IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Northern Pike => Topic started by: jopes on Dec 03, 2014, 06:24 PM
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Does it matter on the size? What it is? Or if it is a whole minnow or just a chunk?
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Either way..... whole (in the round) is best. I've used 15" lake herring whole and caught fish.
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I like big smelt, preferably just a little over ripened.(http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj189/WhopperStopper/Boards/imo_zps8995caed.gif) (http://s272.photobucket.com/user/WhopperStopper/media/Boards/imo_zps8995caed.gif.html)
I am sure the hotdog guy will be along soon ;D
WS
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All due respect WS over ripe deads are kinda old school. Not bad or necessarily better, just traditional thinking handed down for generations.
Fresh frozen is best (my opinion) and if you salt that bait it can be even better. WI regs dictate that all deads must be preserved by a method other than refrigeration or freezing, that leaves salt or a salt in combo with other stuff, like borax (used to cure spawn sacs for trout/steelhead).
In the end there's hardly any wrong way to fish deads: fresh, fresh frozen, over ripe, salted or not, horizontal, heads up or heads down, a piece or fillet or the whole thing. Pike are shameless creatures. In the end that makes everybody right.....
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All due respect WS over ripe deads are kinda old school. Not bad or necessarily better, just traditional thinking handed down for generations.
Fresh frozen is best (my opinion) and if you salt that bait it can be even better. WI regs dictate that all deads must be preserved by a method other than refrigeration or freezing, that leaves salt or a salt in combo with other stuff, like borax (used to cure spawn sacs for trout/steelhead).
In the end there's hardly any wrong way to fish deads: fresh, fresh frozen, over ripe, salted or not, horizontal, heads up or heads down, a piece or fillet or the whole thing. Pike are shameless creatures. In the end that makes everybody right.....
So another words, just about anything sitting under the ice will make them chew on it.
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Honestly, I've had major discussions, seen heated arguments, even had good friends not talk to each other over differences in this stuff only to find that no one is right all the time. For pike good location trumps presentation almost all the time.
Again just my experience, UMMV....
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Well it's been like 20 years since I fished for them. Even when I did fish for them we didn't have much luck back in the 90's.
I am in a totally new state and looking to get some bigger fish.
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You dont become top dog on the food chain being finicky but on the same token you dont become top dog stuffing your face like a fat kid in a candy shop... Ive seen pike empty 3 buckets of bait and Ive also seen them swim through a mine field of bait not even stopping to take a sniff or sit there and stare at a minnow for 5minutes, hit it , spit it the whole 9 yards... Theyre a far cry from the brainless, bite with reckless abandon reputation .. Myself and many others have seen 1st hand what a difference in what leader you use makes.. but thats a whole other discussion...
Dead Bait = end of the season prespawn use... Theyre putting on the feed bag for the spawn and arent very picky, if it smells like protein theyll eat it..
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I sometimes use a treble hook, use a dead smelt on one of the hooks and a like minnow hooked through the tail on another hook. This way the minnow adds some movement to the smelts and I believe its draws the pike in better.
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I have found that the smelt work good if there is smelt in the lake. Using smelt as bait in a lake that has no smelt is a waste of time. I suppose if you have the time to wait and see, or until they will hit anything, then fine. I use what they can easily identify as their normal food source. Even the bait store minnows are slow on the bite compared to a fish from the same lake.
So if there is smelt in there, use em!
In my area I only have small perch that the pike feed on regular. I do use other baits when I have too but not with the same results.
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I have found that the smelt work good if there is smelt in the lake. Using smelt as bait in a lake that has no smelt is a waste of time. I suppose if you have the time to wait and see, or until they will hit anything, then fine. I use what they can easily identify as their normal food source. Even the bait store minnows are slow on the bite compared to a fish from the same lake.
So if there is smelt in there, use em!
In my area I only have small perch that the pike feed on regular. I do use other baits when I have too but not with the same results.
The main lake I fish for northerns has no smelt, but if I had two lines down with smelt on one and a minnow on the other, 9 times out of 10 the pike would hit the smelt.
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I have found that the smelt work good if there is smelt in the lake. Using smelt as bait in a lake that has no smelt is a waste of time. I suppose if you have the time to wait and see, or until they will hit anything, then fine. I use what they can easily identify as their normal food source. Even the bait store minnows are slow on the bite compared to a fish from the same lake.
So if there is smelt in there, use em!
In my area I only have small perch that the pike feed on regular. I do use other baits when I have too but not with the same results.
All due respect.... My experience contradicts this observation. (Sorry Rick)
Smelt work in bodies far removed from any smelt on the swim. So do lake herring, mackerel, bloater chubs.... Heck anything that smells and tasted of fish is fair game I have personally used them all and had success. In fact oily fish like the aforementioned generally do better than lean indigenous species like perch or bluegills. Not that they won't work either, it's just that oilier is better.
