Singing the Pike Blues

[Baydawg]

After almost a 20 year hiatus from ice fishing I have picked upt he auger again this year. I have been diligently (4-5 days per week) hitting my local lakes (tipsico and fenton) for the toothy northern.

Here is my dilema...I have been catching a load of fish

I have caught the following in the last three weeks:

5 pike less than 20 inches
43 pike 20 -22 inches
31 pike 22 - 23 inches
0 pike greater than 24"

I have seen several >24" pike caught around me, but I still can not put a legal fish on the ice!!!

I run tip ups with suckers (5" - 8" long) on top of weed beds, in troughs, points, shallow, deep, etc.

Can anyomne steer me in a direction to land a few 30" pike this year?

[ReddHead]

Find someone that has no clue how to ice fish. Take them with you. The first flag will be their's to bring in and it will be the biggest pike of the season. Guaranteed to work every time.

[barry county jim]

I can relate. Couple years ago I fished a lake I knew had large pike but all I caught was a bass. I fished all over that lake with nothing. Then A kid comes out on his first day catches a 40 and 38 in the same spots I fished. Oh well caught alot of gills though

[Baydawg]

I can relate. Couple years ago I fished a lake I knew had large pike but all I caught was a bass. I fished all over that lake with nothing. Then A kid comes out on his first day catches a 40 and 38 in the same spots I fished. Oh well caught alot of gills though

On two occasions I have seen guys come in and their first time out his season take the meat home. :smile-mad

What lakes in the lower do I stand a better chance at a few decent fish?

[fish24/7]

Have you tried Lobdell? I've caught a few keepers there in the past.

[CubanFisherman]

After almost a 20 year hiatus from ice fishing I have picked upt he auger again this year. I have been diligently (4-5 days per week) hitting my local lakes (tipsico and fenton) for the toothy northern.

Here is my dilema...I have been catching a load of fish

I have caught the following in the last three weeks:

5 pike less than 20 inches
43 pike 20 -22 inches
31 pike 22 - 23 inches
0 pike greater than 24"

I have seen several >24" pike caught around me, but I still can not put a legal fish on the ice!!!

I run tip ups with suckers (5" - 8" long) on top of weed beds, in troughs, points, shallow, deep, etc.

Can anyomne steer me in a direction to land a few 30" pike this year?
At least you've caught pike this year. I haven't caught a one!:dizzy:

[Baydawg]

Have you tried Lobdell? I've caught a few keepers there in the past.

I am going to try Lobdell and Ponemah this weekend

[bigbob]

try big shinners insted of suckers:confused:

[JeffBoz]

Put one of your tip-ups out with some kind of larger dead bait like a smelt, or a cisco. Just some kind of oily fish. I usually use a set-up with one treble in the mid back and a stinger hook towards the tail. This will hold the bait horizontally in the water. A lot of times the larger pike will be more lethargic in the winter and the bigger dead baits will do the trick.

[boots741]

Not sure how deep of water your fishing, but we have had better luck getting bigger fish in deeper water 20 feet, or more...

[Raf]

earlier this season same thing was happening to me. We left the lake for lunch and i bought the biggest sucker they had [around 13 inches] and i caught a 32 incher. Sometimes id rather throw out a huge sucker to avoid some of the smaller pike. the smaller ones still grab em sometimes but i think your chances get better. Ive also heard to use big dead suckers for big pike but i have not tried this enough times to be successful with it. good luck

[fire-tiger]

A large smelt or herring on a swedish style hook at or near the bottom of a good break can produce a large pike if you put in the time.

A swedish hook is sometimes called a dead bait hook. It is the shape of a 3" coat hanger with a single barb and gives the dead bait a horizontal presentation. Try this bait one to two feet off the bottom in the deep water adjacent to where you would normally fish for pike. It can take some time, but you might be in for a big surprise.

[woodie slayer]

I drive up to fletchers all the pike i've caught this year have been 27-32 inches.i usually get 2 a day with some nice perch;)

[Baydawg]

Well I went 7 for 10 on flags today and caught 2 keepers right at 24".

I saw a monster on my aqua-vu....yikes.

[mallardtone-man]

BIG baits catch big fish, I probably iced (only kept a few) 70 legal pike last year, I like to run at least one tipup with a 12-17" sucker on it. You may want to fin clip em and weight them so they dont pull the flag on thier own. Usually when I see that flag go I get real excited. Lol

James

[mallardtone-man]

I saw a monster on my aqua-vu....yikes.


Another way to deal with those finicky monsters is chop a larger hole and give em a taste of steel! I find sprearing way more fun than fishing tip-ups any way.

James

[outdoor junkie]

That's odd I always do well at tipsico, usuall two or three legal per trip. Also you may want to hit heron lake in Holly, not too far from ya. We always do exceptionally well out there, and it seem's as though there average pike is bigger than most lakes, we rarely ever catch a sub-legal. Most are right around 30". Good luck, if you want a few more spots I have luck at drop me a pm.

[fish24/7]

Baydog, where did you end up fishing-Lobdell or Ponemeh?