Decent Pike, Shallow Lake

[Craigums]

Hello, I've been fishing a local lake recently that I know hold a couple decent pike in there the lake is small and reaches a maximum depth of 11 f.o.w. I know very little about northerns migration patterns and when I do hook into one it seems to be while trolling and the sizes never seem to be that large. Any suggestions on where in the lake I should fish or which approach I should try to help me locate the 10+ lbers..

Thanks Much,

Craigums

[crappeyeslayer]

Try concentrating on the deepest structure or weed lines and upsize your baits. Big baits catch bigger fish (most of the time)!

[Random guy]

Does this water have any type of cold/warm water discharges?

How does the DNR catch data for the lake look? Does it have the ability to produce big fish?.

[Fazzy]

Craigums - One lure I've used for big pike with success is the Doctor Spoon. Something about the action of this great spoon gets the big fish moving. My favorite is the regular size spoon with the copper finish. The "Little Doctor", a smaller version, is also productive but if you want to target the big girls I'd cast the larger one. Be sure to use a leader and have the drag set tight enough to get a firm hook set but light enough so the fish can make a few runs without breaking off...

[Craigums]

The lake does not have any incoming water sources, therefor it is prone to winter kill...BUT it must not have happened recently cause the fishing seems to be ok, and I know there is a couple decent pike around the 10lb mark because earlier this spring while UL fishing for crappie on my 4lb test line I hooked into two of them cruising the reeds, both of which broke my line but peaked my curiousity

[TUMBLEWEED]

As a kid, I used to fish some of these lakes that are

along our metro freeway systems. I had my grandma drop me off either right there off the freeway or the nearest

exit. Let me tell you, we used to catch a lot of

quality fish. These were the same kind of body of

water you are inquiring about. Small, shallow water,

and prone to winter-kill lakes.

Back then, we used sucker minnows mostly. They were mediums I guess. We fished them under those old style round

plastic bobbers. Depending on the lake, we would go

with a two or three foot depth, to sometimes pop the

spring-thingy on the boober to the slip through mode

and let the minnow roam freely method.

My experience on these kind of lakes is that the

fish are low-light predators. Very early mornings

should show you results, as would the misquito

insanity times at dusk! I still remember all of

those misquito bites!! That, and we stumbled upon a

little poison ivy along the way:). Overcast conditions

can be a good thing too, keeping the fish actively

feeding and hunting.

Go with the live bait, and seek out places where there

is room to float and present your bait. If in a boat,

I would try to keep things fairly stealthy in nature.

These pike may be big, but they are not dumb!!!

Drop the anchor quietly, I think an electric or even

the oars would be great to position your rig too.

Now toss out your bait and let things settle down

a little. Cover the area around you and move on if no

strikes occur. If there are fish around they will let

you know it!!

[SledNeck]

Jointed X-Rap....Just wait..wow!