Given the choice between swinging a smelt and a perch in the lakes I fish (all inland WI lakes) I'd choose smelt every time.
Just my opinion based on my experiences, UMMV.
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I have found that the smelt work good if there is smelt in the lake. Using smelt as bait in a lake that has no smelt is a waste of time.
Not by any means my findings(http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj189/WhopperStopper/Boards/engarde_zpsa315c64c.gif) (http://s272.photobucket.com/user/WhopperStopper/media/Boards/engarde_zpsa315c64c.gif.html) but that's what makes fishing so great. Bottom line, go with what works and especially if you have confidence in it. Enjoy the season and on the good days put a few back.
Guys like me will appreciate it!
WS
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Honestly, I've had major discussions, seen heated arguments, even had good friends not talk to each other over differences in this stuff only to find that no one is right all the time. For pike good location trumps presentation almost all the time.
Again just my experience, UMMV....
X2....
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My findings come from hours of ice time in my area. I forget sometimes others don't have the problems I do with thin ice and finicky fish.
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You have my apologies michania, in retrospect the baloney thing was uncalled for. I guess that's the best part about IS is the wide range of experiences available here and none should be completely discounted as most ARE based on the experience of the contributors.
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I guess a good way to test this is to spend a few trips with one tip up baited with, a native minnow, a smelt, a non native minnow, a bunch of bacon (cured or not?), and a good greasy sausage. You would also have to rotate the holes that they were in. I am only allowed two line, anyone who can have more wanting to test it?
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I guess a good way to test this is to spend a few trips with one tip up baited with, a native minnow, a smelt, a non native minnow, a bunch of bacon (cured or not?), and a good greasy sausage. You would also have to rotate the holes that they were in. I am only allowed two line, anyone who can have more wanting to test it?
I'verun this test many times, Ive used raw shrimp and caught them ( small fish caught ) Havent tried hot dogs though... Perch are a great bait, ive said it a thousand times on this site, BUT ive also had small perch on a trap and have them take a golden 10 yards away from it.. I think folks want to believe there is some magical bait that will bring pike in from every direction or there is a magical bait that only the big ones eat... Trust me i wish there was, lol...Ive opened up many pike to see whats in their stomachs, i would have to say 80% have had perch in them and fallfish have popped up a good amount of times after that..
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I've found that the best Pike bait is the one that finds itself in front of thier nose... ;D
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I wish it was that easy. I use a camera and you would be surprised what they turn their nose too. So many times refused anything in front of them.
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Honestly, I've had major discussions, seen heated arguments, even had good friends not talk to each other over differences in this stuff only to find that no one is right all the time. For pike good location trumps presentation almost all the time.
Again just my experience, UMMV....
Well said! My opinion? There should be no heated exchanges. To quote Billy Madison "I'm here to learn. Not make out with you!". So here is what I got going on. What I have working for his this. Learning my big lake. Catching better fish all the time as I " put my time in." But the one thing I have going for me is I have access to great live bait. Being live creek chubs up to 10-11". Doing great. But I feel like from what I'm learning here is that I'm missing out on a deep water fish that I'm just not taking advantage of. So as I bide my time between trips I'm reading everything I can. Really want to hear more on dead baits deep. On humps. Sides of humps. Bottoms of the break lines.??? I know that dead baits are not working for me in the fashion in have been fishing them.
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Anyone try brining and or dying their smelt?
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Yea I use pro cure to brine my smelt.
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Hooligan(Smelt) do indeed make a great dead bait.
I fish a few lakes with no hooligan in them and do quite well. I used to fish pike more and I would salt the bait. A layer of fresh fish a layer of salt a layer of fish etc.
Up here they run in the spring and we get them by the bucketfull with no limits. So we put some up for icefishing every spring.
It worked great and I never had to deal with frozen bait.
Run them on my homemade quickstrikes and it was a deadly combination.
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At some point there has to be a bait that is best even if they like to eat most everything. in my many years of pike fishing, if I can get large golden shiners (the real goldies), I have high expectations for a banner day. I already know I am in Pike water and I feel I can't miss. I have fished next to others where I had the goldies and others had silvers. My son and I caught ALL the pike and they were large and many. Bait matters! If there are no large goldies then all of the above will catch them second best. I have, when goldies not available, used cleaned small smelt and caught several nice pike. since goldies are rare now, I will do it again and soon.
Baberuth
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I like fresh dead bait. It's probably just my preference, but I like to stab my sucker in the head on the spot, then in the gut so it sinks. I set them a foot off the bottom in a harness that make look just like a live bait. Seems to work for me.
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Hi guys, first post here so go easy on me. ;) I haven't even had time to find a good avatar yet. Since I found this site by searching for alternative pike baits I figured this would be a good thread to jump in on.
