dead pike baits?

[Knife2sharp]

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. 

[fishingplumber28]

One word .....anchovies.

[whale1979]

I just recently started using large dead Alewifes!   The best bait i have used yet!!

[Izayah12]

I just recently started using large dead Alewifes!   The best bait i have used yet!!

How do you rig them?

[whale1979]

I also started using rigs with 3 hooks on them and i also rig with quick strike rigs and predator rigs

[HybridHunter]

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!

[Kevin23]

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!

[UFCreel]

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.

[HybridHunter]

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.

[bigboy5522]

Anyone use bunker(menhaden) for bait for pike??

[UFCreel]

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.

[HybridHunter]

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?

[UFCreel]

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.