Do you herd Pike???

[Water Wolf]

It seems there are noises that pike respond favorably to and noises that they move away from.

I have watched pike on the underwater camera when a skidoos, vehicles or a person would walk by, in all these incidents the fish would move away from the noise quickly and leave the area.

The opposite reaction seems to be when a person fires up the ice auger.
Again I have seen pike who were watching my lure and then turn toward the direction of the ice auger sound, it might be a coincidence but it is interesting to see.

WW

[oleike]

turn the propane heater on....the rainbows come in.....turn the propane off......the rainbows leave.I have learned that this happens ...but.....only when the bite is on...when the bite is off.....sounds can acctually scare the fish away...so the moral of the story is.....fish when the bite is on of coarse.the only way i learned this is from yrs. of almost daily fishing..so theres a free one for ya all

[WPT]

Water Wolf, I would say I have had the same experience as you.  Augers good, people, vehicles bad.  The pike always take off if someone walks too heavy or drops something in the shack, but hit the auger and flags start flying...

[oleike]

Water Wolf, I would say I have had the same experience as you.  Augers good, people, vehicles bad.  The pike always take off if someone walks too heavy or drops something in the shack, but hit the auger and flags start flying...

well...lets think about this for a second.....the auger actually spins down under the ice which in turn churns up the water....which may just signal a pike to believe there is another big pike thrashing about and feeding.Since fish hear through their lateral line on the side of their bodies, then churning water must be picked up by them.....mmmmm interesting ..to say the least

[ice rambler]

Only if I listen real hard.

[panfishman13]

Nope.  It is illegal in NY.

in california it's illegal to walk in a public area with a melted ice cream cone in your back pocket 

[MTpike]

Last weekend I was walking towards a tipup after missing a flag about 30 yds away from it and when I got about 15 yds from the tipup a pike hit it. So maybe there's some truth to it. Of course the sneaky little terd dropped the bait before I got to the tip up.

[MnSportsman]

Last weekend my brother & I had only 1 & 1/2 hrs to fish. for the first hour no flags. Since he wasn't dressed well enuff & getting cold I said, let's go "herd". He looked at me funny, since he doesn't icefish too much & said, "yeah right", We set off towards the shallow area /weeds & hadn't gone thirty ft. walking & stomping every 3-5 steps & up goes the flag nearest us. A couple minutes later 25" -aprrox 4.5# pike is on the ice. It works....

[oleike]

Well....i put herding to the test a while ago and just thought i would post. My dad and I went to a res. We fished with tipups till just before dusk to no avail....so....just before dusk i went around with the shovel in a 70ft radius and banged the shovel on top of the ice surface about every 10ft. It was not long after ...we iced a nice 6lb. pike..we had been fishless before that for 3 hrs....It works!

[FondoFishin]

I dont exactly herd, but on more than one occasion I have had a flag go off within a couple minutes after chipping the ice out of my hole, and one time it was a 38 inch fish. I used to think smashing out my holes would spook em' but now I make sure to make a little extra noise when I do.

[GAMBELL]

I found the regulation in NY.  It only applies to the Great lakes and Tributaries. Here is the link.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/31420.html

[7 plus larry]

I usually take the sled for a rip,that seems to get the flags poppin.

[keepah seekah]

maybe it's possible that pike link the sound of an ice auger running to free food? i know stripers act the same way when im live lining mackeral or pogies, they hear the splash from the bait hittin the water and know it's the dinnah bell.

[GRIZZZ]

I've herded Perch before, and it works with perch because thet are curious feeders

[FishingNewEngland]

We had go-carts as kids and used to bring them on the ice. Whenever we'd drive past a trap, it would go off. We did this consistantly for a whole year. I'd say the noise attracts them somehow.

[Melbs7]

in california it's illegal to walk in a public area with a melted ice cream cone in your back pocket 

You know the really sad part?? There's an actual REASON that, like any law... is a law. Somebody did something wrong and somehow, someway, having a melted ice cream cone in their back pocket was key to what happened.... Otherwise, they would have never made the law.

Sheeeeesh
Dave