I live in Upstate NY (the real upstate) and fish different types of lakes and rivers with different water conditions. After trying lots of different baits, I'm starting to believe that pike aren't just the greedy pigs people told me they were. I recently got to thinking about how we fish for pike. If you ask someone what the best bait is for bass, trout or other gamefish, the answers will most likely be that it depends on lots of factors: weather, water quality, temperature and that there isn't a best bait for all conditions. You try different things until you find what they want that day.
So why should it be any different for pike? I've fished dead smelt (back when it was legal to buy the frozen ones) and outfished live shiners 3 to 1. Other times and places people laughed at me because nothing would hit my smelt but they were on the run all day with shiners. I've also tried using hot dogs on two tipups and shiners on three and the only fish I caught all day was on a hot dog. But there were also days when I used nothing but hot dogs and got completely skunked. Some people swear by big suckers but I don't think I ever caught a pike on one so I quit buying them. I've also seen the only big pike of the day during a derby get taken with a rosy red perch rig when the tipups nearby got nothing. So I've come to the conclusion that either I'm awful at ice fishing or there is no magic bullet that works great every place every time.
I don't mind experimenting, so this year I think I might try using a mix of baits on every outing to see what happens.
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there is no magic bullet that works great every place every time.
Bingo.
Having a few different bait options with you every time you go out doesn't hurt.
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Dead smelt have worked everywhere we have tried them. Worked well, too. 80% of the places don't have smelt either.
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I have been using 12 inch dead suckers on my tip ups with good success for 24- 40 inch Northerns.
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Yeah, a couple weeks ago I only had one 12" sucker. I caught 4 northerns on it and my other line had a lively shiner. Only caught one pike on it near sunset, but was the smallest of the 5, under 20". The sucker I had I had fished with the day before, so he had a hole in his back and mouth. After the fourth one, my buddie's Dad came out and he had another large sucker, but was lively. It went fishless from 3pm - 5pm. Maybe I should've put the dead one back on it, but I was running out of fresh meat to put the hooks in.
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One word .....anchovies.
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I just recently started using large dead Alewifes! The best bait i have used yet!!
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I just recently started using large dead Alewifes! The best bait i have used yet!!
How do you rig them?
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I also started using rigs with 3 hooks on them and i also rig with quick strike rigs and predator rigs
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If the bait is 8" or less, I use a single #2 treble. I insert one of the hooks into the upper part of the back between the dorsal fin and tail. Also, the hook used to go into the bait goes in and out facing the head running parallel with the body. This setup will make the bait tip down, and accounts for my greatest hook up percentage. Having the hooks in the back 1/3rd of the bait results in less deeply hooked fish.
If the bait is 8" or more, I use a home maid quick strike rig with #4 trebles. The hooks are placed in the back half of the bait. There is no need to spend a bunch of time getting dead bait to hand perfectly level. In fact, I've hooked up more since I quit worrying about it. Dead fish just don't float around like that. They can be in any position, in any part of the water column, and any predator fish does not care as long as it gets in their belly!
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Anyone try brining and or dying their smelt?
I am going to try that fire brine stuff on shiners and shad next fall and freeze them for winter pike!
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All the bait listed so far works. Around here in northern Illinois and in southern Wisconsin. I like to use live or dead crappie. From 4" up to around 9". I found this out by cutting open some pike I had caught with large roaches. Their guts contained crappie. From that point on I will set my tip ups with smelt, roaches what have you. But once I jig up a small crappie. I will put several slices in it and it then goes on a tip up.
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All the bait listed so far works. Around here in northern Illinois and in southern Wisconsin. I like to use live or dead crappie. From 4" up to around 9". I found this out by cutting open some pike I had caught with large roaches. Their guts contained crappie. From that point on I will set my tip ups with smelt, roaches what have you. But once I jig up a small crappie. I will put several slices in it and it then goes on a tip up.
Must be there is no size limit on crappie out there? It's a 9" minimum here.
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Anyone use bunker(menhaden) for bait for pike??
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Was using 5 inch to ten inch crappie the last several days. There is no size limit on the lake I was fishing. That said each one you use goes towards your possession limit. Which in Wisconsin is 25. Lost a real pig yesterday. Believe it or not got it up to the hole. It opened its mouth and out popped the 8 inch crappie and hook.how it did not get hooked surprised the neck out of me.
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Was using 5 inch to ten inch crappie the last several days. There is no size limit on the lake I was fishing. That said each one you use goes towards your possession limit. Which in Wisconsin is 25. Lost a real pig yesterday. Believe it or not got it up to the hole. It opened its mouth and out popped the 8 inch crappie and hook.how it did not get hooked surprised the neck out of me.
Sounds like the hooks never pulled free of the bait on the hookset to me. Where in the bait were the hook/ hooks?
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Had the treble hook positioned just in front of the dorsal fin as I always do. Funny yesterday my daughter got three real nice pike. Set up exactly the same.