and bream gather, and expect bites to be shy.

Can you fish for pike on rivers in winter?

Yes, in England. The river coarse close season runs from 15 March to 15 June, so winter pike fishing on rivers is open. Rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and fisheries can set their own.

Can I use roach as deadbait on Windermere?

No. The Environment Agency's North West byelaw bans dead or live freshwater fish, salmonids and eels as bait on Windermere and the other listed Lake District waters. Sea deadbaits such as mackerel are not named in the ban, but check the current byelaws on GOV.UK before you fish.