any tricks to catching pike after they follow a lure to the boat?

[budiva]

During our Ontario trip last year we had several big pike follow spoons to within 15' of the boat. They would end up just suspending for a couple minutes then slowly swim off.

I am assuming they spotted the boat or our shadows. We tried throwing other baits etc, but never really go any of them to charge again after the initial follow.

Any tricks tips or lures that would help in that situation would be great.

[bobbymalone]

figure 8's

[OnAFly]

Pause-retrieve-pause-retrieve...repeat. I've found that when I'm getting a lot of follows, if I pause s lot during my retrieve, I get more strikes. As far as the ones that are right up next to you, figure 8 them.

[RK]

Hiya -

One tip, from my friend Jack Penny, who is an extremely accomplished pike angler...

When muskies follow and you figure-8, it's standard practice to stick your rod tip in the water. Muskies sure don't care. That doesn't seem to be the case with pike for some reason. Jack says he's caught lots of pike at boatside on a figure-8, but has had far more success keeping the lure in the water but not the rod tip.

another option, of your set-up allows it, is to just walk around the boat to keep the bait moving.

[mainbutter]

Interesting, I've never seen pike, big or small, suspend after following a lure to the boat! They are usually much higher energy than just sitting and taking a look.

[Nick Kuhn]

Interesting, I've never seen pike, big or small, suspend after following a lure to the boat! They are usually much higher energy than just sitting and taking a look.

This has been my experience too. Never a lazy follow, usually a late charge to hit it before the boat. I've never had one follow an 8.

[kustmoboy]

The biggest pike i've ever seen (44-45) chased a pounder bulldawg around the 8 once before swimming off.

I've caught a couple pike in the 8 but most either hit on the first turn at the boat or swim away.

[EBass]

I had that going on this past Sat. I just made repeat casts and finally she ate. Granted it was a 4 lber but still. They would dart off before I could start an 8.

[Lakeside_Nelson]

If you fly fish that would be a great time to throw back at them with a large streamer or bunny strip. Most pike have never seen a fly and will readily inhale it. Sometimes a simple L-turn will also trigger a strike.

[thatoneguy]

Best tip I've picked up (thanks to Joe Thompson at Four Seasons on Winnie): If the big girls are following but not hitting, once ou retrieve your lure to within 10-15' of the boat, give the rod a sharp jerk upward. I don't know if it makes the pike think their prey is escaping or what, but it very frequently will trigger a hard strike.

[slipperybob]

That's why I got a giant Chubby Darter just to jig around next to the boat.

[ESOXGEEK]

Some days the quick upward twitch does it, other days I just drop the offering and watch them follow it to the bottom and then hit. I have never been able to seal the deal on a northern with the 8 ?

[delmuts]

I was puzzed this weekend fishing for northerns! In a back back,( full of bait fish, and so the northerns!!) they would swipe at a spinnerbiat, but not bite it. Tried slower/faster retrieves; changed from having a skirt to a 5 in. power minnow for a trailer.( did catch a 8# with this). Changed from a 3/8 oz.bluegil pattern to a 1/4 oz. white,( they wouldn't even swipe at the white!!)Tried a buzz frog( already had it tied on!) caught a 4 #. Ran out of time to try other things!

If i get back up there; any tips??

[reinhard1]

i had the same thing happen to me sunday. i had two other guys in the boat with me. when the pike followed my yellow spinnerbait, i tried casting to him again in the direction he swam. he came back again and just followed. then the other guys with different presentations tried and nothing interested the pike. we also noticed two large pike swimming slowly in three feet of water and went after them and they were not interested. sometimes if they are not on the feedbag nothing seems to work. did not have any live bait with so who knows. i have had this happen many times over the years in my lifetime and i'm convinced that at times they are more curious than hungry. good luck.

[JPenny]

There are several things you can try to convert a follower into a biter. Like my good friend RK states above, figure 8's are just not that effective on big pike. The odd one might take it but it is a very low percentage. You're better off keeping your rod out of the water and lead the lure up the side of the boat and then back down the same path. You can also try different changes in your retrieve as soon as you spot a follower. Speed and directional changes both work well at times. For throw back lures, I like something different. Meaning I like to throw back something different than what the pike originally followed. And it doesn't have to be completely different either. Sometimes just a change in color is all that's needed. The pike has already shown interest, but there was something that didn't quite trip it's trigger. Something a little different might just seal the deal. Another thought, sometimes when big pike follow then seem to disappear, they position themselves under the boat and watch for something to hit. I've caught several big pike leading a spinnerbait around the boat just low enough to be seen from under thee boat.

[ESOXGEEK]

This weekend was a frustrating one for sure !! Had a fish near #20 swipe and then just sit, I threw the same 7" swimbait back and watched the fish follow it down out of sight. I had many other fish bang the lure as I watched, yet they managed to not get hooked ? We boated 7 fish, but nothing over #5.

[Religion_Of_Fish]

I had an interesting experience in the BWCA a few years ago. A friend of mine had a small generic brand named spoon (Maybe 3 1/2 inches) it was silver with a neon green pattern on it that I can't exactly remember now. Anyway we were positioned right where some faster current below some rapids in a small river met some slack water and we could see pike chasing bait and breaking the surface. My friend was catching pike left and right, and no matter what I threw at them, I didn't get a bite. It was really frustrating and confusing, but a good learning experience. (Not to mention a great opportunity for my friend to rub in how bad of a fishermen I am, even though I spend more time fishing than he).

It was really strange, my opinion before that was that pike, if in a feeding mood, are going to bite at almost anything in front of their face, which sometimes does happen. This was not the case here though since they were clearly aggressive, and we were fishing the exact same area, and I couldn't get a bite. I don't have any advice other than if you know there are fish keep throwing something different until something works.

P.S. We also saw a pike chase after a full grown duck in this same spot, it was not a small pike! I put on a large top-water, nothing.