"Dog Days" of Summer Pike Fishing

[OneWay]

For several years I have fished north easter to middle northeaster Canada for Pike in Early August. I like that time of year because the mosquitoes are minimal, fewer people tend to fish then and I enjoy fishing the cabbage weed beds in 8-12 feet of water using spoons. That is the only way I know to fish for pike at that time of year. Are there other techniques that have been sussessful for anyone other than fishing the weedbeds? I would really enjoy hearing about other ways that have been productive for pike fishing at that time of year.

[Fish&Fowl]

Pulling Deep Taildancer Rapalas and Reef Runners through good walleye spots has produced some very nice pike for me in the past. Let the fish tell you what they want...fast or slow, big or small.

I don't fish pike much later than mid-late June, and the majority of the ones I've caught after that are muskie or walleye fishing.

[chief]

Oneway,

Water temperature and forage availablity will always dictate where pike can be found. These places are often much deeper and rockier than you'd think. Having said that, my August experiences with Canadian pike have taught me that there are always good populations of DECENT sized pike in cabbage beds. Spoons, spinnerbaits, slash baits, buzzbaits, big plastics all work well here. However, the BIG, August,Ontario pike are more often found on reefs, rock saddles between islands, and slow tapering rock points. If these areas are windblown--they can be really hot. Here, I favor big shad raps, husky j**ks, x-raps, etc. Trolligs these areas with cranks is a good way to find fish. Use baits that, reliably, run at least 12-15 deep. This isn't necessarily a numbers pattern, but it's a big fish pattern.