How do I catch these Pike?

[Fisher Dave]

I have been hitting a lake near me recently and have been encountering some problems.

The lake is full of northerns, tiny and huge sunfish(nothing in between), and tons of minnows.

I have had no problem catching northerns up to about 6 lbs. That northern had another northern in its stomach about 1/3 its size. On a regular basis we are getting our fish slammed that we are retrieving ... even northerns in the 4-5 lb class. You get the fish in and it has huge gouges, missing tons of scales, wide open wounds ... sometimes getting close to 10" wide. Its obvious there are some huge northerns in the lake, and had one fish reported to us in the 25lb class taken from there in the recent past.

I have thrown everything in the tackle box at these fish and cant figure out a pattern for these monsters to hit .. they seem to be feeding on the other northerns more than anything.

We have been having success in 5'-7' of water, and the weeds come up to about 2 1/2' below the surface... and growing fast. My conventional musky tackle hasn't been doing anything but catching the smaller northerns. The lake bottoms out at 9', the outside of the weedline is at 7', the inside at about 4 1/2'.

I cant tell you how close I've been to trolling a 3 lb northern .. but thats a bit illegal.

Anybody ever encounter this? I'm going to have to say that 1 in 10 fish are being hit while retrieving.

[Blackstarluver]

Have you tried the northern pike pattern salmo lures? Or even the Cabelas pike pattern?
My2
Good luck!
JC
"the advice you get here is worth every cent"

[This message has been edited by Blackstarluver (edited 05-20-2003).]

[Fish-n-Freak]

I would be happy to try and help you develope a pattern! ;-) Let me know when and where to meet you.

Seriously I would go with the best "dinner bell" lure around -- The Jackpot! This is my go to lure, when I start seeing Pike/Muskies go after anything I am reeling in. If they are going for the struggle factor, the Jackpot should draw their attention.

Another good option would be the Pike pattern 10" Jake, something the size and color of what they are targeting. I have a custom Pike Jake and 10" Suick that look so real -- They are real fish catchers.

Good Luck! Hope you nail a Gator!

Steve

[This message has been edited by Fish-n-Freak (edited 05-20-2003).]

[stephendawg]

I agree. Throw the big guns at em'. Big bucktails, Magnum Bulldawgs, 10" Jakes, Giant Jackpots. Think Musky! You may just get the biggest pike of your life!

------------------
...if I only had more time off!...
Dawg

[Aquaman01]

Tried trolling an oar?

------------------
Aquaman
<')}}}}}><{
Peace and Fishes

[Fisher Dave]

The oar might work... might have to paint it gold and orange 1st.

I have thrown bucktails, jakes, spinnerbaits, rapala's, suick, and a couple other jerk baits I have that I dont remember what they are called.. It's tough to buy a bite unless your reeling in a fish. They are so agressive that most fish (even smaller) are hitting at very high speeds which often make it easier to troll (3.5 - 7 mph).. I can only reel so fast for so long.

I might have to stop in at Thorne Brothers sometime when im in the cities and pick up one of their decorative cranks and give it a try (2' long) <--- sarchasm ... for NOW. Next month I may have to try it.

[Duffman]

Dave....
How 'bout using some monster sucker minnows, the large decoy size or ones that you might catch on hook and line? Or maybe an xtra large [PoorWordUsage]-off-a-pike buzzbait going mach 1?

How is the minnow trapping working out for ya?

[Fisher Dave]

I'm ready to troll the anchor if need be ... I'll figure out the pike yet ... I havent even hit the *secret* lake yet. Live bait might be the ticket, but will get expensive if I have to buy the decoys (dont fit in hole in trap).

I hit the *motherload* of minnows, I now found a seemingly endless supply of crappie, fathead, rainbow chub, sucker, shiner, red belly dace, and chubs with yellow stripes down the side.. the look cool, dont know if they work.

Let me know if/when you want to come up. I'll be hitting the *unknown* lake this weekend .. no interest or need in competeing with others on the lake I've been fishing. The lake I have been fishing I have only seen a couple others fishing.

[David Swenson]

Dave,

Large sucker minnows and dead bait are your best bet using a quick strike rig. Make sure you use large slip bobbers as you do not want to kink your line. It will break at a kink from traditional bobbers if a big pike is on. Fish deep weed points or inside turns. You still will catch small fish, but patience will pay off.

When a fish is struggling (as when you are reeling it in) it often attracts other predator fish. Even small pike will attack a larger pike during this struggle. I believe other predators see the struggling fish as easy prey.

David Swenson
http://muskieguide.homestead.com/
http://baileystackle.homestead.com/

[Guest]

Fisher Dave,

Would you be willing to disclose the location of this lake? I love fishing pike and would love to catch even the 5-6 pounders...let alone be in the same lake as 25 pounders. What do ya think?

[Fisher Dave]

David ...

Thanks for the tips. I have alot of experience under my belt with live and dead large baits. I have been using them for years in the very late fall for muskies, and all summer long flathead fishing.

The lake is basicly a reservoir, it bottoms out at 9', and structure is very limited. There are 3 inlets, 1 outlet. The fish this far have mostly been focusing on 2 areas.

Its alot of fun targeting these fish, but it does get frustrating over time. I will eventually hit the bigger fish when they are active. I want to see some of these fish that are leaving up to 1/2" deep wounds in the fish.

[CodyDawg]

I think the problem you are facing results from too much forage in the lake. If it is full of good forage, why hit your bait? Mimic the bait fish may work, but how about moving off of the areas where you see a lot of bait fish and fish the big ones where they go to rest. I would bet the big ones are in a different area and when they get hungry they make a short trip to the cafe. Just a thought.