Combo For Northern Pike

[Jmrichardson2011]

Hey all,

 

Looking for a good combo to target northern pike with. Would prefer something on the lower to mid cost end and am leaning towards an ugly stick since you can beat the crap out of those things and they won't break.

Targeting pike is a good change for me and I like to do it if the bass fishing is slow.

 

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[J Francho]

I do quite a bit of pike fishing, and I don't bother with any specialized gear, other than toothy proofing the terminal tackle.  For the most part, my swimbait rod or my flipping stick siffices.  Heck, I caught one of my biggest on a medium cranking rod!  That was a mess, lol:

 

Getting dragged around:

 

Result of patience and lots of luck:

[MarkH024]

Nice fish. What was the length on that one?

[MarkH024]

Hey all,

 

Looking for a good combo to target northern pike with. Would prefer something on the lower to mid cost end and am leaning towards an ugly stick since you can beat the crap out of those things and they won't break.

Targeting pike is a good change for me and I like to do it if the bass fishing is slow.

 

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

I musky and pike fish often. I will tell you this, a MH/F (bass) rod of your preferred brand will handle a 40"+ fish. I have a 7'6" St Croix Premier (Musky) with Curado 300DSV that is more than enough ooomf to bring those fish in as one of my musky set ups. Most of my big fish I've caught were on bass set up's in the M or MH range fishing for bass. I wouldn't go way out of your way to build some heavy duty set up for pike fishing unless you go up to Northern Canada and catch 40+ after 40+ non stop. 

 

This fish was caught on a Medium/Fast St. Croix Triumph Bass rod. Throwing a small, Mepps bucktail. Figure 8 at the boat and I let it run around in circles a bit.

[A-Jay]

Yup - just decent medium/heavy bass gear is usually sufficient.

 

Even if you go the big live bait route, only a small step up in tackle would really be necessary.

 

Though I don't like to admit, my biggest pike have all come while I was bass fishing and not actually targeting pike.

 

I'm good that way.

 

A-Jay

 

[J Francho]

Though I don't like to admit, my biggest pike have all come while I was bass fishing and not actually targeting pike.

 

And usually while throwing an expensive, hard to replace bait, lol.

[MarkH024]

And usually while throwing an expensive, hard to replace bait, lol.

I've donated dozens of $10 Koppers frogs to the pike family while bass fishing. 

[Jmrichardson2011]

I have a nice M/H rod 7'2 I usually use for my jigs that has been doing double duty as my northern rod, I was thinking something maybe a little bit heaver to throw daredevle spoons (can't find these in stores hardly anymore, what happened to them?).

 

My medium action spinning rods (I fish with these all the time) are getting beat to heck by northerns and it's gets frustrating but I guess that's the price to pay for multi-species heaven in Wisconsin.

[Jmrichardson2011]

And usually while throwing an expensive, hard to replace bait, lol.

 

Agreed, 2 summers ago a pike hit my favorite spinnerbait (had caught many fish in 4 years of use) and bent it beyond repair. I could not get it to run true again no matter how hard I tried.

[A-Jay]

I've donated dozens of $10 Koppers frogs to the pike family while bass fishing. 

 

I had to start using wire - it was that bad - but in a good way

 

A-Jay

[MarkH024]

I have a nice M/H rod 7'2 I usually use for my jigs that has been doing double duty as my northern rod, I was thinking something maybe a little bit heaver to throw daredevle spoons (can't find these in stores hardly anymore, what happened to them?).

 

My medium action spinning rods (I fish with these all the time) are getting beat to heck by northerns and it's gets frustrating but I guess that's the price to pay for multi-species heaven in Wisconsin.

http://www.basspro.com/Eppinger-Original-Dardevle-Spoons/product/2918/?cm_ven=bazaarvoice&cm_cat=RLP&cm_pla=2918&cm_ite=productname_link

 

Where about in WI are you fishing? I'm normally in the Green Lake vicinity. 

[J Francho]

I've donated dozens of $10 Koppers frogs to the pike family while bass fishing. 

 

Look for Cortland Toothy Critter in the fly section of any large retailer.  10# size will work.  It's tieable, and bass don't seem to mind.  It doesn't kill the action like wire.

[Jmrichardson2011]

http://www.basspro.com/Eppinger-Original-Dardevle-Spoons/product/2918/?cm_ven=bazaarvoice&cm_cat=RLP&cm_pla=2918&cm_ite=productname_link

 

Where about in WI are you fishing? I'm normally in the Green Lake vicinity. 

Typically I fish South Eastern WI, my grandparents have property on a little lake in Dousman (my favorite listed under my profile picture). Don't have  boat right now so things are limited, but I love fishing anywhere in WI.

 

When I go with my Uncle we used to go to Friess Lake until it flooded with septic systems and killed the fish. Now we we go to Lake Kessus near Merton or Pike Lake in Hartford

[Felix77]

I do very little pike fishing.  One tournament per year.  The setup I use is a 6'6" (or 7') MH Baitcaster with 20lb Mono and a steel leader.

 

Setting your drag is the key!

[DeadEyeDavey]

Go with an Ugly Stick, I have a Wonder Rod (1950s predecessor to the Ugly Stick) that I use for all species especially pike, and I love it.

