Autumn Pike In Michigan?

[Water Wolves]

Hi, guys and gals. I live in Battle Creek and I'm looking for lakes to hit this fall for pike. Still kinda new to Michigan, so don't know a lot of the lakes. Been having success on some of the nearby rivers (St. Joe, Kalamazoo).
Looking in a 100 mile radius of BC that produce in the fall. Also, any special techniques you use to draw them out when the weather is cooler?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

WW
:D :D :D

http://www.meacfans.com/ubb/image_uploads/1032671599.jpg

[kroppe]

WW,

Nice fish! Where did you catch it, and on what lure/bait?

Sorry I can't help, I am on a similar quest as you are. Looking at a map, it seems like Austin, Gun and Gull Lakes near you would be worth a try. Also the St. Joseph River at Three Rivers looks decent on the map.

I hear the Detroit River serves up some good pike, but I don't know the hotspots, try the other Warm Water forum for Lk. St. Clair and the Detroit River, you'll get good tips from the guys there.

[ESOX]

I know Gull Lake has some dececent Northerns in it. I love the St. Clair system though, I feel too restricted on little inland lakes. One of my favorite fall techniques is to rig a large plastic creature on a 1-2 oz plain jighead.(I.E. an 8" Reaper tail on a 1OZ Baits and Rigs Esox swimmerhead) Use a flipping stick and fire the bait into the weeds from the deep weed edge, as soon as it touches the tops of the weeds, RIP it free, and let it settle again. Repeat all the way back to the boat. If there are two guys in the boat, have the other guy cast parallel to the deep weed edge and work deeper as needed. Pay special attention to inside corners in the weeds, they seem to love inside turns even better than outside bends or points.

[1fish2fish]

I know you asked for lakes and I can't help you out. But, a river that holds large Pike is the Paw Paw downstream of Maple Lake. You can do it in a canoe or a little Jon boat but your going to have to do some work. It is full of debris at spots and probably will require a couple mini-portages in spots depending upon which stretch you do.

The usual Pike lures do the trick. Spoons, spinners, old boots w/ flashy colored laces, etc.

Anyways...hope this helps.

1fish

[Water Wolves]

Thanks, guys.

Kroppe, that isn't me. It's just a picture of a pike I found somewhere!

WW
:D :D :D

[Moonlighting]

Try Hudson lake, or Lake Ovid (Sleepy Hollow State park) Troll the edge of the weeds at about 3mph. Use noisy baits, jointed or with rattles. Big baits catch big pike, beleivers, super shad raps, J-13 Rapalas'. Heddon tadpollys are also great, try the mags with rattles. Reds, yellows, and oranges, are always good pike colors.

[shametamer]

well, was gonna let this one pass after 1st reply...butfigured i would reinforce ur ist response..gun has a good population of pike larger ones taken in fall plus bonus musky...austin lake near kazoo can be fun plenty of pike but fall should be better for the larger ones..plus leftover musky...also diamond lake, u will fight hard to keep the largemouths and eyes off, but fall brings the larger pike up from the depths..and i think croton would qualify(ur 100 mile limit) this body might be the best for trophy size....

[jaid]

If you just want good numbers of fish, give Huzzy lake a shot. We've been pulling solid numbers of 20-30" fish out of there the last week or two. Using primarily large spinnerbaits and bucktails.

As far as Gull Lake, if you dont know the lake (I don't), it can be nearly impossible to be very productive on in my opinion.

Gun lake seems to be decent, but it gets a TON of traffic. I would imagine that will be dying down with the colder temps. The one trip we made out there left us so frustrated with the disrespectful kids driving ski boats all over, that I doubt we will be heading back anytime soon.

Another lake in the kalamazoo area you might want to consider, is Long Lake. Its suppose to have good numbers. We've pulled a few small ones out of there this year.

I didnt realize Austin even had pike in it. We've had decent largemouth success there this year, and it has some pretty old tiger musky still stalking the waters.

Closer to Battle Creek, try the Kalamazoo River. Ive caught the occasional pike out of county park (right off of wattles road near wattles park elementary).

If you find any patterns/lakes in this area that seem to be producing, and dont mind sharing, id love to hear about them! I live in the Kalamazoo area, and with the cold weather approaching, pike and musky are becoming the fish I predominantly target.

All that said, this latest cold front seems to have really turned the bite off for me.

[jaid]

Wow, im not sure if it was this post, or just purely coincidental, but Huzzy had a lot more traffic on it tonight than normal. Every time we had been out in the last two weeks, there was at most one other boat on the lake. Tonight, there were four or five. Maybe thats why people are leary on posting lakes to fish on here :D

We boated 8 pike tonight, the biggest was 25.5, most were 18-20". With the heavy concentration of bluegill (thick schools of hundreds of bluegill) and small pike, there has to be some big ones in here somewhere!

Any of you guys out on Huzzy tonight? Have any luck?

[ESOX]

Here's a pic of my fall linup for as long as there are green weeds.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/796creatures-med.jpg

These work very well on post cold front Muskie as well.

[jacondie]

Esox,

Several of those lures look like they would be illegal on inland streams based on the new regs related to hook size and lure weight during the fall, winter, and spring. Be careful!!!:eek: ;)

Good Luck and Tight Lines!

