late ice northerns

[thorzep]

i cant imagine the ice is going to be around to much longer does anyone have any tips or techniques on late ice pike?  deeper? shallower? dead bait? live?   also would anyone recommed that tieable wire for open water northern?  what brand? size test?   any help is appreciated thx

[pikeman]

i cant imagine the ice is going to be around to much longer does anyone have any tips or techniques on late ice pike?  deeper? shallower? dead bait? live?   also would anyone recommed that tieable wire for open water northern?  what brand? size test?   any help is appreciated thx

Well i've found that there are a lot of pike in shallower about10-12fow but sometimes you can get the bigger ones in deeper water16-18fow I always prefer live bait (large golden shiners)I never will use wire leaders ,I use 2 feet of 50 spiderwire stealth for a leader ,its as thin as 6 lb. test and i've only had one pike break it ever.Hope this helps, good luck

[iceintheveins]

Pike will return to shallow bays, especially those near inlets. Concentrate on points and turns inside the bays. I would set up either medium sized live baits or 6" deadbaits.
I say do not use wire either. However I use heavy fluorocarbon in the 15 - 20 pound test range.

[Water Wolf]

Like the others have said I to would try shallow dark bottom bays close to where the pike spawn, like a shallow bay with a creek or river. Be-careful though the ice may be very thin. I would try from 3-10 feet of water and use the largest bait you can find under tip-up of set fishing rods.
Place some of the baits a foot of the bottom and some a foot to two feet under the ice. Try to keep the noise down too, heavy foot falls, snowmachines or vehicles moving can all turn the pike off. I have found though that drilling a new hole can sometimes trigger a strike.

WW

[Auger]

I agreement with the others, try shallow, dark bottom bays with water of some kind running in, if you can find such a spot.  I use the biggest dead smelt I can find this time of year.  A lot of baitfish are dying at this time of year because of dropping DO levels.  I believe that, due to this, pike key on dead prey during late ice.

This is my first year using 40lb fluoro as opposed to steel.  I've been pleased do far.  I tie my own quick strikes for use on the smelt.  I usually hang two baits horizontally in 6-12 FOW and lay one bait right on the bottom.

[deadsmelthead]

Like others have said I use a heavy mono line 30# - 40# and I prefer dead bait,especialy for the big females they know when spring is comin and when the ice goes bye bye its time to spawn, their metablism rate is low at this time of the year and they are not in to chasing bait around they want to pack on the pounds with an easy meal, dead suckers perch and smelt would be my choices a couple feet off the bottom and put some slits in them with a knife to get the scent of the bait out there.

[IceTroll]

Good advise on depths and locations for Pike. As far as leader goes, I have said this time and time again with very few people listening or catching on. MALIN BOA-NOKINK TITANIUM WIRE LEADER. Its thinner and stronger than any wire leader on the planet (40 lb test is as thin as 6 lb mono). It stretches (like a shock absorber). It can be tied using normal knots. It will disappear as well or better than Mono or Flouro especially under the ice (hello guys its dark under there). You cannot kink it. I have caught dozens of fish, many well over 10 lbs on the same leader. It will catch line shy fish. Just ask the 13 lb, three 12lb and one 11 lb Walleye we caught on our recent trip (as in same trip). Plus the 20 or so smaller walleye and trophy Northerns we caught. You guys that are willing to risk the fish of a lifetime to mono or flouro and cant be convinced otherwise make me scratch my head and go hmmmmmmmm.

[iceintheveins]

Good advise on depths and locations for Pike. As far as leader goes, I have said this time and time again with very few people listening or catching on. MALIN BOA-NOKINK TITANIUM WIRE LEADER. Its thinner and stronger than any wire leader on the planet (40 lb test is as thin as 6 lb mono). It stretches (like a shock absorber). It can be tied using normal knots. It will disappear as well or better than Mono or Flouro especially under the ice (hello guys its dark under there). You cannot kink it. I have caught dozens of fish, many well over 10 lbs on the same leader. It will catch line shy fish. Just ask the 13 lb, three 12lb and one 11 lb Walleye we caught on our recent trip (as in same trip). Plus the 20 or so smaller walleye and trophy Northerns we caught. You guys that are willing to risk the fish of a lifetime to mono or flouro and cant be convinced otherwise make me scratch my head and go hmmmmmmmm.

I believe you about Fort Peck, it is one of the foremost trophy fisheries in the US and is lightly pressured, so I would try that type of wire there too along with fluoro to compair the results. However I disagree about any wire being less visable than fluorocarbon. I have seen the results on an underwater camera at 20 feet down. Even the thinnest wire stood out like a sore thumb and 40 pound fluoro was completely invisible even though the camera was pointed right at the bait.


However in Colorado, the lakes are much smaller and more heavily pressured than Fort Peck. We had 16 flags and 0 biteoffs yesterday pike fishing, and the other groups that used wire had only 1 flag. Another guy across the lake used fluoro and had 8 flags. After I landed a 34", tooth filled pike, I put a section of hookless 20 pound fluoro in her mouth. The leader would not cut and wasn't even nicked when I clamped her jaws on it and twisted and pulled hard on the leader. The leader broke when I let her down with her jaws still clamped on the leader and I pulled very hard. It is possible but difficult for a big pike to bite off heavy fluorocarbon.

[IceTroll]

I do hear what your saying about MOST wire iceintheveins but Malin Boa wire is really not like most wire. It is coffee colored and blends in rather well. I have fished heavily pressured waters with Malin wire and caught many walleye using this wire. You are not going to convince me that Walleyes are any less line shy then even the most line shy Pike. I also understand that it is difficult at best to make a believer out of anyone with strong convictions unless they see for themselves. My point is, this wire is worth trying, is not like any other wire you have ever seen and it will perform as well as anything out there. I have tried all the other leader options out there including mono, flouro, steel, sevalon and superline and I have never used anything that performs like Malin. Also, bite offs are not my only concern in places I fish. Volcanic rock and timber can play hell on leaders just as easily as big teeth. I also have little to no patience with steel and wire leaders that kink and twist.

[iceintheveins]

I do hear what your saying about MOST wire iceintheveins but Malin Boa wire is really not like most wire. It is coffee colored and blends in rather well. I have fished heavily pressured waters with Malin wire and caught many walleye using this wire. You are not going to convince me that Walleyes are any less line shy then even the most line shy Pike. I also understand that it is difficult at best to make a believer out of anyone with strong convictions unless they see for themselves. My point is, this wire is worth trying, is not like any other wire you have ever seen and it will perform as well as anything out there. I have tried all the other leader options out there including mono, flouro, steel, sevalon and superline and I have never used anything that performs like Malin. Also, bite offs are not my only concern in places I fish. Volcanic rock and timber can play hell on leaders just as easily as big teeth. I also have little to no patience with steel and wire leaders that kink and twist.

I will try that wire this year during open water in a lake that has murkier water and see how it performs. The wire I was experimenting with on cam was sevenstrand single strand.