Best setup to use for pike fishing with suckers

[vikingmeatwad]

In deeper water I have trouble with those bobbers but do you guys use a big slip bobber or something?

What line/Hooks.

It seems to look weird when using a leader with a large hook on it.

Thanks!

[ThunderLund78]

Buy the biggest round, foam slip bobber you can find, any place from your neighborhood bait shop to your Gander Mountain-type sporting goods store should have them. The ones I use are about the size of an apple. Then just use your normal bobber stop like you would if you were walleye fishing. I put a few split shots about 1-2 feet up the line from the hook to keep your sucker at depth but it still gives them a little freedom to swim. Find the weedline, put it about 3 feet off the bottom and sit back and relax. Nothing's better than seeing that huge float getting yanked under--It's like the movie Jaws where they used barrels. Also, down here I don't use leaders if I have a heavy braid. It's a risk I take knowing that a majority of pike I should be able to boat before they can chew trough it. Up north I may consider a leader, though.

[Nick Kuhn]

I have a good sized slip bobber I use. Sure a sucker can pull it down briefly but it cannot hold it under, and you can definitely tell whether it's the minnow or a fish.

[FishinChad]

I dont use too big of a bobber, I like the minnow to be able to pull it under on rare occation. I dont like using bobbers that are any bigger because feel that the fish may be able to feel resistance and spit it out, especially when you get bass hitting your minnow. Maybe fish cant feel the resistance of a bobber, but I see no need to use a bobber any bigger than what you need, a technique crucial when panfishing through the ice.

[TMF89]

I use cigar floats, big enough so that the sucker can pull it around a little, but he can't pull it down unless he's a huge one.

[ec30_06]

thill makes some very good floats for sucker fishing. My favorite is a 4" cigar style center slider.

[crazyice]

I use about a 10" cigar style slip bobber, plenty big and slender enough so that the amount of pull isn't that great that a fish is really going to notice it. I also use 20lb braid for a leader, just tie a plain swivel to your main line and then attach your leader material. I also use the 20 lb line for my main line as well.

[b1gf1sh1]

i turn my own on a lathe out of scrap cedar. i just think they cast nicer than balsa. besides i'd just burn the wood anyway, lol.sometimes i use two or more pieces glued to the tube. because i have this option i weight them for minnow size, and leader weight.. 5''s long seems best, in varied colors. mainly because of visibility and stability in any conditions. wavy conditions i need a really bouyant one that rides high but when it's calm i can make the ballast a little heavier so it's barly above the surface. it was mentioned by someone to let the minnow take it under sometimes. that IMO is perfect. as long as the bail is open or free-spooling. as far as leaders go. i make them too. you may want to invest in leader making tools and supplies if you plan to fish with them a lot. sometimes i fish in two or three feet of water and use a one footer and a six footer in ten feet or more. i just believe the less hardware visible near the bait, other than an attractant, the better. and making my own gives me that. no snaps at the hook, just a small loop and a crimped sleeve or two. plus i can make 5-6 for the price of 1 when i reuse the hardware after the cable gets tore up, it also gives me the option to use any size hook i want instead of being forced into a stock option on commercial snells..... just something to think about.

[rodmaker]

I have a few of those 10" cigar slip bobbers. The ones I have, have weight on the bottom of them so they will stand up.