Thread bump....
I was looking to see if there was a pike jigging thread in this section....found this one.
On my pike jigging set up I am using 80lb power pro, spinning reel, and a rod with a decent amount of backbone. It needs to have backing of some sort or it will slide on the reel. I tie the line on first, then over the top of that I put two or three wraps of electrical tape, tie it again and then run my line on. For a leader I go with 100lb or so flouro. Same leaders I'll use muskie fishing. Don't need something that stout but I like to be confident that I'm not going to break my line.
I use big baits. 1oz or larger rattle baits, fuzzy duzzits, or 7oz Bondys, or large jigs and reaper tails/tubes/etc. It's the same stuff I use jigging for muskies in the fall. I was curious if it would work (no reason why it shouldn't) and it worked quite well.
I drill two holes about 5 feet apart. One for a camera and one for fishing. Having the heavy line and leader are a bonus for when that fish tangles you up in your camera cable...plus using bigger (more expensive) baits you don't want to lose them. It's pretty neat seeing pike called in by larger baits. You do get some smaller pike going suicidal from time to time but by using larger baits like that the larger fish seem to have a trigger where they don't want the smaller pike to take a big meal away from them so they can become quite aggressive.
Large Rattle baits will also bring perch in to check things out so I keep tabs on the camera and if I see perch I'll switch rods to a smaller presentation geared for panfish. If the perch scatter it means that something bigger is nearby and the heavier set up goes back down the hole.
