Hey Pike Anglers!

[NateFollmer]

Trying to expand my tackle for Northern Pike fishing and I wanted to see what you all recommended on purchasing.

I just bought some spoons (Little Cleo's in 2/3 oz), both are green and silver (one's hammered and the other is smooth). Are there any other colors I should absolutely get in spoons? I have some Five of Diamonds in red and yellow (one has red diamonds and a yellow body, the other is opposite) but they are small (only 1.5 inches).

I also have some 1 oz spinnerbaits, 6 inch jerkbaits and a few bucktails (of course all my bass tackle too).

Anything else I should add to this? All my Northern fishing will be done in lakes if that matters.

[RoLo]

I agree with all 3 of your lure choices: Spoons, Spinnerbaits & Jerkbaits.

My favorite pike spoon by far is the "Johnson Silver Minnow" (1-1/8 oz x 3-3/4" - Gold)

The J-Spoon has a reliable back-&-forth rocking action (35 degrees)

but equally important is the fact that it's remarkably "Weedless".

I always add a plastic trailer to the spoon, a 5.0" Kalin grub or 5.0" Reaper Tail.

Another lure that can be cast or trolled is the "Buchertail Original Bucktail Spinner" (1¼ oz x 7.0)

If you're going in early spring or late fall, an "LC Pointer" would be real tough to beat.

Many anglers believe that northerns will knock the paint off any lure in the box.

That might apply to the snot-rockets in skinny water, but I wouldn't hang that description on gator pike.

Of course, once the "When" & "Where" are nailed down, the "How" becomes much easier.

Roger

[Marty]

If it's a lure, pike will hit it readily. If I had to pick one, a spinnerbait would be my choice by a very close margin.

I wouldn't rule out soft plastics, such as grubs on a jighead.

In my 40 years of fishing, pike have hit all colors, but I always thought they had a special affinity for chartreuse.

Many, many years ago, the 1 oz. red-and-white Daredevle was considered pike-specific, probably the most specific of any lure for any species.

[NateFollmer]

Thanks guys! I have a $10 off coupon for any $25 or more at dicks and I was going to use this to get more pike tackle. I'll look into those spoons you mentioned RoLo and grab some big chartuese grubs

[J Francho]

My experience is pike fishing is more about location than baits.  As far as finding the biggest pike, once you've located pike, then it becomes about bait selection.  You'll get bit on spoons, but anything bites a spoon this time of year.  It represents the snack size bait that is in shallow right now.  Big pike should be on the tops of primary breaks in 10-12 FOW.  They feed heavily, but turn on and off like a light switch this time of year.  Crummy weather usually means good pike fishing, and if it gets windy, they'll come up onto rocky shoals and feed.  As the water temps drop, they go deeper, to their winter haunts. 

My best fall baits are big diving cranks, big jerkbaits, big inline bucktails, and big jigs with a plastic swimbait trailer. 

See the trend there? 

[NateFollmer]

Well, I think I know where they will be. There is an underwater spring coming out near the dam in about 20 ft. of water. I think the big girls will be hanging around that (IF the baitfish are around). I could be wrong though haha. I hope the combo of this cold water coming out, the rocks from the dam and the wind direction will have all the big fish in this area. The wind is usually heading toward the dam. Won't know until I try it, but I'll be flying blind because my fish finder is broke

[J Francho]

Check it out, but I'd be fishing close to the spawning grounds, i.e. near creeks.

[NateFollmer]

Check it out, but I'd be fishing close to the spawning grounds, i.e. near creeks.

Ah, I thought you hit those after Ice out, but will they be hanging out there now? That lake has 2 creeks coming in so I have a double shot The one is a PERFECT spawning ground for Pike. It's a flat with pads and grass that is usually only 6 inch to 2 to 3 feet throughout. The bottom? All muck.

[J Francho]

Near there, but closer to the deeper water.  You're on an "intercept mission" so be willing to move around and search.

[WanderLust]

I love fishing for Northerns!

My bait selections would be:

1) Inline Spinner (Mepps Black Fury #5)

2) Large Jerkbait (LC Pointer 128)

3) Spoon (Syclops #2 / #3)

4) Crankbait (SK #5 in Sexy Shad)

5) Spinnerbait (match the hatch)

6) Chatterbait with Large Minnow plastic (such as a Super Fluke)

I bagged my biggest Pike of the year on the Strike King crank but I caught the most on a Mepps Black Fury #5.

Happy hunting

p.s. that being said its pretty cool if you can generate a topwater hit on a Spook or Frog. Awesome strike!

[NateFollmer]

Cool, thanks for the tips guys.

Wander, thanks for the list of baits. I have most of these now so I think I'm set I should pick up a few in line spinners too, I love those things haha.

[WanderLust]

Cool, thanks for the tips guys.

Wander, thanks for the list of baits. I have most of these now so I think I'm set I should pick up a few in line spinners too, I love those things haha.

Not a problem my friend.

I've always had my best luck in the evenings for the bigger toothy critters.

The chatterbait thing I just learned so its new to me but seems effective... It works well in stained water.

