 Belle
Isle jacks crash into my new jerk baits
I had been waiting for months to wind up the pike with my brand
new set of wooden jerk baits, and Lough Erne with its fierce packs
of predators looked the perfect place to give them a hard thrash.
The jerk bait craze might have started in the States but they're
just as potent on this side of the Atlantic. My collection of colourful
artificials, are amongst the first production models based on the
hand-built lures created by fellow Fox consultant, David Kilbrick.
Dave is a total lure fanatic and hasn't fished any other method
for the past decade. I was totally confident the Ulster pike hadn't
seen anything like his large jerk baits in their lives!
 My
invitation to tackle the Belle Isle waters came from Andy Nicholson,
a former colleague at DAM and now UK agent for the Ulster estate.
Apparently, the best time to target the pike is from April to June,
when the migratory shoals of roach and bream flood into the Enniskillen
waters. The biggest Belle Isle pike also tend to fall at this time,
but I was told there are always good specimens right around the
island.
 We
had the benefit of a boat fitted with an outboard, essential to
cover the 470 acres of Belle Isle. I also took my echo sounder,
which proved invaluable for checking depths. With water temperatures
quite high, it came as no surprise that I found most pike in 15
to 20ft deep swims, where the bream and roach were also shoaling.
I trolled the natural roach baits right around the island at the
outset, to explore as much water as possible before digging into
my lure box for Dave Kilbrick's specials.
Each one of my jerk baits was originally hand crafted by Dave from
seasoned hardwood, then drilled and loaded with lead so each model
had a specific swimming action, sink rate and working depth. Once
he was happy with the designs, they were replicated by a top lure
manufacturing company, fitted with quality trebles and given a hardwearing
finish. Every single lure is individually tested to ensure that
the action is correct before it is released on the market.
 To
get the best out of the jerk baits, I fish them with a short, stiff-action
rod and low stretch braid. A very stiff wire trace is also beneficial
because many of them swim from side to side and actually accelerate
towards the angler. You quickly learn how to induce action into
these lures by twitching and jerking the rod tip, usually in a downward
motion, which puts an amazing amount of life into them.
To most anglers, jerk baits look huge compared with our traditional
spinners, spoons and plugs, but all sizes of pike attack them. In
fact, I was taken aback by the ferocious way in which the Erne pike
chased them. Fish between 5 and 10lb slammed into the big lures
with a power and vigour that totally belied their size. Their aerobatics
certainly made for some exciting and spectacular fishing.
 It's
often said that you need a bright lure on a bright day, and my jerk
baits were all colours of the rainbow. Dave seems to have produced
a model for virtually every depth, from shallow working floaters
to fast sink models that work down to at least ten metres. With
the aid of the echo-sounder plotting the depths, I tried to pick
a jerk bait that would work within two feet of the bottom. The sink
rates are displayed on the underbelly, so it's a simple matter of
casting and counting the lure down to the desired depth. Then you
work it back towards the boat, varying the speed of retrieve and
the rod tip action to cover as much water as possible.
 During
my Belle Isle sessions over four days, it became evident that I
could catch a high percentage of the fish in one particular area.
The pattern was repeated numerous times as I quickly boated as many
as ten jacks before the action dried up. Returning to the same spot
later in the day, or even the next morning, never produced the same
number of strikes. Having tried all the lures, the Runt models seem
to produce most action with the tutti-frutti rainbow colouring definitely
being my favourite.
As a break from the jerk bait fishing, I trolled live and dead
roach behind the boat, all around the island. In reasonably calm
weather, I rowed at a steady rate without the noisy outboard and
got to know the waters quite well.
I probably caught between 60 and 70 pike and dropped another dozen.
Most weighed 5-9lb with a few doubles to 12lb.On reflection, timing
is obviously the most critical factor on the massive Erne system.
The big pike clearly migrate and you could be miles away from the
biggest fish at times.
I was too quick off the mark to bag the really big fish with my
jerk baits, but there will be more opportunities this autumn.
Belle Isle Estate
Lisbellaw, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern
Ireland, BT94 5HG
Telephone +44 (0)28 6638 7231 Facsimile +44 (0)28 6638 7261
Email info@pike-ireland.com
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