top water pike?

[carpmanjake]

well i was going for crappies yesterday. i was using an ice buster bobber for a float. and i had a big pike attack the float!

i am gonna bring somem topwaters tonight, as well as other pike lures.

my question is... how do you fish for pike topwater? like what lures and how to fish them etc.

the area is only 4 feet deep maximum. the pike hit in about 3 feet of water

[JimBuck]

I LOVE throwing floating Rap's in the springtime. Both jointed and standard. You can fish them real slow so they just barely bulge the surface or a little faster retrieve can push them deeper. I've also had a lot of success on unweighted plastics (slug-go's,floating worms, lizards etc.). Big pauses give more time for the fish to get angry and entice a bite. Both tactics would be more sub-surface but are very effective for stirring up those gnarly-toothed girls.

[Aaron Carrell]

Well, I've had a lot of luck with topwater pike on a couple of my fav west metro lakes and honestly.... its usually on the same stuff I'm throwing for bass. As far as quantity goes, I'm usually catching the most on buzzbaits, but thats more of a midsummer thing. Its still worth a shot though.

One slower working lure that really did the trick last year for me was a Zara Spook. Give it 3-4 twitches and let it sit, then repeat. You'd see the pike coming a mile away with those lures just sitting there. Was good times. Also consider something like a hawg wobbler.

[carpmanjake]

thanks guys!

im still in school. so post up any more tips for me before 3 when i get out, and go hit the lake

[Musky Buck]

Tried Mellisa by Detroit Lakes once with zara spooks on top and we ended up catching some real dandies.

[Mike Stark]

zara spooks

[lunge]

baby weagles are killers as well, ive had alot nice pike on topraiders. but id say your best bet is the zara spook. buzz baits can be fun too. run them right over the weeds or just on the outside/inside edge an whammo. in the summer all youll get is little guys but in the spring after ice out you can get some monsters when there pre/post spawn, when the big girls are still in shallow water near tributaries or bays adjacent to the main lake baisin.in the spring work them slow, workem for a few feet and pause then repeat. good luck-

[Aaron Carrell]

So how'd it go?

[carpmanjake]

So how'd it go?

it was to windy and cloudy for topwater. i found a nice pike sitting on the bottom while going for crappie. had to be over 8-9lbs.

not many crappies were biting. the wind knocked em down. but they started picking up after 6. i got 2 over 10" but all the rest were under that

today will be perfect. the wind is comind directly from the shoreline, so it will be at my back. so the area will be perfectly calm. and the sun is out so that will help too.

i picked up some zara spooks, in 6" and 8" and a couple rapala subwalks, and skitter walks yesterday. i will pick up some more jigs tonight (wind blew my jig box in the water yesterday so i lost quite a few jigs) i am also gonna bring a magnet down there tonight to get some back

[itchmesir]

Topwater Pike are so much fun and fun to watch when it takes them like 3 strikes to finally take..

[bronzeback]

I fish topwater for bass all summer long and I've seen some absolutely insane pike hits. Sometimes I'll pull up on a spot fully aware of the fact that a pike is going to ambush my bait and possibly bite me off but I still go for it. You can just tell by the shape and size of some of those log jams whether or not they're holding a pike. Sure is fun though.

Up on Lac Seul two summers ago I missed a 40"+ pike on a saltwater X-Rap Walk size 13. About 15 feet from the boat, flew out of this wall of cabbage and just smacked the lure about 3 feet into the air, thrashed its head around and swam off. Saw a guy about 15 minutes later hook up with one of these giants on a mini zara-spook he was using for smallmouth. lost the fish boatside. They're just brutes up there.

[Random guy]

Big rubber frogs! Thats where its at! Always a good pike producer.

[fishuhalik]

I'm with jonny-p on this one. I've caught a ton of nice pike on rubber frogs. Zara Spooks would have to be a close 2nd, followed by floating jointed raps.

[Jackpine Rob]

I've had some real fun with those buzzbait thingies with propellers on them. Chug them across the water and watch the action unfold.

[PC's]

Thats awesome, I catch pike on spooks and buzzbaits all time too. Like jimbuck said floating raps are great pike baits too. Spooks are actually one of my go to baits for pike on tonka. although tonkas pike fishing has gone down hill in general unless your targeting hammerhandles.

[lovebigbluegills]

Topwater is my all-time favorite way to catch bigger pike, what an absolute blast.

My top 3 favorites are

1. Zara Spooks

2. Jitterbugs

3. Floating rapalas retrieved slowly so they don't get below the surface.