[Dwight Hottle]

Nate when your trying to locate pike the best single lure hands down is a inline spinner bait, like a blue fox vibrax. The spoon is the 2nd best search bait. Once you have found fish I love using jerkbaits but you can try whatever is your favorite. Swimbaits, topwater etc. Storm plastic swim baits work well as do jigs & hair jigs tied in rabbit fur replicating a black leech. Neutral pike respond best to jigs & plastic swim baits. Aggressive pike will respond to anything. When the pike bite falls off try using the opposite size bait that was previously working. Large jerk baits, gliders & pull baits will often turn them on after they quit biting finesse baits or spinners & spoons. Adversely after the bite shuts down on the big stuff go back to smaller baits.

[NateFollmer]

Thanks! I have jerkbaits in just about every size so I should be good there (I have a complex, I 'collect' jerkbaits. I don't know why I like them so much haha). Anyway, I'll let you guys know how I do!

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Where is this secret pike location you speak of?

[NateFollmer]

Where is this secret pike location you speak of?

Walker Lake... They stock a ton of Pike and Walleye in there. I'm making it a point to find them I have the Walker map Boatnik made up, so I think I have a few key spots picked out I need to hit. BTW, where the heck have you been? HA

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Hunting season.  Like Burley, I fall off the radar a little bit this time of year.

[RoLo]

With respect to 'location', lunker pike are deepest during the summertime,

but are not particularly deep in winter.

Although hammer-handles can be found on the weedy flats in summer,

trophy pike migrate into very deep water beyond the outer weed-line

where they're can't relate to vegetation.

Large pike have a higher demand for dissolved oxygen than small pke and even muskies,

in fact lunker pike are borderline coldwater fish (not far behind a lake trout).

Spring holes are dynamite in the summer, but lose their appeal

during coldwater periods when oxygen is not an issue.

If your timing is right in fall, adult pike may be on a whitefish pattern.

Whitefish spawn in temps around 45 deg in water around 5 to 10 ft deep.

However, even before the ice is out, the gators will already be in knee-deep water.

Pike are free-spawners that build no nest, instead they broadcast their eggs

in backwater sloughs (marshlands). They look for last year's dead annual plants,

like sedge, cattails, reeds, etc. Though a creek is always a bonus

it is not a necessity (creek mouths are red-hot during the spring sucker run).

Roger

[NateFollmer]

Thanks for the info RoLo. This puts even more confidence in a few spots I wanted to try. All have deeper water that were once close to vegetation (obviously dead now). This lake is pretty small, so I shouldn't have an issue finding them... I hope It just concerns me how many pike they have stocked in that lake. I could be looking at this wrong, but if they are putting almost 2000 pike in a year, and it isn't a 'well known' Pike hot spot, wouldn't you think that they aren't really surviving well? 

[J Francho]

Big pike, over 10 lbs. feed heavily on hammer handle pike.  My guess is that they stock with cannibalism in mind.  If you get something over ten, don't fool around with it - its a special animal.  Get it in the net, a quick pic, and back in the water.  Just hold it upright, and let it breath.  You'll feel it tense up, and get ready to swim off once its shed the lactic acid from its bloodstream.  I see too many people needlessly kill big pike using under-matched gear and handling them too long.  Nothing sporting about killing a pike you intend to release. 

[RoLo]

Thanks for the info RoLo. This puts even more confidence in a few spots I wanted to try. All have deeper water that were once close to vegetation (obviously dead now). This lake is pretty small, so I shouldn't have an issue finding them... I hope It just concerns me how many pike they have stocked in that lake. I could be looking at this wrong, but if they are putting almost 2000 pike in a year, and it isn't a 'well known' Pike hot spot, wouldn't you think that they aren't really surviving well?

No question about it.

It costs money to stock fish, which is normally done to waters with anemic self-regeneration.

I'd much rather read that they're 'taking' fish from my lake to boost the population of less vigorous waters.

[NateFollmer]

Big pike, over 10 lbs. feed heavily on hammer handle pike. My guess is that they stock with cannibalism in mind. If you get something over ten, don't fool around with it - its a special animal. Get it in the net, a quick pic, and back in the water. Just hold it upright, and let it breath. You'll feel it tense up, and get ready to swim off once its shed the lactic acid from its bloodstream. I see too many people needlessly kill big pike using under-matched gear and handling them too long. Nothing sporting about killing a pike you intend to release.

If I get a pike over ten, I will take a photo with it in the nude... LOL

I just want anything over 2 ft. HAHA I'm sick of targeting toothy critters and only catching juvenile pickerel... While they are fun to catch, when you can lip them without getting bloody, it aint big enough

[Dwight Hottle]

Nate if you want to get naked hit up PIB in April.  ;D

[NateFollmer]

Nate if you want to get naked hit up PIB in April. ;D

I think I may ha ha I really want to start pike/muskie fishing. It looks like too much fun.

[Nine Miler]

Sorry, I didn't see this until just now.  PM me your address, I'll send you a few staples for pike that are taking up space, all spoons. I never use them anymore. We used to do an annual fly-in in Ontario, but not anymore.