Im brand new to this game and need some help!

[Kyle]

first and foremost, how do you find a good spearing spot? Im in Brainerd and recently moved up here and know nothin about the lakes. How do I locate a good spearing spot. I have tried tip up fishing spots that I thought might be good, but got skunked...

[bassNspear]

Look at a lake map and see uf you can fine a deep break or a point that had access to deep water! To be able to get on a weed line is a plus, but I believe the spot is more important then anything else

[BehindtheHead]

i like muddy/ weed covered bays. the bait fish hide in the weeds and we all know what pike eat.

everybody has the own perfered spots.

[glenn57]

i 2nd what behindthehead said!!!!!!!!!!

[fire29]

I have just started this year also, and did a bunch of research and was way over thinking everything. We were out probably 5 times only seeing a couple fish and I thought for sure we were doing something wrong. Come to find out we were there a couple hours to late. We found from 10 to 2:30 is the magic hours where we are at. We both got our limit in those two days and saw 20 northerns in those 2 days. We even had 2 northerns in the hole at the same time. I dont know if that is odd or not, but it was pretty dang cool. anyways I wouldnt look to deep into it, just try some different times and places maybe you will find your magic time and place.

[MJ1657]

I averaged 5 days a week 5 hours a day last year. I speared the same lake the whole time and only had my house in two different spots. I only had 5 days that I did not see a pike.

I could not find any certain pattern to the fish. I will say I was rarely out there real early. The only real pattern I could find was some days they liked very little movement with my decoys while others they liked it agressive.

The best spearing I had was usually real cold days or days with unstable weather. I had always understood that ubnstable was bad for fishing but that was not my experience.

I think the bottom line is time spent staring down the hole is time well spent because you never know when they will show up.

[BehindtheHead]

i have had good luck when it is really cold or when a snow storm first starts too.

dont know why but it seems like a pattern every year.

dont ignore the odd spots. i found a old river channel in a very shallow bay one time. the bay had 1 foot of water between the bottom of the ice and bottom of the lake, but the river channel was about 3 feet inbetween. and it was fairly dirty (muddy) water. i didnt even get my hole clean that day before i got the first one.

it was really something to spear a fish and the spear sticks out of the water when the fish was on the bottom.

deep water too. last year i spent a good amount of time in 20+ fow. find a shanty town that is catching sunfish and cut a spear hole right in the middle of it. set the decoy right under the ice. pike will swim around near the ice gobbeling up wonded fish that got reeled up to fast and cant get down to the bottom again.

sometimes thoes pike wont leave the deepwater all winter. they dont need to if they have food there.

if what your doing isnt working try something off the wall

[merkman]

first and foremost, how do you find a good spearing spot? Im in Brainerd and recently moved up here and know nothin about the lakes. How do I locate a good spearing spot. I have tried tip up fishing spots that I thought might be good, but got skunked...

Find a weed line next to deep water.

Look at the lake maps from lake finder.

Check out the contours, ask yourself if I were a pike how would I get from deep water to the shallow?

Try to find one of those traveling lanes.

When you look at structure think if I were a pike what structure out there will allow me to ambush my prey?

When setting up in the flats or on lakes that have no structure any place is good. Just jig like crazy and try to get their attention by having alot of flash in the hole.

Each lake is different though.

Some lakes the pike will only travel a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the eve. Some lakes the pike travel one day then nothing for 3 more days.

You could be on the right spot but if they are not moving when you are there you won't see them.

I have to agree nothing is beter than time in the house!!!

[Gordie]

If I were a pike I would be asking myself where I can hide from the NORD LORD

Someother good spots are on the outskirts of where alot of people fish for panfish also. Ive done very well doing this and it doesnt seem to matter how deep it is. speared these spots from 8 to 30 FOW.

I also like long narrow points that break off into deeper water also and if weeds are present I like it even better.

[shamalex72]

If I were a pike I would be asking myself where I can hide from the NORD LORD

thats funny

[merkman]

If I were a pike I would be asking myself where I can hide from the NORD LORD

They usually hide a foot and a half from the edge of my hole.

Just close enough to see them but not close enough to spear them.

[Gordie]

They usually hide a foot and a half from the edge of my hole.

Just close enough to see them but not close enough to spear them.

gotta quit saying my name so loud.... pike hear my name and seem to disappear

[Laska]

yeah right they say "The Nord Lord's here I wanna see...." next thing ya know their in elwoods hole saying "I have lived!"

[Spike76]

I've done all of my spearing , the last few years by Brainerd. I used to spear in 6 to 8 feet of water and see a few on a weekend but the last four years I've been spearing in 12 to 14 feet of water. I miss more but I see many more. Some days I've stayed out all day.I tend to be real agressive with the decoy, earlier in the day and then later in the day, and I've had my decoy hit many times. Spearing is great.

[Mcfin]

kyle-You have gotten some good advice already that you can put into practice. Pick out the best pike water you can find then scout around with your tip-ups. It sounds like you are already on the right track. I found the best spearing by drilling a lot of holes and putting my house on the area that was most productive on tip-ups. It is a lot of work but well worth it to get some quality spearing.