Looking for 10lb Pike?

[wolfgang510]

Is it possible to catch 10lb pike in many smaller lakes in lower michigan. It seems like all the pike I catch are 20-27 inches and I estimate at 2-3lbs and one time I got a 30" fish. The largest I have ever caught I estimate around 5 pounds. Do Pike grow big often in small lakes here in lower michigan or do I need to seek out larger lakes further north to find bigger fish.

[Nailer]

If you want to catch bigger pike your best bet would to fish the lakes (or rivers) that connect to lake Mi. . When we fish for Walleye in Muskegon Lake we catch alot of pike, and many are big! :fish:

[shametamer]

i've caught them to 10 out of kent lake..check out walleye mikes pike from stoney creek in 04. Wife lost them close or that size from wolverine and bruin last year. They are around, alas not nearly as plentiful as we all might hope. lower detroit river and lake st.clair offer many in that range also. Center chain of lakes(michigan center) near jackson offers good early season pike chances...

[double trouble]

lake oakland near great lakes crossing has some monsters in it.it is underfished(until now)and i have seen pics of some in the 10-15 pound class.they have a small derby for kids every winter and watching a kid trying to yank a big piker out is a gas.

[franky]

I have never tried for pike but i believe, just by hearing other conversations that because no one is eating these fish(catch and release) i think there is an over-abundance of the fish and they do not have the room in small lakes to grow to a large potential. Do any of you guys eat these fish?

[chamookman]

Wolfgang - I believe that most of the mid-Michigan lakes that contain Pike do indeed have Northerns in the 10lb. + range. I would think it's a location thing for Your lack of sucsess on bigger fish. Quite simplely, BIG Pike don't live in the same areas as the "run of the mill" smaller fish. Larger Fish are solitary DEEP water critters, 40' to 50' is not too deep in many lakes. In-Fisherman has had many article on this over the Years. Good Luck in Your search for a 10lb. + Esox. Bob.

[josh617]

smaller pike in the 15-20in range will live in shallow water and prefer the same temp range as that of a bass, but once these fish get larger they vanished into the deep regions of the lake, which is the reason why we catch so mant small pike.

[fishing addict]

I,caught a 10lber out of a gravel pit.
I have a picture of a 27lber caught out of a small lake in Calhoun County.The guy claimed to have caught a couple others over 20lbs from the same lake.
Last week there was a picture in here of a 22lber a guy caught near St.Louis.

[PIKERPETE]

There is plenty of Big Pike in the lakes of Southeast Mi. but to reiterate what was stated they do go deep and are solitary. I find that most of them are spotted or speared in the winter. On Walnut lake a guy a few years back use to spear early in the AM. He had pulled a 48", 49" and saw two over 43" within a few weeks. A bummer to me though to spear them. I would have jigged for them once in the hole, photographed them and put them back. Also I find the bigger Monsters are usually biting in the Fall. It is not unusual to get them from 32"-40" when they move out of the deep to forage up in the shallower depths in the fall. Not to many monsters seem to be takin from inland lakes in the summer but there always is the exception. That is why we are out there. Good Luck.

Pete

[wolfgang510]

If big pike are solitary and in deep water than how do people spear them?

[esox master]

They spear them through the ice when the pike are shallower. Also pike tend not to be very solitary fish. Last year in Canada trolling 10 feet for walleye, we picked up a 36inch fish turned around and went over the same spot 1 minute later and landed a 34-inch fish. These two pike seemed to have been on the same little piece of structure. I have also isn’t that uncommon to hook 2 or 3 fish on lures all the same distance back from the boat at the same time. As for pike being deep, large pike primarily spend most of their time deep, though they typically come shallow sometime during the day to feed. Often after a cold front comes through and the weather gets cold during the middle of the summer try trolling small deep diving baits, 10-15 feet behind the boat in 8-10 feet of water in the morning, and you will be surprised with some of the fish you get. Then for fishing small lakes it all depends of the depth and forage of the lake, if it is depth and a good forage you got a decent chance of hooking into a 3 plus foot fish landing them can be another story. Also the forage will play a crucial role in the weight, cause some lakes I fish the fish seem to weight considerably more then in others.

[bivenser]

Wolf,

It is a temperature thing. Once the lakes begin to warm in the spring the big pike start moving deep. Usually to depths that are not normally fished by your average fishermen, myself included. As Bob said 40 to 50 feet deep may not be to deep a large pike. Now in winter the lake is basically all the same temp and the large pike that are forced to the depths with the warm weather can now roam the entire water column without any stress.

Now we have identified where they are likely to be in the summer months, so the questions is how do we catch them? Does any one fish for them deep in the summer. And if so how. I realy cannot think of a way to fish in the 30 to 50' range other than a down rigger or jigging spoon. Anyone have any tips?

[steelers fan]

I pike fish with very good success in the spring and fall,they are pretty easy to catch when the water temp is below 65 deg. I have had decent success fishing deep/suspended fish in the summer months. try trolling a large crank/stickbait rapala f18/magnum bomber..ect. use a 1-2 oz keel weight or a 3-way swivel with a large weight on the dropper..just rember the line between the weight and your lure should be no longer then your pole. also after the theromoclime developes usually about 20'-25' down unless there is a spring or current there in not enough oxygen to support fish for long periods of time, I would not suggest fishing any deeper then 20' pike will come up to hit a bait but they cant see below them you wont kill them when the water is worm but i have caught some 36" plus out of 70 deg plus water using this method...I hope this helps....TAKE A KID FISHING!!!

[Santiago]

There is a biologist from Minnesota who discovered in the '70s that aggregations of pike will collect around springs during the summer months. These fish are laying on the bottom, very close to the outflow of the water because the temperatures are much cooler than the rest of the lake water. Also, oxygen content there is sufficient to sustain fish life. I feel that these spring fed lakes have the best chances to produce trophy northerns in lower Michigan because thermoclines are not an issue so large pike can lay on bottom in deep water, inactive for most of the year because of cold temps, and avoid focused angling efforts. Pike in thermocline lakes can not avoid pressure because, as they must stay high in the water column where water is warmer, they must stay relatively active to eat.

Best chances for a trophy northern (20-pounds or better), in my opinion, are the drowned river-mouth lakes adjacent to the Great Lakes (Manistee, White, Mona, etc.) Fall is best for boats, but ice fishing is tops for trophy opportunity, and now is the time! St. Clair has some good fish, but not the numbers like the other systems (tribal netting has killed many adults moving shallow to spawn).

[chamookman]

The Linders begin by looking offshore adjacent to major structures for schools of baitfish, on bottom or suspended. Then look for larger marks (fish) around the baitfish. Depending on wind and wave conditions, drift/slowtroll and verticle jig large jig/plastic combos. 1/2 oz. to 1 oz. jig are about right, fished off a rod in the flipping catagory. As far as plastics, 5" or 6" Shad types work well - just make sure the jig size matches the plastic. Sharp "rips" of the bait while jigging seem to be the trigger. A red jig head with pearl body have worked well for Me. Bob.