Pike Leaders for Bass?

[The Budget Angler]

I fish for bass in Montana and when I find a bass lake, it seems pike always follow. I am terrified of losing lures, so I use a 40 lb. steel lead, but never catch the bass people claim are so numerous.

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I was born in CA and grew up bass fishing, however, CA doesn't have pike, so you never worried about bite-offs.  I also tend to use light line (6 lb. mono) on bass, just cause I don't have to switch when I want to go for trout.  I know I'm supposed to use 10-15, but I'm too lazy, lol.  How do I catch bass on the same lakes as these pike without scaring them away?  The action just never seems right.  Cranks turn over, as do swimbaits, and spinner don't spin as freely.  I am planning many summer trips to these lakes and am ready for some good old bassin'!

[jbsoonerfan]

I would do it the right way and not be lazy if I wanted to catch fish.

[WRB]

6 lb spinning tackle we call finesse bass fishing.

Try using soft plastic worms and Senko’s in lieu of flashy moving lures that attract pike.

A friend of mine moved to Montana and catch bass on jigs and soft plastics.

The basic split shot or slip shot rig is a good choice for finesse bass fishing. 

Tom

[jimmyjoe]

   I fish for bass in waters that have pike (and musky). I've caught pike on 4 or 6 lb. mono quite a few times. There are several things to remember:

 

   1) @WRB has an excellent point, but nothing you can do will successfully avoid pike. If they take an interest in your lure, you will deal with pike no matter what. That being said, I've had less interference from pike on Senkos than any other lure.

   2) You don't do it successfully if there's cover. You absolutely need unobstructed waters to deal with pike on light line.

   3) If you feel you have to use a leader, try AFW Micro Ultra. It is much kinder to the action of smaller lures.

   4) Good luck. You'll need it!  ?      jj

 

p.s. - you might get an award for wordiest header!

[The Budget Angler]

17 minutes ago, WRB said:

6 lb spinning tackle we call finesse bass fishing.

Try using soft plastic worms and Senko’s in lieu of flashy moving lures that attract pike.

A friend of mine moved to Montana and catch bass on jigs and soft plastics.

The basic split shot or slip shot rig is a good choice for finesse bass fishing. 

Tom

I was out with my parents and my mom gets a bite, sets the hook, and the line snaps.  She reels it up and it is a clean break, as in it wasn't a bad knot.  we lost 3 more setups, presumably to pike.  That was with a red senko with green flakes and a chartreuse tail, something that usually slaughters the bass.  We tried the lead we had with senkos, but the action sucked.  I almost caught a nice one on a worm while catching perch, but it swam away after nibbling.

[Michigander]

You could get a second combo or maybe just a second reel and spool that with some stronger line. We have lots of pike and they are going to eat your lure if they want to. I catch pike dead sticking jigs, so it isn't just a movement thing, though they do love moving flashy offerings.

[The Budget Angler]

28 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I would do it the right way and not be lazy if I wanted to catch fish.

I'm so lost in the world of pike I get dizzy, lol!

[jimmyjoe]

9 minutes ago, TheLastBestFish said:

We tried the lead we had with senkos, but the action sucked. 

 

   A Senko doesn't have much "action". I've also never seen a Yamamoto Senko in the color you describe. How are you fishing these lures?

6 minutes ago, Michigander said:

. I catch pike dead sticking jigs,

 

  Wow!

[The Budget Angler]

13 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   A Senko doesn't have much "action". I've also never seen a Yamamoto Senko in the color you describe. How are you fishing these lures?

Weedless with small twitches.  It may be an off-brand worm, but it looks just like a senko.

[Michigander]

12 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

Wow!

We have lots of pike, lol.

[WRB]

It’s not the knot? What knot are you using? What brand 6 lb mono, what is your drag set ay??? Nibbles and swam off, bass don’t nibble.

Tom

[jimmyjoe]

  It almost sounds as if you're fishing water that is really high-population pike water, but has a few bass (and other species) in it. Is that correct? If it is, drop the 6 lb. stuff and get a combo that deals with pike. You don't bring a knife to a gunfight.  

  

   jj   

[Deephaven]

For moving lures I would suggest a 2nd spool with heavier test.  As for the leader, we have tons of toothy critters here and while bite off's happen it really isn't all that often.  I regularly run just straight 30lb PP braid and have nearly no issues.  

[Michigander]

3 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

For moving lures I would suggest a 2nd spool with heavier test.  As for the leader, we have tons of toothy critters here and while bite off's happen it really isn't all that often.  I regularly run just straight 30lb PP braid and have nearly no issues.  

Oh yeah, a second spool is way cheaper than a second combo or reel. Good suggestion!

 

I've been really pleased with the performance of 16lb Sunline FC System Leader when pike are involved. 

