spring northern pike(40-50F water temp)

[TheGreatSpike]

What's everyone's best bait/lure/presentation for early season pike? Where do you produce your best fish? 

[jr231]

X-rap . Change your cadence til you get em. 

 

I like the orange but the olive works well too. 

 

#5 mepps really ticks em off too 

[slonezp]

Blue Fox Vibrax spinners and swimjigs

[RoLo]

> Rapala Husky Jerk 12 (silver blue)

> Blue Fox Vibrax Musky Buck (firetiger)

> Gambler Big EZ (alewife)

Roger

[A-Jay]

The first few weeks after ice out, and in waters that offer the visibility, pike can often be found sunning themselves in somewhat shallow water.

Places like the backs of bays and sides of sheltered points, you get the idea.   This offers a rare & most excellent opportunity, in places where it's legal, to sight fish some of the Biggest Pike, I'll see all season.  But they are often not interested in anything thrown near them and will often either spook off or even worse, totally ignore a bait completely.  

 

But - one thing I've found that sometimes can turn a 'sleeping submarine'' into a willing participant, is dead sticking a magnum fluke.

Pike are notorious dead bait eaters, especially during the colder & even hard water seasons.  So after I've located one, I cast a big plain white fluke past it, slowly inch it into site, and then just let it lay on the bottom.  Sometimes they will stare at it for what seems like eternity and then slowly move over and suck it right off the bottom.  Other times they'll wait briefly and then go right for it.  Either way - I'm good with.

I'll usually use MH spinning gear, braid & a short trace of knottable wire with an oversized Round bend or EWG Hook. 

It's sort of like bed fishing without the warm temps & the pesky buck bass.

A-Jay

[Fishfisherson]

Suick thriller,glide baits 

[gim]

I have caught them on just about every single lure in my tackle arsenal.  Pick one and they'll bite it.  And unless your prepared to actually target them, they'll likely break your line and swim off with your lure too.

[Dwight Hottle]

Black bunny jig right after ice out. Replicates the leeches that are leaving the mud & rising into the water column. 

[Crestliner2008]

Get yourself a pack of 9" Sluggos. Tx rig with an 8/0 worm hook (no additional weight). Cast out and let it hit the bottom and leave it there for about a minute. Snap it off the bottom and repeat. If it gets in front of a big northern, it will take it. The warmer the water gets the quicker the cadence.

[3dees]

been a long time since anyone has mentioned Sluggo's. years ago I had a bag full of them. don't know what happened to it. I caught a good amount of LM and SM but never a pike. I think they were a great soft jerkbait, but seems they fell out of favor.

[Crestliner2008]

Just so you know 3dees, Those 9" Sluggos work great on largemouths too. (SHHHhhhhhhh!) Who said that!

[NapeSticksToKids]

On 3/1/2017 at 0:13 AM, A-Jay said:

 

But - one thing I've found that sometimes can turn a 'sleeping submarine'' into a willing participant, is dead sticking a magnum fluke.

Pike are notorious dead bait eaters, especially during the colder & even hard water seasons.  So after I've located one, I cast a big plain white fluke past it, slowly inch it into site, and then just let it lay on the bottom.  Sometimes they will stare at it for what seems like eternity and then slowly move over and suck it right off the bottom.  Other times they'll wait briefly and then go right for it.  Either way - I'm good with.

 

A-Jay

i wish i had read this before yesterday. I had magnum flukes in my bag and never thought to use them, i was throwing daredevils rigged weedless with a grub trailer and some jerkbaits, came up dry though. 

I had really high hopes for this dude i just rigged up :-/

[Scarborough817]

On 3/1/2017 at 0:13 AM, A-Jay said:

The first few weeks after ice out, and in waters that offer the visibility, pike can often be found sunning themselves in somewhat shallow water.

Places like the backs of bays and sides of sheltered points, you get the idea.   This offers a rare & most excellent opportunity, in places where it's legal, to sight fish some of the Biggest Pike, I'll see all season.  But they are often not interested in anything thrown near them and will often either spook off or even worse, totally ignore a bait completely.  

 

But - one thing I've found that sometimes can turn a 'sleeping submarine'' into a willing participant, is dead sticking a magnum fluke.

Pike are notorious dead bait eaters, especially during the colder & even hard water seasons.  So after I've located one, I cast a big plain white fluke past it, slowly inch it into site, and then just let it lay on the bottom.  Sometimes they will stare at it for what seems like eternity and then slowly move over and suck it right off the bottom.  Other times they'll wait briefly and then go right for it.  Either way - I'm good with.

I'll usually use MH spinning gear, braid & a short trace of knottable wire with an oversized Round bend or EWG Hook. 

It's sort of like bed fishing without the warm temps & the pesky buck bass.

A-Jay

a-jay just curious how do you tie your leader?

[Scott F]

On 3/30/2017 at 6:45 PM, NapeSticksToKids said:

i wish i had read this before yesterday. I had magnum flukes in my bag and never thought to use them, i was throwing daredevils rigged weedless with a grub trailer and some jerkbaits, came up dry though. 

I had really high hopes for this dude i just rigged up :-/

That plastic on the back of the spoon will just destroy any action that spoon had. In the early spring, I down size my baits and stick to spoons, Johnson Silver Minnows and plastics no bigger than 5 inches.

I know they eat bigger fish than that, but we always did so much better with smaller stuff.

with the pike hanging out in shallow, dark bottom bays, any kind of diving bait would run too deep and hang up in the mucky bottom. We also did much better looking for the warmest water we could find

[A-Jay]

12 hours ago, Scarborough817 said:

a-jay just curious how do you tie your leader?

  Uni to uni knot with this ~ but in 20 lb

A-Jay

[Scott F]

22 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

  Uni to uni knot with this ~ but in 20 lb

A-Jay

I use the same stuff. It takes some practice to tie it without wasting much (the stuff ain't cheap) and also to keep your leaders from looking like curly fries. It kinks and curls up easily when you tighten the knot. Be prepared to waste some while you figure it out.