Author Topic: Unable To Catch Pike? Why?  (Read 5304 times)

Offline iceintheveins

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Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« on: Dec 08, 2003, 06:20 PM »
I am unable to catch pike through the ice here in two Colorado lakes that supposedly have good pike populations. I have seldom seen others having much luck either.
A two pike day is great in these two lakes. I use tipups baited with all sorts of bait in all areas and all depths, and jigging lures as well.
The division of wildlife always tells me the fishing is good here in the lakes for pike, but they are dead set against pike and there is no bag limit anywhere for them. Our division of wildlife is horrible, corrupt, dictatorial, and lying jackasses. They b***h about them eating stocker, aka fake trout, and are afraid they will get into rivers and eat the endangered trashfish suckers and chubs.
Don't most of you guys catch a bunch of pike usually? I thought pike were supposed to be easy to catch and aggressive, but they seem extremely fickle and elusive in my two lakes, even though they are supposed to be abundant. Maybe the lakes I fish don't have many pike anymore? Tell me what the deal is, cause I use all tactics at all depths.
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grumpymoe

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #1 on: Dec 09, 2003, 09:52 AM »
what depths are you fishing and what kind of structure are you locating. if indeed you have a good population, you should be able to nail them eventually. (if there are alot of larger fish, they will be wary of your presentation based on forage in the lake) ???

Offline iceintheveins

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #2 on: Dec 09, 2003, 05:10 PM »
I fish all depths from 5 - 40 feet but mostly around 10 feet to 15 feet. I fish mostly in bays that harbor weed growth or on main lake bars and points. I really think it's just the division of wildlife has gotten rid of most of the pike in my two lakes. I am going to try a new lake this winter where I caught some during the open water period. It is a small, shallow weed choked lake and I am planning to fish with tip ups and also by jigging near the deeper area ( 13' ) of the lake by the droppoff off the weededge.
I really think I must just be fishing two lakes that once had lots of pike but don't anymore.
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grumpymoe

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #3 on: Dec 10, 2003, 07:15 AM »
mackdaddy21---sure sounds like it. but i would try starting shallow first and then work your way out to deeper water :'(

Offline kerosenecounty17

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #4 on: Dec 10, 2003, 09:46 AM »
Mack,

Sounds to me like you're doing everything right.  Next spring, right after ice off, take the boat out and have a look around the shallows.  If there are any pike in the lake, you'll see them moving around in the shallow weedy areas spawning.  If you don't see any then you'll know the DNR is full of it and there aren't any pike.

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grumpymoe

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #5 on: Dec 10, 2003, 10:12 AM »
just another thought that i should have added on your search-before anything else, try any areas where there is inflowing water-this should hold fish at anytime of the year :'( :'(

Gillles

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #6 on: Dec 10, 2003, 08:59 PM »
What lakes do you fish?  I've tried fishing at 11mile for pike and haven't had any luck what so ever.  But the DOW isn't lying about the large number of pike in most of these reservoirs, mostly because pike have high reproduction rates in lakes like 11mile, Spinney and Williams Fork.  The problem with winter pike in Colorado is that there metabolisms are at there slowest and they really don't eat much, thats why most people that ice fish for pike in this state put in a lot of hours in between fish.  If your set on catching pike go in june or july, those are the two best months.

Offline iceintheveins

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Makes Some Sense Gilles
« Reply #7 on: Dec 10, 2003, 11:03 PM »
Yeah that does make sense. I fish Harvey Gap and Crawford lakes, both of which are supposed to have a lot of pike and some big ones. I have never caught more than two in a day, and have spent a good amount of pike-less days.
The thing I don't get is our winters are much milder than those in Minnesota or The Dakotas, and the pike up there supposedly bite so well, with 10 - 20 pike days not unusual. I don't understand why they wouldn't bite here Gilles.
Maybe they have too many small stocked trout and panfish to eat, so they are full.
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Gillles

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #8 on: Dec 11, 2003, 12:01 AM »
I've thought of that to, why in the heck do all these guys up north (Minn, Dakotas, Wisconson, and Canada) have so much luck with hardwater pike.  I don't know the answer to that one, other than the lakes up there are a lot bigger and there's more pike.  But that still doesn't explain the miserable luck that I've had at these lakes that have plenty of pike.  I haven't spent enough time with winter pike to figure out whatever science there is to catching them consistently.  I do think that they are deeper than what I've been fishing but I don't know at what depth they spend most of there time in the winter.  If we could figure that out mackdaddy21 we would be in business.  The only lake that I have caught pike at on ice is Sanchez res. in the San Luis valley.

Offline bushbunny

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #9 on: Dec 11, 2003, 01:37 PM »
I set tipups with a "C" hook baited with a tulibee(cisco) about 1/2 lb anywhere from 5-15 ft and have had good success.  I find a drop off next to a weedbed, and set the tipups perpendicularly from shore in a staggered pattern, from the 5 ft depth(below the ice) over the weedbed out to the drop off to cover as much area as possible.  Somedays you just slaughter them ;D, other days, they beat you :(.

fish_hooked

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #10 on: Dec 11, 2003, 07:56 PM »
Don't know what you tried, but try lining your tipups across a dropoff or channel.  The reason I like to line across a channel is I can cover a range of depths. Personally, I have real good luck on pike with the smelt that you buy in bags at the grocery store.  I just hook one of those to a size 4 treble hook and send er down to about a foot off the bottom. Also like to have a tipup or two about three feet below the ice for those shallow cruisers.  I've had a hard time not catching at least a few pike this way.

Offline cold_feet

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #11 on: Dec 12, 2003, 07:36 AM »
get out near the weed edge. You might be setting your rig high over the weeds and the pike will lay near the bottom waiting to ambush. The other thing is if you are fishing a lake that has trout in it try putting a big silver willow leaf blade on the line hooked to a small snap swivel when the chub swims around it will add more flash looking like a trout. As far as thinking its to cold water everywher in the world freezes at 32deg and the pike motabolism is slower but not totaly shut down. The other thing is during summer Ive had good luck fishing the low light hours, even in dark. Try diffrent baits live and dead Smelt bigger chubs ect. If their eating trout, 8" would not be too big even bigger might work.
Cold Feet

Offline Barleydog

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Re:Unable To Catch Pike? Why?
« Reply #12 on: Dec 12, 2003, 01:28 PM »
Mackdaddy,  I have fished 11 mile a couple years back while visiting a friend.  We had spent 2 days fishing just off of the launch area and on the opposite side of the lake.  We found most of the fish to be rather close to shore.  Most of the fish we caught were located in and around the 5-10 ft. level.  We drilled about 45 holes and rotated spots until we scored.  We used large white and chartrouse twister tail grubs.  If we didn't see any weed structure, we didn't fish it!  I didn't hook any monster pike at 11 mile, but we had fun!  I could never figure out "why" almost every state in the west is so pro trout and anti pike?  Pike are much more desirable than trout, taste, fight, size, etc....  Even in Alaska, pike have been taken out of lakes in order to replace them with stocker rainbows????  Funny thing is, pike are native to interior Alaska not smelly little rainbow trout.  Oh well, guess you gotta please the tourists!
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