Quest for the 40"

[Doeslayer]

This year im on a quest for my 40" pike.... My PB is 36.5 out of loud dam pond.... Going to try some new methods this year.... Dead baits like smelt or herring are one thing ive never tried.... Also spearing on the bay.... I saw a couple that were an easy 40 while perch fishing last year and theu cruised right by.... Anyone have any ideas on how to crack the 40 mark?....

[DR.SPECKLER]

set up tip ups every time out..persistence and patience too.i got one over 40" last year.have caught numerous 39"s.took along time to get that one more inch pike.nice live golden shiners is all I use.

[Doeslayer]

Yea I mainly have used suckers and would like to shake it up..... I just want a biggun.... If i can hit my mark ill put it on the wall... But thats 40+ and 20lbs.... So i wont hold my breath lol

[Icer for life]

Was curious myself to give smelt a try - just have not figured out where I can get them.

Any ideas for where I might purchase them?

FYI 39 inchers X 2 are my best, both were late season fatties.  I measured them a dozen times.....could not squeeze another inch out of them.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Yea I mainly have used suckers and would like to shake it up..... I just want a biggun.... If i can hit my mark ill put it on the wall... But thats 40+ and 20lbs.... So i wont hold my breath lol

not sure what my 40" snot rocket weighed but it was FAT!shouldve snapped pic of measurements but the whole lake came over and saw the tape it was a bit over 40".i just wanted to get that big beast back in the water.theres bigger and I cant afford what a pike that size would cost to mount..

[Doeslayer]

Be ab o ut 450 but damn itd be cool lookin

[Doeslayer]

not sure what my 40" snot rocket weighed but it was FAT!shouldve snapped pic of measurements but the whole lake came over and saw the tape it was a bit over 40".i just wanted to get that big beast back in the water.theres bigger and I cant afford what a pike that size would cost to mount..

thays a toad.... You lucky dog

[Fish Killa]

I never had any luck fishing dead smelt. Now live smelt kept me pretty busy. My 40" pike weighed in at 18lbs.

[netminder34]

Only thing I have ever caught on a dead smelt is Burbot and mud puppies.  Live bait is much more productive in my opinion and I try to use natural forage on tip-ups for the lake I am fishing.  If there are smelt in the lake for the pike to feed on that would be one of the best baits to use on a tip-up for me.  Jigging a dead smelt rig might produce but I have never had it produce for me as of yet, jigging spoons have worked better than dead sticking or jigging lifeless bait.

[Doeslayer]

Maybe dead smelt isnt the way but i know there are guys that swear by dead bait over live.... I know pike are basically garbage disposals when it comes to fish so it doesnt surprise me they eat dead as well.... Usually i try to buy 1 or 2 speari g decoys and cut most of the tail fin off... Otherwise a 12 inch sucker will pop the flag all day...plus their little nub tail just goes bananas and its good action... Ive caught a few between 30-36 that way amd had one last year that must have swallowed it good cuz it bit my line and i had a 6 inch steel leader on... Im gonna keep at it.... I have a special body of water i fish for bigguns... I know they are there... Seen a couple giants harassing gills on their beds last spring

[esox_xtm]

When I target pike I'm always swingin' at least one dead. Seems I do better if there's a little motion so, weather and/or my ambition permitting, they're usually below a wind tippy. I have yet to ice a 40" pike but haven't really fished much big fish water. That is changing. Plenty of 40"+ muskies through the hole though

[DR.SPECKLER]

I catch big pike on whatever size shiners the baitstore gives me.rarely get a shiner over 5”.i also use a 25 mono leader.have had a few bite offs in 20 years.i dont get half as many pike on dead bait and normally switch out shiners that are lifeless on my tip ups.

[Tipup Master]

I have caught a 40 incher in Lake Gogebic in the summertime but never through the ice. I think the most important thing in catching one that big is being on water that produces Pike that big. Lakes that produce big Pike consistently produce big Pike. I have a lake that I just recently started ice fishing. Of the 3 Pike I've caught there, two of them were over 32 in. Lake has produced many over 40 in.

[Fishfun1980]

[[/img]



Never know when she will come.... we were panfishing and didn’t get a bite for an hour or so.... she came up and we new why we weren’t getting any panfish. 4lb test on jig and wax worm. We had plenty of tip ups suckers, shinners, blues,gold...goes to show you never know just time on the ice and patience. Good luck !!!

[Doeslayer]

Thats a freaking tank.... What a hoss... Thats what im talkin about

[jdgambler]

how big was that ?

[Fishfun1980]

It was 42”1/4 22 1/2 girth 👍🏻🎣

[jdgambler]

very nice. did you mount it?