[MarkH024]

Typically I fish South Eastern WI, my grandparents have property on a little lake in Dousman (my favorite listed under my profile picture). Don't have  boat right now so things are limited, but I love fishing anywhere in WI.

 

When I go with my Uncle we used to go to Friess Lake until it flooded with septic systems and killed the fish. Now we we go to Lake Kessus near Merton or Pike Lake in Hartford

I'm not too familiar with those areas. Most of my fishing is North of Madison.

[Jmrichardson2011]

I'm not too familiar with those areas. Most of my fishing is North of Madison.

I would love to try fishing out there at some point as well as on the Madison chain of Lakes. The only real fishing I have done North of Madison area is at the Chippewa Flowage (caught everything from 10" blue gills to 34" northerns and everything in betweeen).  I have fished on Lake Winnebago before but did not enjoy it at all.

[Ratherbfishing]

I think it depends on the size of the pike you plan to pursue.  If "snakes" "slimers" and "hammerhandles" are sufficient, any rod/reel combo (apart from ultralight) should be okay.  If you expect to chase bigger pike (and muskie), you definitely want to upgrade to stoughter gear to handle both the bigger fish and the bigger baits.

[PondHunter]

St. Croix has a rod in their Triumph lineup for Steelhead that is an 8'6" HF rod that would work very well. it handles 12-25lb line, and 1/2-2oz. lures. You can get it in either casting or a spinning version.

 

The same type rod is also in their Wild River series. I happen to have the spinning rod and really like it. The triumph rod is $100, and the Wild River rod is $180-$190.

[ww2farmer]

I don't target them, they target me. I have landed pike up to 15lbs on standard bass gear with no problems.

[SirSnookalot]

We don't have pike and muskie in Florida, caught plenty of them when I lived in Michigan.  I target barracuda most days there are some similarities and some difference too, my cudas range in size 35"-50", upwards of 35#, I have 2 set ups that are ideal for me, both spinning.  My heavier outfit is a Cabo 30 reel with 20# braid, I use braid as this reel has small line capacity but packs a lot of drag, I use a 25lb soujourn a great perfomer.  My lighter set up which is the favorite of the 2 is a Pflueger arbor 5000 with 14# mono on a Quantum mh rod, for the punch this outfit packs it's light enough and balanced I can throw it for hours and never get tired.  IMO it's more about the rod than the reel and letting the rod do the work for you.

[BradH]

Just match the rod/reel/line to the lure & hook size and use some kind of leader to prevent bite offs.

 

I see so many guys buy into the huge rod & reel thing for pike/musky and toss 1 ounce baits on 150# wire leaders that would be better fished on a regular MH or H power bass rod with a much lighter leader.  You'll cast farther, have better action on the lure and stand a better chance of keeping the fish pinned when you get it next to the boat.

 

If big baits are the key then I will be tossing big baits on a big rod to match but it does not have to be that way all the time.  The big rods & reels are to match the big lure, not the fish.

 

Last Fall I caught a 15 pound 4 ounce pike on a HJ14, 30 pound braid/12 pound fluoro leader, 6'3" daiwa jerkbait rod and Curado 200E7.  That was fun.  I just kept the drag where it needed to be, played the fish and stuck it in the net.  That same rig has probably put as many pike in my net as any other setup in the fall, winter and spring.  A 7' H/F and some 3/4 to 1 ounce spinnerbaits (with a trailer hook!!!!) is another good setup.  Stuck a 40"/20 lb. fish in the net with that rig.

 

As far as ugly sticks go I can't comment because I have not used or handled one in years.  I will say Cabelas has their Fish Eagle II rods for about $40 online right now and I would probably choose that over an ugly stick and it might even be cheaper.

[Jmrichardson2011]

Thanks for the tips BradH. I have landed about a 10 pounder on a MH American All Star Rod while fishing an inline spinner. Thought for sure the thing was going to snap my rod it fought so hard (bent the crap out of my favorite pike spinner).

[SirSnookalot]

A 10# fish should not break a mh rod.

[HeavyDluxe]

I may be in over my head here, but...  "Cool story, bro" time.

 

When I was a kid, I had one rod/reel - a MH Shimano, rear drag combo produced for a major retail outlet.  I'm pretty sure it was a 'freshwater' package and not a particularly high-quality one at that...  That said, the main fishing we did was in the salty waters of the Delaware Bay.  I caught plenty of medium saltwater fish (big bluefish, stripers, and the like) along with a couple significantly bigger fish.  My largest was a sand shark that was at least 7' long.  We know it was that long because we couldn't lay it 'straight' across the breadth of our boat. I know nothing more about it because, despite my 13 year-old pleas, my father wasn't happy to have it in the boat with us.

 

The lesson I learned was that good line, an appropriate leader, functioning drag, and patience will allow you to catch 'big' fish on small tackle.  Of course, luck plays a role, too - for example, we were on sand flats away from anything (aside from the fish's teeth and body) that would abrade the line.  

 

My largest pike is probably just around the 30" mark, so I'm no expert.  But it was caught on 6lb mono and a M spinning rod - again, with an element of luck involved.  So, I would think that a MH or better rod, a modern superline, and an appropriate leader would allow you to catch anything that swims where most of us fish.