[ESOX]

I'm certain all of them would be. most of those are 1 1/2 oz heads w 7/0 hooks. I use them on Lake St. Clair.

[Icet]

Thanks ESOX for posting those pictures and the size/weights. I'm on my way to lakeside.:D

[ESOX]

Hard to find that hardware anywhere around here. I generally get it from Rollie and Helens or a saltwater catalog.

[Water Wolves]

Jaid,
Regarding revealing sweet spots, I agree, if it were someone's personal trout spot they found, for example. I see nothing wrong with talking about lakes. Most of them are big enough to handle a few extra anglers.
I'm going to guess you saw all the lake activity on that body of water because people are trying to cram in one more day of fishing near the end of the summer.

WW
:D :D :D

[jaid]

Well, Huzzy is about 78 acres. Not a big lake by any means. That said though, as I said in my first post, the fish that are biting seem to be in the 20-30" range. Nothing tremendously huge, and there seem to be lots of these little guys patrolling the waters. So im sure a few extra anglers wont turn off the bite too much. This lake produced the first pike of the season for two of my friends, and if it does the same for others, its all worth it!

Its one of those lakes that are good to fall back on after a 14 hour day of fishing for musky with nary a follow. Lots of little guys to fine tune your skills on until you are ready to tear up the 'skies again!

[HuRon]

You guys are right about Huzzy , lots of fish & a few nice ones , too . Lee Lake to the south of BC has a pretty good population this year . Spinnerbaits around the weeds & Jigs in the more open areas is good . Towards Nov. I like Union Lake on the St. Joe . Minnows are hard to beat in colder water . Fish around the fallen trees . Some big fish there but seems like numbers are down lately . If you want a challenge , try Nottawa Lake . Spinnerbaiting the weeds works now . Caught a 36" male there last winter . Take more skunkings there than any other lake , but the chance at a big one keeps me coming back .

[djkimmel]

It's a little further away, but I've caught some really big pike in Muskegon Lake and up in the river over the years, especially in the spring and fall. There's days when you can't work down the north shore weed beds without losing a few lures to them. I caught more pike over 10 pounds there than any other lake, mostly incidentally. I've caught them up to 18 pounds with lots of 5 to 10 pound fish. The only thing is if you get too shallow, you have to fight of the huge dogfish too.

[Kingfisher]

Hi , Most lakes with deep water will hold good numbers of Big Pike and they will move shallow as the water cools. there are thousands of good pike lakes in the lower half of the state and many with a few 20 lbers. Upper pen is much better for numbers of big fish but that is another story. Try Coldwater lake and come visit us at Muskegon. I guide for Pike and Musky and know a few good lakes but Wont post them on a public forum. I will tell you this , If the lake doesnt have a good deep water retreat with deep forage there will not be any Big Pike there. Kingfisher

[mike woj]

There is good fishing for pike in Manistee Lake in the fall. At least when I grew up there it was good. Work the weededges and the drops with spoons and cranks. Always a chance for bonus eyes or steelhead. I realize this info is not current but I don't think the lake has changed that much. Anyone with more current info might be able to help. Call Riley's Bait and Tackle in Manistee for info. Portage Lake just north of Manistee at Onekema can also be good.

[ManillaKilla]

Kingfisher, that Coldwater Lake your refering to, is that the one just off of M20? I have heard people say that that is suppose to be good for pike and walleye. The couple of times I have tried it, I got skunked. Just wondering if there really is walleye in there?

[Kingfisher]

Mannila, Im talking about the Coldwater lake in southern Michigan Branch County. I have never fished there but have read a couple stories about this lake and claims of 20 lbers through the ice. The guy who posted this thread I believe is pretty close to this lake . Im not sure of there is a M-20 there or not. good luck to you though aand I hope you find a good walleye lake. Kingfisher

[Water Wolves]

Kingfisher,
Good idea about Coldwater Lake. I'm going to try it as soon as I can get away. Mama is in Europe and I'm doing the "Mr. Mom" thing for while.
One 5 yr old + one 2 yr old + boat = no fishing.

:)

WW

[gregm]

If you don't mind crossing state lines. The Lake James Chain at Angola Indiana holds some good pike, especially late in the fall. The lakes are connected by hard to find channels and the lakes kind of twist and turn around each other. In addition, there are some very shallow humps in the lake, so a map is necessary. You can get to the Lake by taking exit 157 off of I-69 (the first one in Indiana) turn right at the bottom of the ramp then left at the "T" take this road to the 4 way stop and turn right. The ramp will be a 1/2 mile or so on your left (actually on big otter lake). There are lots of submerged humps in this system of lakes and the pike seem to be holding in the last remnants of green grass at the base of the humps. The later in the year, the more live bait you need to use. There are 20# + pike in this lake AND NO ONE FISHES FOR THEM!!!! I have "accidentally" caught 3 between 12 and 15 pounds while fishing for bass.

Another nearby option is Clear Lake near Fremont, Indiana. Its smaller and I personally don't know a whole lot about the lake, but I does have the Indiana record pike (caught just a few years ago). I believe it was 50" and weighed 30#'s or so. Here is a link you may find interesting:

http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/fish/fishing/pike.htm