Where will the pike be/what to use?

[pikefisherman]

Where are the pike going to be this time of the year? Speaking of Northern MN, that is. More specifically, what are the depths, locations (points, bays, dropoffs and so on) of the pike? And what should I use for them? (Spoons, shad raps, spinners, etc.)

I am planning on going out fishing tomorrow, and there is a small chance there may be some rain.

Quote:

Sat. May 21 Forecast, Grand Rapids MN.

Saturday...Partly sunny. A 20 percent chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs 73 to 78. Southeast winds 10 to 20 mph.

Usually when we have a 20% chance of rain up here, it never does rain. But just in case if it does, here are my questions.. What will the pikes' behavior be like in this weather? I think I read somewhere that the pike are more active when it is raining. But what do you think? Before rain, after rain, during rain?

I have never really fished this early in the season before, as I used to live down in the cities, and we would come and visit the cabin in the late summer.

On a side note, I did manage to catch this northern pike in a shallow (4-5 ft) bay on opener last weekend. By the way, it was caught and released. I was following the shoreline while casting + reeling Mepps spinners.

Sorry for all of the questions ! I appreciate any help, however.

Thanks

[fatfinger]

this time of year i have had good luck trolling a sucker on a spinner in 3-10 fow.been gettin em everywhere as far as weedlines, points, & shorlines go.got a nice one yesterday on a fairly big rap.spoons work too.troll the sucker & you should hit em tho.

[pikefisherman]

Thanks for the info. fatfinger, I will give that a try if I go out fishing again tomorrow.

So, I inherited some older fishing books on everything from pike to bass, walleye, panfish, fishing tips, and more from my uncle after his tragic death. I read some great info. in the Pike book, and it said where the pike are before/during/after cold fronts and many many other things.

Well, I also have this waterproof lake map that shows locations of success for pike. I went to the area on it and I was able to actually locate the pike on the depth finder. They seemed to be down in about 15 ft of water, in between two upward slopes on each side. Some were suspended in the water and others were above bottom structure, especially the cabbage weeds. I didn't have much time to catch them though, especially because of the weather. It started getting pretty choppy out there but prior to finding the pike, I had also done some trolling.

I was in about 20-30 ft of water locating the lake trout before they begin to get in the very deep water and I saw a few on the depth finder as well, some just a few feet above bottom (around 30 ft). My rod started to slowly bend, then line rapidly began to pull out and I was trying to pull this thing in, which it must have been a lake trout because based on my experience, they seem to pull on the line more than they fight. So at first I thought I must've snagged bottom or something so I slowly approached to where I believed my lure was snagged, while continuing to reel in line. I kept trying to reel my line in and all of a sudden my line starts shaking and the rod jerk-baits right under the bottom of the boat. And the next thing that happened was my line snapped. I was using a large + deep shad rap resembling a minnow. It may have been a large lake trout, or maybe it was just a snag on bottom or something, but I have no idea as I never did see it.

Well, as you can tell, I like to tell fish stories haha.

[WasteManagement]

In the GR area i have found pike this time of year in 1-5 FOW. I mainly use a johnson silver minow. I just cast, any where there is an inlet or outlet is the best. I have caught pike non stop from opener to mid june. Then the big ones start to go out deeper and little ones really tuck into thick weeds. This is from fishing on small lakes in GW state forest mostly. Never fished for pike on big lakes.