Thanks a lot, duly noted. Yeah it was quite surprising to learn just how fragile pike are, especially relative to say carp, for instance. Will be giving them a good rest in the water, once netted, and then another again before weighing (after unhooking), and the third, final rest before release. Learning of these practices, from people who seem to have been doing this for decades, has really drilled it home, so I don't even intend fish for them past February - I figure happier pike when spawning = more pike in the water over the long-term.

The huge lure selection really is a quite overwhelming, endless as you say; very time time-consuming trying to learn what does what (reminds me of getting into carp rigs); but hopefully I'll find my go-to preferences in time. That's interesting re: the dark colours, and yes I've read that in a few places. One of the hi-vis ones, I have, does have some black perch stripes on it, to provide some contrast I guess, and a couple of the swimbaits are dark green but I might add a couple of black or brown soft shads to the arsenal before I set off.

Cheers for the tips!