Pike

[runtfisher14]

I am going pike fishing on the St. Lawrence this weekend and need to know everything. How should I rig my tip-ups from top to bottom? How far under the Ice should I put them down? Treble or Straight hook? How big of Bait? Thanks guys.

[flagnut]

put on a sucker and a steel leader.

[runtfisher14]

What size trebles should I use?

[deadsmelthead]

I am going pike fishing on the St. Lawrence this weekend and need to know everything. How should I rig my tip-ups from top to bottom? How far under the Ice should I put them down? Treble or Straight hook? How big of Bait? Thanks guys.

I don't know everything gimme a few beers and that can change though  .....

Fishing for Pike I know a little about. There are different approaches you can take as far as tackle, all of which can depend on a variety of things such as water clarity. Our recent weather has most lakes stirred up and a little murky. Sometimes fishing dead bait in these conditions works best, the fish seem to use their nose more because it's tougher to see. Steel leaders would be much easier to use because they probably aren't going to get noticed as much. You gotta use trebles, the more hook points when fishing for Pike the better. I have never fished the St. Lawrence , but I always find Pike around weed beds where perch or pan fish are shacked up and I will not fish water deeper than 10'. I usually stay relatively close to shore on top of points or islands if possible fishing in as little as 3' of water. The deeper you fish the closer your going to want your bait to the bottom, when fishing in 5' or less you can put them a foot or so below the ice. Mix it up and move your tip ups around a bit if your not getting any action.

[fishingrip]

I used to use #8's or #10's but now use #12's and mostly #14's on 3"-4" shiners hooked just behind the dorsal fin. The hook has less of a chance of being detected and spit out .The hook generally is not an issue in regards to breaking ,the line is,you can try a 20# floracarbon or nylon coated steel leader .Try them both and see what works for you ,some feel you get more flags with mono/flora than with steel but in general pike are pretty aggressive ,I'm no expert but have had more flags with mono and more fish on top of the ice with steel leader.the trick is getting them thru the hole in one motion and letting the run when they're not ready to give up yet .Remember it's all about the thrill ,so just have fun and keep the digits clear of those teeth .

[runtfisher14]

# 12's, isn't that a little small?

[GAMBELL]

# 12's, isn't that a little small?

A little is an understatement.  I use size #2's for very large bait, #4's for big bait and #6's for medium sized pike bait. 

[NY TROOPER]

put on a sucker and a steel leader.

Do you use a hook or do they swallow the bait and then you pull them in?    Just wondering.   

[flagup#1]

I used to use #8's or #10's but now use #12's and mostly #14's on 3"-4" shiners hooked just behind the dorsal fin. The hook has less of a chance of being detected and spit out .The hook generally is not an issue in regards to breaking ,the line is,you can try a 20# floracarbon or nylon coated steel leader .Try them both and see what works for you ,some feel you get more flags with mono/flora than with steel but in general pike are pretty aggressive ,I'm no expert but have had more flags with mono and more fish on top of the ice with steel leader.the trick is getting them thru the hole in one motion and letting the run when they're not ready to give up yet .Remember it's all about the thrill ,so just have fun and keep the digits clear of those teeth .

I never had an issue with a pike feeling a hook and spitting it out, sometimes I bet the mean SOB's just bite harder when they feel some resistance.

[TruShowStopper]

How you guys feel about jigging  the swedish pimples tiped with a shiner for pike?  I'm not realy a fan of tip ups I like the idea of being able fight the fish on a rod and reel, but that just me.

[deadsmelthead]

How you guys feel about jigging  the swedish pimples tiped with a shiner for pike?  I'm not realy a fan of tip ups I like the idea of being able fight the fish on a rod and reel, but that just me.

I have tried to successfully jig Northerns for awhile now, you wanna know how many I've jigged up.... Well in the past 5 years I have jigged up 5. I talk to other guys that chase Pike around and they all say the same thing. I have tried everything but the kitchen sink. I jigged one this year on my first trip back in early december, so I'm not due for one until next year.99.999999% of mine come on tip ups. They are fun on the rod when the pertage rolls my way once a year.

[AirManCam]

I use size 10 trebbles, 15lb maxima leader, and big pike shiners and have no problems with hookups or getting bit off. I feel you get less drops with smaller hooks. But hey what do I know, I'm just a diehard pike fisherman that use's mono when other people say you can't ice big pike unless you have steel leaders. However my pictures mean nothing :-D

[dav]

I used to use #8's or #10's but now use #12's and mostly #14's on 3"-4" shiners hooked just behind the dorsal fin. The hook has less of a chance of being detected and spit out .The hook generally is not an issue in regards to breaking ,the line is,you can try a 20# floracarbon or nylon coated steel leader .Try them both and see what works for you ,some feel you get more flags with mono/flora than with steel but in general pike are pretty aggressive ,I'm no expert but have had more flags with mono and more fish on top of the ice with steel leader.the trick is getting them thru the hole in one motion and letting the run when they're not ready to give up yet .Remember it's all about the thrill ,so just have fun and keep the digits clear of those teeth .

Well put, 17-20# mono much better success rate than steel, treb's are a must. Shallow weedy areas where the pannies live are your best bet 5-10' range. I think that there is one misconception though, the bigger the bait the bigger the
fish I have caught pike from the 20" range to the 48" (biggest) all small bait, Couple weeks ago 43" 18.6 lb'er. They don't want to chew it they want to inhale it.

dav

[sinkergurl]

Great Advice!! I took notes

[AirManCam]

I agree, I'm starting to question my big bait theory. Although I have caught, and have seen a lot of big pike caught on big bait, i've noticed this year that a lot of bigger pike were caught on small bait. I caught my 41" pike the other day on a large shiner, and the 17lber we got a few weeks ago was on our walleye set up with a medium shiner. Its hard to say :-)