tackle for pike

[mrcarp]

hi im wanting to start fishing for pike in the summer what kind of lures do i need to buy i have been a sunfish guy but i caught a few pike there fun the pike i would catch would be smaller sized. are spoons good or crankbaits any help would be great thanks

[cupper]

How much do you want to spend?

My buddy told me he wanted to get into fishing so he took me to Gander Mt., gave me a price limit and said "Get what I need". He walked out of their with a credit card bill of $150 which did not include a rod, reel, or line (he already had those) and I still felt like he needed more stuff!

[10,000 Casts]

the old daredevil is a staple in every fishermans box.

My favorite Northern lure is a Mepps Spinner. The plain silver blade with the red/yellow body with no bucktail is good for all around use. Depending on how stiff a rod you have, if not stiff then a #3, if it is pretty stiff then a #5.

Jerkbaits are good too. The SmithWick Rattlin Rogue is a good bait.

Any crank bait can be good. I seem to prefer yellow or silver most of the time depending on the lake. It is more important to get it where it needs to be.

Don't forget a steal leader with a barrel swivel.

Good Luck

JOhn

[mrcarp]

thanks for the help i plan to spend about 100 bucks on tackle are plastics any good for pike what sizes should i get for spoons and colers your help is greatly appreciated thank you

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

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He walked out of their with a credit card bill of $150

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What all did you buy?

You must have bought a lot of crank baits, they'll get ya

Really, you should be able to get a good selection of lures of 30-40 bucks or cheaper if you want.

Try being a Musky fisherman, That $150 will buy 7 good baits. I know... I am addicted to buying them as are alot of guys on this site.

John

[10,000 Casts]

Plastics can be very good.

Super Shad Bodies are good, so are slugos. Then you will need to buy some Jigs.

As for spoons, red/white and 5 of diamonds red/ yellow are good.

As for size, don't think about the fish that you want to catch, think about the size of the rod/reel that you are throwing it with. Smaller Northerns will hit bigger baits and Big Northerns will hit bigger baits.

Colors, All Colors can be good but I like Silver, Gold, Yellow and Red. Blue can be good depending on the lake.

John

[RK]

Hiya -

You can make a pretty good living catching pike with a pretty small tackle box...

If it were me, I'd start out with something like this:

- A few spinnerbaits in the 1/2 to 3/4 oz. range. I like Northland Reed Runners, because they have a closed line tie, rather than an R-bend, so you can use a leader with them. They have a new 3/4 oz magnum out this year that looks like an awesome pike spinnerbait...

- A couple minnow baits. I really like the #13 size Rapala Husky Jerk. Get one or 2 of the deep divers too...

- Spoons, of course. At least a couple.

- A few soft plastics/jigs. Big shad bodies, big (5-6") twister tails, living rubber bass-style jigs, stuff like that. Something like the Northland Swim Shiner would also be great...

That should get you started...

Cheers

Rob Kimm

[cjac]

The white spinner bait would be my pick if I could use only 1 lure for pike. Honestly, I just grab them off the "4 for $10" tree in the bait shop, but yes, the closed tie is a must. I would probably take a Johnson Silver Minnow as a close 2nd.

For fun a buzzbait is hard to beat..... They look like they're shot out of a cannon sometimes!

Chris

[mskyfshntchr]

Spinnerbaits are a must! White is always a good color wherever I have fished pike. Get a few different blade styles (single colorado, dual colorado, etc..) and sizes. Chartreuse and halloween (orange and black) catch pike too.

Rob....With the R bends...Get some small surgical tubing and cut about an 1/8"-1/4" chunk. Slide the tubing over the R bend and then attach the lure to your leader above the R bend. Slide the tubing up and it will keep the lure in place. It is a little more messing around, but works.

Red and White daredevils don't catch pike..Don't waste your $$

Both of those types of lures work great on spinning or casting gear and will catch fish all year!

[Spork]

Get yourself a 5" Rapala Original Minnow. I use those and hammer Pike all day long.

In fact, I find that to be the most versatile lure in my arsenal. I catch everything from pike, walleye, bass, and even crappies on them.

[PikeKing]

My favorite lure by far is a red eye wiggler spoon. I like it in a copper color. I believe the package says "brass" on it but it looks more like a copper color to me. It can be deadly on a cloudy/rainy day but i use it in all conditions. And sometimes you will catch the bonus largemouth.

[glenn57]

i fish for pike alot. my choices are daredevils, especially red&white, and rapalas. nords are fun to catch and are good eating, either fryed, smoked or pickled. good luck fishin.

[eyehead]

My top lure would have to be a chrome Johnson's Silver Minnow, put a colored plastic worm on it and the slimers cant resist.

[fishingforester]

I agree with Rob on the Northland reed runner. My absolute go-to is the blue-white-yellow skirt with either of the blade config's (depends on the day). My other go-to is a husky jerk, usually in fire tiger pattern. One note on spinnerbaits--use a trailer hook, personally like the Gamakatsu. Wicked sharp and fairly wide gap.

[mrcarp]

hi a big thank you to every one who wrote back i cant tell you how much this web site has helped me i didnt think anyone liked pike i do. i have a few questions 1. what is a northland swim shiner. 2. bass style rubber jigs i couldnt find any thing like it in a fishing catalog. if i use plastics do i use a leader. what size jigs do i use on plastics like hook size and weight. thanks every one for helping me out cant wait to fell my rod pulling.

[B420]

Don't forget some husky jerks and 1oz. rat-l-traps!

[ratherbefishn]

I thought all you had to do was throw a couple hooks on your beer can and toss it out for pike j/k

Up on the English river I seen some mighty big pike taken on the syclops spoon from mepps. It was nice to see them but the down side a few were getting the knife

[cupper]

I agree whole-heartedly with what RK said. Add in there a johnson's silver minnow w/ some kind of soft plastic trailer (4 in worm or grub). Have fun and put the big ones back for someone else!

[bassNspear]

a white spinner bait has been a lure of my choose for a very long time whe it comes to caughting monster pike

[lookincalifornia]

spinner baits and silver minnows. i like to put a dead minnow on my silver minnow. if the weeds are sparce, i use a mepps muskie killer, my favorite way to catch northerns is a 5 1/2" zara spook. i watched a little (18") pike swim onto the shore trying to get that lure. i've seen fish come 2 or 3 feet out of the water on the strike. it is fun. they will usually follow it, so you can see the wake and anticipate the strike. alot of fun. if you fish a milfoily lake, the week or two before the tops of the weeds come to the top is a great time for the spook.

[Esoxmn]

I stick with the large (muskie Size) baits for pike, you can still catch plenty of smaller pike on them too. The northland Bionic Bucktail, inline and the spinnerbait style are good, as well as the Rapala mag 18.

[bassNspear]

Northlang Tackle has some great lures that will handle any pike in the water. They make everything that you can possible think of.

The bucktails are a awesome lure that alot of people use. I feel, like i stated before, the spinnerbiats is still the best tactic when it comes to fishing for monster pike. I use ither: Northland, Strike King, or custom from Flamen. There all great lures.