Pike Help/Advice

[SStracker]

Hello,

I am going to Canada in a week on a fishing trip and wanted to invest a good amount of time trying for open water pike. In the past I've always burned shallow/weedy bays with Mepps and done well, but this year I want to switch it up.My questions....First off, Is fishing open water a productive way to catch nice pike or will I mainly be wasting time? Then lastly, what are some good approaches to fishing open water pike? I have two 7+ foot Heavy rods and one XH rod, along with a few Musky baits. My buddy is bringing some larger cranks he has and I plan on buying a few new lures before we go.

Thanks,

Trevor

[lunge]

im not a guide or a pro but heres my .02/

I guess I wouldnt target openwater/suspended fish but if it was me id be looking at secondary breaks, breaks adjacent to flats/structure, and transitions fom current/no current. due to the time of year you would most likely do well in the shallows- im not sure of the water temps but im sure that the pike are in 8-10' poss 12-15' but again look for the shorelines that are in the sun for most of the day or that get sun first- I like swimbaits/ im sure you have dawg or two but the pike up there like the dawgs- id try that new MI slither in the slop, I pour one similar and its great for slop fish- but you cant beat a spinnerbait or spoon. im also partial to the esox research-ddd's and dd's. storm makes those large swimbaits as well and for the price you cant beat them- over the winter ive made some double 6's with a single hook and grubtrailer wtih flashabou and so for the pike have loved em- ill be in northern Wi by the end of the week using them up there- but whatever you do have fun and tight lines

[Random guy]

Is fishing open water a productive way to catch nice pike or will I mainly be wasting time?

I hope it works as it is all I got on Red.

Speed speed and more speed. I am huge on open wateer trolling. DT's, spoons, x-raps, Muskie Snacks, Spinner baits various crankbaits and even Bulldawgs behind downriggers for pike. My basic approach is to cruise 3-9mph watching my electronics for bait pods or big arches on the graph then working that area for half an hour before moving onto the next. After a few trips of doing this you start to see patterns or certian areas that tend to hold open water cruisers.

[TruthWalleyes]

3-9mph really!?

[PDXFisher]

I just spent a week on Lake of the Woods out of Nestor Falls. All the Pike we got related to shoreline. Most were in the weeds or on the weed edge, within 20 feet of shore. The biggest we got was trolling a Clackin' Rap about 70 feet from the shore of an island, in about nine FOW. It was close to 40". We spent plenty of time trolling relatively open water (15-25')in the big part of Sabaskong Bay with nothing to show for it. Probably depends on the lake. Also, the wind was blowing the wrong way the whole week (N/NE), until the last day, when I finally boated a few Muskies (S/SW).

I will be up at URL this week. I hope it isn't all muddy like it was when I was there 10 days ago. Will be trying some JohnnyP techniques for the first time. Will be nice to finally try out the downrigger