Evening pike ambushes on the tidal Thames
Teddington Lock to Richmond: tidal corridors for pike
The stretch between Teddington Lock and Richmond hums with tidal change; high water often slows the flow to a few centimetres per second or even reverses it. Pike set along edges of headlands, small bays, stone revetments and narrowings, waiting where backwash concentrates prey.
Best action falls in the last 60–90 minutes before peak tide and the first hour after the current swings. Fish work 2–5 m from the bank, yet the biggest pike hold over 3–6 m drops and at the mouths of small tributaries and drains.
Where to fish and what works
Reliable venues include Richmond Riverside, Petersham Meadows, Ham House and Tagg's Island rills, Hampton Court on the Upper Thames Reach and the Teddington Lock tailwater. Usual quarry are roach, dace, bream and young perch; these species feed the ambush line carried by the backwash.
Bank tackle is compact: a rod 2.4–2.7 m, 20–60 g cw; braid 20–30 lb with a 30–40 lb fluorocarbon or steel leader. Effective baits are deadbait 15–25 cm on a float or paternoster, soft plastics 12–20 cm and shallow runners 10–14 cm. Cast along the seam, let the tide squeeze bait into the corridor, then hold tight.
Come dusk the river shapes itself into strips of opportunity. A great pike can explode from a pocket beneath Richmond Bridge as the current swings, silver flash and a crushing thump against the rope.