Best all around lure? (Northerns)

[Slyster]

Goes along with Turns post... but referring to Northerns.. I am going out for NORTHERN PIKE in a few weeks (as many of us are) and what is a GREAT lure to target pike? I can't wait. Nothing like a good 3-4 lb pike filleted boneless for a meal and a fight.

This post is referring to clear water (White Bear Lake)

I am thinking a large spinnerbait might be the ticket?

Certainly not plastics.. although they DO work for pike in my experience.. but I know I would catch bass... how about a crank bait..? I do some locations where I pretty much catch only pike and rarely bass.. but I sure don't want to be seen as 'targeting' bass.

[Andrew Erickson]

Like you said,its hard to be a spinnerbait

[Random guy]

Rinc Rat is correct. It is hard to beat the safety pin style spinner baits. You can work them fast or slow, high or low in weeds, around rocks and they offer good movement plus sound all in a high hooking percentage bait.

[DTro]

In a classical sense, my vote would go to the spoon. I gotta think more pike have been caught on the good ol daredevle (or a cheap knockoff) than all lures combined.

[Slyster]

Yes! Thanks! I forgot about spoons... the good old red and gold 'Daredevil" (SP?).. I remember catching ONLY pike on those.. I'll give them a new try.. how about a large Mepps? Those pretty much target pike more than bass don't they?

[10,000 Casts]

#5 Mepps Aglia and the Daredevil are hard to beat, early season, a spinnerbait is the ticket

[nofishfisherman]

My go to lure is a gold and orange Little Cleo. Second is the red and white Daredevil, and then a Johnson Silver Minnow. Spinners have always been down the list for me, not sure why could be the lake I tend to fish or maybe just have had enough luck with the others that I haven't given the spinner its fair shake yet.

[Muskydanno]

By far the best bait for me is a spinner bait whether it be minnesota or canada.

Gotta go with the either a safety pin style spinner bait in white for clear water like a mag reed runner or another old standby for me is the bionic bucktail in the cisco color. Also have had great luck with a buchertail , purple with a sunrise blade believe it or not. Another great pike bait that is old school is the Red Eye.

[Dan Thiem]

My choice would be either a Daredevel or a Rapala hinged minnow.

[Random guy]

Daredevils are great pike baits, they are time proven producers. But you are limited to staying out of the weeds and the range of speed is much more limited then that of a spinnerbait so I have to saty strong on my spinnerbait call.

[csharpe]

Williams wobler silver spoon consistant producer for me every time for nice pike.

[Boedigheimer]

1/2 oz. white, tandem willow leaf spinnerbait. Or, a big bright (with tinsel) Jig-n-Pig. The spinnerbait shouldn't need a leader but the jig may need one.

[DTro]

I agree, in weedy conditions the spinnerbait wins...hands down. One thing I would recommend with the spinner bait is to use a trailer hook with a 6-8" twister tail (preferrably white). To secure it use a small piece of surgical tubing and stretch that over the eye of the trailer hook then run the main hook through the tubing.....deadly.

[bgreen82]

around weeds, try a johnson weedless silver minnow spoon. i prefer the 1/4 and 1/2 oz. size in plain silver and firetiger colors.

[Bobb-o]

the best all around northern lure is anything you are using without a leader, it will always catch northerns, and cost you some $5 lures. my personal favorite is the Joe Bucher Depth Raider in the sucker color.

[P.DONA]

Even in Connecticut, I catch most of the pike on a white spinnerbait. Lots of people early season catch them on white zoom shads, jerk baits , and spoons, too. Towards fall, pike like the bigger swimming/ glide lures , white 9" sluggos ,YUM Houdinis, and bigger spoons..

[Spork]

I've had the best luck catching Northern with a Rapala Original Minnow. I go through about 2 or 3 a year just from them being all chewed up.

[Slyster]

Bobb-o

So you are saying get rid of the leader.. even though you will lose more lures.. they bite better without?

I just ask since others feel leaders don't make a difference with pike?

[Ralph Wiggum]

I think that was sarcasm He's just saying that the pike just seem to show up when you have your spendy lure on with no leader

[Slyster]

Yeah.. I kindof wondered that after the fact...

[Bobb-o]

yeah, definite sarcasm there, kind of hard to express on here, i lose more bass lures to those slime rockets than i know what to do with, most of the time a northern wont care if you have a leader on or not, although if i am using super line i do no tuse leaders, no real reason, northerns are more than happy to bite something just because it is moving.

[bgreen82]

hey, i just picked up a couple mepps aglia spinners to go along with the spoons and spinners i got for this weekend. a #4 and a #5. would you use the #5 size if youre not expecting huge northerns or will smaller(20- 30 inchers) pike hit the #5 also.

[Hockey Guy]

My absolute best go to lure is the Rapala Long Cast Minnow. I cast shorelines, weedlines, points, and rock piles most of time I’m out fishing. I always have four poles out with different baits on each pole. By looking at the shoreline you can tell the depth of the water and the structure on the bottom and cast the appropriate lure. I have three tackle boxes with over 400 lures, but I always have a Rattlin’ Rap, white double blade spinner, and the Long Cast Minnow on for sure. I have caught Northerns up to 15 pounds, big Walleye, and large Small Mouth Bass on that Long Cast. You can throw it a country mile, and it only dives down 1-2 feet. Try it for shallow water bays, trolling over weeds, or casting over rock piles. You won’t be disappointed. Don’t worry about how deep it dives. The last time I checked, fish still have eyes toward the top of their heads.

[Fish Head]

Bobb-O, I have to agree with the shallowraider or depthraider in sucker color. My son caught 2 40" northerns off the dock with a sucker colored depthraider last year.

[Quackaddict9]

a musky harasser brought me a 40" pike to the boat last May 2005. I like using Mepps Giant Killers and Harassers for northerns.