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Dead Baiting Pike....Food for Thought


Catmendo

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I think its fair to say the vast majority of us who dead bait for pike, have the same tendancy to set our baits on the bottom or within close proximity of the bottom. I have enjoyed lots of success by practising both methods.

However, I have never attempted suspending a dead bait just below the ice, let's say within a foot or two below the bottom of the ice. Last winter while fishing for 'eyes on Lake Winnipeg in a depth of fourteen feet, a Large gator attacked my buddies transducer. The strike was so violent it almost upset his Vexilar!

I know this has happened to others as well and it got me thinking that we may be overlooking an area that could be productive.

Has anyone put any thought or effort into this and if so have you had any success?

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Catmendo,

I'm not sure if this is true but I have heard that muskies and pike will swim along the bottom of the ice and eat floating dead ciscoes in the winter. Maybe spawning season has some trauma to the ciscoes and end up dieing and float up. Just something that i have heard before but never have target the big fish that way. I think there could be some truth to it like when you see mortality to walleyes and you see them float to the surface in the summer. Same thing might apply just that we don't see it in the winter.

mr confused.gifconfused.gifconfused.gif

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Late ice I'm a deadbait on the bottom kind of guy but early ice and through the midwinter on deeper water be it flats or structure if I'm setting tipus for Pike I'll fish them higher in the water column and often just under the ice.

Try running a good sized live Sucker just under the ice as it can indeed produce them BIG Pikes.

We were kickin this around on the LOTW forum a few winters back and some of us figured alot of released fish {Walleye, Sauger, Perch, Ciscoes} that are still a bit stupified! As well as those that are released that are'nt going to make it, and dead fish that may float are just under the ice sheet making for easy pickens for the Pikes, hence the reason for many peoples success's fishing Pike in that manner up here.

Regards.....fiskyknut

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Catmendo,

A few years ago on Lake Poygan here in WI, the same thoughts went through my head. The shad had died off and the fat pike were hungary. Using my homemade wind jammers with a big smelt attached in about 8ft of water, I found that I wasn't getting the hits that I should have, being near bottom. So adjusting my depth amongst the 3 tip ups from 1ft off bottom, to 4ft, and lastly, just under the ice. I caught more pike just under the ice, not sure what caused it or why, but it worked and it convinced me to be more susceptiable to fishing them just under the ice. Mind you, these weren't snakes, all pike range from 8 to 20 lbs during that monthly stretch of great fishing.

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Yup, those pikes are opportunistic feeders and cruise all depths looking for easy meals.. And like Fisky has mentioned, I see this more so during the early ice. I believe this is due to still having good O2 levels throughout the water column. But again, I have seen this late ice as well, when the shoreline ice starts to break away, and you get an influx of run off to the water.

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I don't put my bait down 1'-2' of water but here's what I do when fishing dead bait for pikes. I just let my line go 5'-10' for 20' of water, 8-15' for 30 and 15'-20' for 40'. I have never put my dead bait or any bait to the bottom or 3-5 feet off the bottom when fishing for pikes. I think that when pikes are looking for food they stay about half way of the water depht they are in and are looking up for dead or easy to get fishes, where they can't get away in weeds or rocks to hide when the pike zooms on them, so if you have anything above half of the depht you are fishing, you are likely to get a bite. It works like a charm, everytime out I almost always get a bite.

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A lot of great responses from those who have had many different first had experiences when dead baiting pike! Personally I have caught a lot of big pike with a dead bait simply laying on the bottom. Late in the fall and while fishing from shore along the Winnipeg River, we simply cast a dead bait out, let her sink to the bottom and wait! No doubt that pike, like all carnivores will usually take advantage of an easy food source. When a die-off take place that involves fairly large numbers of dead or dying fish other fish will quickly adapt to this opportunity. A dead fish that has become bloated, becomes lodged against the bottom of the ice would be an easy meal for a opportunistic pike. The same applies to dead fish that eventually sink to the bottom, they too are an easy offering.

I had never actually attempted to ice fish for pike near the surface, however this is about to change! wink.gif We don't hesitate fishing for pike on or near the surface during the open water season do we.

Great feedback, much appreciated!

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