Teach me how to catch Pike...1 Tip?

[stelmon]

My dad is taking me to this lake with lot's of pike. What is your best tip for pike so I could have a chance at catching one?

[Alex]

The best way to catch pike is with live bait on a slip bobber. But if your not a huge fan of messing with bait like me a variety of lures will work. For pike I usually use obnoxious colors, bright oranges, greens, and yellows. These are my favorites and will bag a good number of pike.

- 3/4oz yellow rattle trap. The bigger/brighter the better. This will catch pike in any lake and is usually the first thing I try. Great over grass/weed beds.
- Firetiger husky jerk - good for fishing weedeges and trolling.
- Chartruese spinnerbait - another good weedbed/weededge bait
- 3/4oz Yellow hair jig tipped with pork rind - This is a deep water jig. In the heat of the summer big pike go deep. This bait will find them, but it is slow.
- Spoons are always a classic lure as well.

Depends on when and where your going, but I would start in weedbeds 8ft deep and move deeper or slower depending on the water temp/time of year.

[stelmon]

Thanks alex

[Sailor]

Alex gave you very good advice! But the very best way to catch them is in the winter- Yooper Style!
1) Chop a hole in the ice.
2) Open a can of peas(Freshlike works best).
3)Sprinkle the peas around the hole.
4)When the Pike comes up to take a pea-kick him in the ice hole!







:D :D :D

[tubejig]

Stelmon, what time of the year??
and where (MI, Canada)?????



tubejig

[DEERSLAYER]

A 1 oz. 5 of diamonds Dardevel spoon {yellow with 5 red diamonds on it}. Best fishing often dosen't start untill between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Big Rapala's are good and some people swear by spinner baits, but my 5 of diamons has never failed me. Hope this helps stelmon.

[skinne]

ive always had good luck with johnson silver minnows tipped with a white mister twister but i would have to say it depends on the lake and the day and all the baits listed above work well also good luck and let us know how you did.

[ESOX]

When and where are you going, Stel?

[Hunt4Ever]

For Pike I like live bait. The bigger the better for me. It is important to get bait that is lively and wants to swim. It can get expensive because you will find that even a "hammer handle" pile will take a sucker as big as he is.

If you want to throw harware, I like almost anything with flash. I prefer BIG Mepps spinners with big silver blades. Big blades means 2-3 inches. Fish them slow, fast, stop them, fish deep then right on the top. When a pike grabs it, you will know. It is a great feeling. You will want to run a good swivel to prevent line twist. I have never been a big fan of steel leaders, I just use 8lb test and cast away.

Post your pics!

[rookie1]

I am going to try to get in to some pike this year also, I caught one once before by accident. I was wondering if there is a time of day or weather conditions that will make these fish more likely to bite?

[ESOX]

Rookie, it is all a matter of water temps and time of year. If you are looking for HOGS in the summer, find the coolest water you can. Coldwater feeder creek mouths, or the depths are the way to go. In the spring, any patches of emerging weeds are a good bet. In the fall, inside turns in weedbeds are excellent, especially in 6-9'. Small Pike are found shallower and warmer than the brutes, and will take just about anything that comes within reach.
The key to consistently catching Pike is to use a big enough lure, they generally aren't going to chase down a 3" Rapala, you'd have to put it right in the fishes nose to get a hit.

[ESOX]

Splitshot, I have to agree with you there, Smelt and Suckers work like a charm.

[robin]

As a kid I lived near Mill Creek in Lapeer County. That little creek was full of pike. I didn't know that until one day I when I was watching a couple of field workers fishing in a hole that I only thought held bullheads, carp, and rock bass. These guys had a package of cleaned smelt and rigged each behind a spinner. It was working for them. I found that I could throw just about anything at them to induce a strike.
I also fished quite a bit each summer in Lake City. The lake was full of pike back then, although I heard that you'll now find more walleye and smallmouth. Anyway, the lure that always topped all was a red eye daredevil ( silver with two red beads toward the front- the 3" size if I remember correctly). Any time I'm on a lake that I think may hold a pike, I always give it a cast or two.

[stelmon]

Were going to a place called dead stream swamp.

[discdrag]

live bait, live bait, live bait. ive found that they like suckers and shiners equally, but suckers always last longer-some even live through two or three pike, my second choice would be a spinnerbait or big crankbait fished deep with a wide wobble

[Craig M]

Your getting some good advice here.

