pike help for opener?

[mrpike1973]

hi i usually get skunked for opener. what might be the best methods this weekend with the weather. pulling cranks fast, sucker fishing very slow presentations. i know there can be many factors but i would like a rough guess i'm in central mn shallow weedy lakes mostly thanks for any help.

[walleyeking19]

i live in central mn too, and we've had good luck trolling and casting cranks up shallow. We caught a couple late at night last year, while they're fun to catch, its real disappointing seeing one of them in the net than a walleye.

[mainbutter]

Opener last year we nearly got skunked.. finally nailed one borrowing my gf's SMALL x-rap, I think in a perch color. The fish hit on a slow, straight retrieve with no jerks/stops.

If the weather is sunny, I'll hit the green cabbage in warmer shallow water pretty hard, particularly from noon onwards. Oxygen production should be up, and O2 coupled with springtime warm shallow water temps should attract just about all the living aquatics in a Minnesota lake.

If the weather is cloudy, I usually try trolling weed edges and going out deeper first.

I know that sun->shallow and clouds->deeper may be contrary to most notions of fishing, but that's where I found fish last spring.

[hunterjoe]

Get yourself a couple 1/2 oz bass spinnerbaits and troll the weed edge. I always try outside first, but also will run the inside a time or two. Occasionally run your bait into the weeds and if you're using braid, just rip it off the weeds. If you can't catch them doing this, there aren't any in the lake. Cranks will work, but they just really like flashy things with vibration.

[Brian-Mn]

Twitch a white fluke over the tops of the weed beds. If this doesn't trigger a strike try speeding your presentation up. Try a spinnerbait, then move up to a X-Rap. Floating Rapalas will work reeled slow.

You will know very quickly if they want it slow of fast. (still talking fishing here )

[Shawn Kellett]

+1 HunterJoe.

My $.02 is to use Candy Spins (beefed up bass sized spinnerbaits). I've also found that pike can be fairly fickle about blade color this time of year. Black/nickle has been my best color this time of year by far.

[itchmesir]

Blue/Silver 4-6' Bombers seem to be my ticket to success most of the time... followed by chartreuse/blue/white spinners

[TravP]

Just fish for walleyes. It never fails that we catch pike.

[TruthWalleyes]

hi i usually get skunked for opener. what might be the best methods this weekend with the weather. pulling cranks fast, sucker fishing very slow presentations. i know there can be many factors but i would like a rough guess i'm in central mn shallow weedy lakes mostly thanks for any help.

ORANGE

Whatever you do, make sure your lure has some orange on it. Nords love that Orange!

Cranks in shallow northern bays will work well, as well as a jig and minnow. As stated above, fish for walleyes and you'll likely enjoy some pike action.

[TooTallTom]

Two words: Banjo. Minnow.

Seriously, though, I've fished them and they do work. You're sure that there are fish in the lake you plan on fishing?

[solbes]

Cast an x-rap up into the shallows (agree on it needing some orange). Twitch it, maybe even rip it once or twice. Then wait for it, wait for it, small twitch, wait for it, BAM! Fish on

[mrpike1973]

thanks for the replies the 2 lakes i'm going to i called the dnr they said these 2 lakes had the best pike numbers and quality. sounds like cranks and spinnerbaits and plastics not to good at them but i'll try thanks

[PerchJerker]

Get yourself a couple 1/2 oz bass spinnerbaits and troll the weed edge. I always try outside first, but also will run the inside a time or two. Occasionally run your bait into the weeds and if you're using braid, just rip it off the weeds. If you can't catch them doing this, there aren't any in the lake. Cranks will work, but they just really like flashy things with vibration.

Do what he said. If it was me I'd probably go bigger than 1/2 ounce, and I wouldn't start on the outside weed edge --- I'd start over the weeds, and I'd work in shallower before I moved out deeper.

You can run nice and slow with spinnerbaits.

When you get fish, pay attention to what they were doing --- over weeds, in weeds, high above the weeds, inside or outside weedline, moving fast or slow, etc. If you can start to narrow them down by trolling, then you can go after them by casting, or with suckers under bobbers if you think you're in a good area with lots of fish.

Good luck out there!

[herefish101]

troll red and white tattle-n-raps on shallow weed edges, trolling covers the most water, works every year for me.