[bulldog1935]

unfortunately, late last year, postal crunch caused Mako (Ukraine) to quit selling to USA, but their 8- and 13-lb titanium micro bite traces are invisible enough for bass and tough enough for toothy mackerel and snook gill plates.  They also have a built-in micro swivel.  

[ironbjorn]

Your options are to stop being lazy and to also accept that losing lures is part of the game. In pike waters, they will bite you off sometimes.

[MN Fisher]

7 minutes ago, ironbjorn said:

Your options are to stop being lazy and to also accept that losing lures is part of the game. In pike waters, they will bite you off sometimes.

Ain't that the truth. And this was with 12# Yo-Zuri - he bit clean through it.

 

[Sphynx]

Seems like your looking for a voodoo-like solution that permits you to fish trout gear for bass and not get noticed by pike...hate to be "that guy" but that's not the world you live in, you can either do what you know will solve the problem, address being lazy, accept that losing lures is part of fishing, use gear appropriate to the environment you are fishing, or you can continue to accept the results you currently get, there is no magic pike-away spray that is going to make them stop attacking your lures...alternatively you could consult Marie Laveau's daughter/grandchildren and they may have a mystic solution I am not aware of.

[Michigander]

5 minutes ago, Sphynx said:

...alternatively you could consult Marie Laveau's daughter/grandchildren and they may have a mystic solution I am not aware of.

If anyone does find a mystical solution, please share. I don't mind tying finesse jigs, but I also wouldn't mind keeping more of them, lol.

 

[Sphynx]

1 minute ago, Michigander said:

If anyone does find a mystical solution, please share. I don't mind tying finesse jigs, but I also wouldn't mind keeping more of them, lol.

 

I don't like losing lures any more than the next guy, but that's just the way life works, there's the world we WISHED we lived in, and the world we DO live in, sometimes people forget that they aren't often the same thing.

[Michigander]

3 minutes ago, Sphynx said:

I don't like losing lures any more than the next guy, but that's just the way life works, there's the world we WISHED we lived in, and the world we DO live in, sometimes people forget that they aren't often the same thing.

Yep, it's the cost of doing business when pike are around. I look at it like gambling, don't wager a lure you can't stomach losing.

 

That being said, I'm not above burning incense on the boat or installing some sort of totem on the bow if it means I don't have to retie a new lure on as often when on the tournament clock. ?

[ironbjorn]

Look at it similarly to fishing in bass-y places. Vegetation, cover, lay downs, docks, rocks, etc. Things that you'll sometimes get caught up in, snag on, get wrapped up, break off in. You could choose to only fish open water and be that guy who is asking the other guys how they're catching fish because you can't, and when they tell you, not follow their advice because you're afraid to lose lures, or do it the right way and catch fish and just know that you're going to lose some battles in the process.

[The Budget Angler]

56 minutes ago, WRB said:

It’s not the knot? What knot are you using? What brand 6 lb mono, what is your drag set ay??? Nibbles and swam off, bass don’t nibble.

Tom

I use the half-clinch knot, and we use trilene exclusively.  Medium drag.  When I say nibble, I mean it ate it, chewed on it, then spit it and swam away.

[Cdn Angler]

I've caught hundreds of pike/muskie while bass fishing using flouro or braid.  I've probably been bitten off less than 5% of the time. If I hook a pike I usually land it and get my lure back. 

 

If you are fishing small plastics you are a bit less likely to interest a pike, but more likely to be bitten off. If you get bitten off it is a $.50 bait and maybe a $1-3 hook/weight. 

 

The type of bait makes a difference as to whether teeth hit line. If I'm fishing  a small keitech a small pike can engulf the bait and break the line. But if I switch to a spinnerbait pike never break me off. They hit it from behind and there is wire preventing access to my line. An A rig would usually be the same, as an example. 

 

If you are fishing topwater same thing. A tiny popper might get broken off. A 110 whopper plopper is big enough that a normal non huge pike can't engulf it. 

 

Jerkbaits are probably the most dangerous as just sitting there and small. A bigger lure helps. 

 

I've probably caught 20 pike on spybaits on 8 lb flouro and never once bitten off. For whatever reason. 

 

The equation changes if pike in your waters are 10-20 pounds. Usually big pike or muskie are rare enough relative to bass though that you are not going to encounter tons of them. More likely a lot of 2-4 pound pike. If you are hooking up with 10 lb pike/muskie that often then I'd advise you to start targeting them:)

 

Also you can use leaders other than steel. A higher test flouro leader is far more resistant to abrasion then its braid equivalent. 

 

 

 

 

 

[A-Jay]

I live & fish in pike & musky central, so I get a few here & there.

Some of them are fairly respectable.

I've never been bitten off while using this;

and I use it quite a bit.

IMO - it plays zero role on whether bass bite or not.

Especially with moving baits, which is where it sees it's most action.

A-Jay