Tip # 2: Keep you fingers out of the pike's mouth. (They got really sharp teeth).:)

[The Paper]

stelmon

Below is a thread that I was involved in last year. It was all about pike fishing. Live bait does work best most of the time, but there are many ways to catch pike. I posted a reply that describes my experience with pike fishing and a lot of other people replied. Go see it.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8049

Also, I have not had the best success in spring, that is why I am trout fishing tomorrow, though I remember my dad pulling in Pike in the sring using dead smelt. I do imagine live smelt works better.:D

[Jeff_03]

I'm not going to comment on splitshots advice :) can you say "dead smelt wanted dead or alive?"... nuff said ;)

I often like to really be on the move when pike fishing, whether it's here in Michigan or in the back waters of Canada until I find some really active fish. So for me, I like to use 3 main lures:
Mepps #4 or 5 spinners (Orange or Yellow)
3/4 Oz. Johnson silver minnows (color varies depending on mother nature)
3/4 Oz. Daredevil's

I too like to fish without a steel leader but I do use 14# fireline.

Jeff

[L0ngbeard]

hey stelmon, if your going to fish for pike, i would say to use live bait as a first choice. Up north in Houghton Lake, and Lancer Lake, I like to use suckers to get those toothy critters. Shiners will work to but i have had more luck on suckers. If you want to use lures, I would say spoons, especially dare-devils. Last year in Canada me, my brother and dad probably caught 25 - 30 pike a day on dare-devils. Hopefully this can help ya.

L0ngbeard

[Alex]

ESOX hit the nail on the head. Pike love cold water. From ice-out till spawn they will be in the warm shallow bays. But once summer comes the big boys go deep or where there is cool water. See my previous post for how to get the deep ones. The 3-5lb pike will stay shallower, but if you after a trophy.......

[northern_outdoorsman]

Stelmon....I had good luck with one of the red/white DareDevil Spoons...I would use a steel leader though...Good Luck!

[cireofmi]

My advice is first make sure you use a steel leader. Then use inline spinners and spoons. Thats it.

[The Highlander]

Stelmon,
I met an old gentleman on the AuSable a few years back and I asked him what he was fishing for. He told me big pike. I asked what kind of bait do you use. He replied, "Dead smelt ona slip sinker, Sitting on the bottom. Really big pike don't get big by chasing small lively minnows." Made sense to me. I don't fish pike much. I believe in listening to the older folks, since they have been here longer than I.


Tony

[Lunker]

Stelmon,
Ive heard smelt is very good also. If you cant get any smelt or suckers, I have caught them by catching a bluegill and using it for bait. I always plucked out the eyes so it wouldnt swim away from the pike. It helps attract big fish too. I caught a few on big Mepps Minnow spinners with silver blades too.
Good luck remember to pluck out the eyes for better action. Nasty huh but deadly...

[Sailor]

Well stelmon-after my smartypants story about fishing Pike with peas I guess I owe you some sound advice. I've been fishing Pike with success
for over fifty years. As the prior posts suggest
there are many ways to catch Pike. Here are the ways that have worked best for me:
1)For BIG Pike nothing beats dead Smelt.You want
the biggest Smelt you can obtain with guts,scales,feathers and all-not the little cleaned ones from the grocery store. Big bottom feeding Pike are not line shy so use heavy line on
a casting (or better yet a downrigger) rod with a wire leader and a trebble hook-or a quickstrike rig. You do not need a sinker-just cast out and let it sink from your anchored boat-making sure the rod is in a pole holder or has a line tied to it-and that you have a gaff and a club. Then go about fishing gills or something else with another rod and start looking for a good taxidermist!
2)Live bait: forget the Suckers and Golden Shiners! They are wonderful (and expensive)Pike bait BUT the best live bait I've found for Pike is
a large(the bigger the better)fresh caughtPerch. The important thing is to mutilate the Perch i.e. cut off ALL the Perches fins(I carry a pair of scissors for this). The Perch will wiggle frantically and live for hours-And outfish any Sucker or Shiner. If you have trouble catching
a Perch-a Bluegill or Crappie will work almost as well.
3)Late Fall: troll fairly fast with a gas outboard
in a zig-zag pattern with #7 Mepps spinners about 30' behind the boat. In late Fall(October and November) Pike will follow the wake of the boat and you'll never catch as many any other time or way-it even beats Deer hunting!
4)Mid Summer: Pike are deep in the coldest water in the lake(if the lake has large springs concentrate in this area). Drift over the area you target vertical jigging your largest Daredevil or other large heavy spoon. Using a stout rod with heavy line and a wire leader, Raise the rod 2' or more off bottom and then lower it abrubtly letting the spoon hit bottom hard. Hang on tight to your rod.
When Pike fishing always have very sharp hooks.
It has often been said that Northern Pike are the only freshwater fish that "The bigger they get the better eating they are" This may be true-but if you begin to glow in the dark go back to perch fishing! Hope some of this helps.

[stelmon]

Thanks for all the help guys. I will be out there in force. I know of a place where I could get alot of chub's. Those would probably work, right?

What pound line shoud I have?