Author Topic: big pike  (Read 7157 times)

travisrcollier

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big pike
« on: Dec 12, 2003, 12:45 AM »
is there anyone out there who can tell me a good way to catch large pike ive only ever got one over 10 lbs the rest have all been under 5 pounds

Offline cold_feet

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Re:big pike
« Reply #1 on: Dec 12, 2003, 07:45 AM »
Travis
Go with a bigger bait. The large pike will not want to burn up a lot of energy eating a bunch of little chubs when 1 fish would be a meal. Try dead baits too. Big Pike are lazy. Also getting a fish bigger than 10 lbs is rare unless the lake you fish has hundreds of fish over that weight. If the lake only can sustain a select few fish over 10 it cuts your odds down of catching one Try fishing on weed edge points away from fishing pressure get away from the crowds. And mostly try to think like a pike. A 10 pound pike didnt get that way by being stupid.
Good Luck
Cold Feet

grumpymoe

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Re:big pike
« Reply #2 on: Dec 12, 2003, 07:52 AM »
coldfeet is right on--they are opportunistic feeders and the bigger the bait the better--they will generally hang around deeper water than the smaller ones--look for weed beds with sharp dropoffs, saddles and humps in the vicinity of depths 15-25 feet. sooner or later you'll get one!!!! lol  ;)

Offline Bob_D

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Re:big pike
« Reply #3 on: Dec 12, 2003, 12:35 PM »
The real key is fishing a lake that holds big pike and putting your time in. If you go twice a year, chances are you won't see too many big fish. I don't agree with the super big bait theory. I use bait from 4"-7" and I don't waste money on anything larger. A 18" pike will take a 12" sucker..and a 36" pike will take a 4" shinner. I'ce caught 5# plus pike on tiny perch jigs. A 6" golden is a good meal for even a 20# plus pike. Not a whole lot of effort involved in chasing a shinner stuck on the end of a line. Out of ~150 pike I caught last year, about 15 were 7-10# about 8-10 were over the 10# mark. Due to the fishing regs in my area, most of the fish are from 22-26" range. Dead bait also works. If you have a few dead shinners/suckers in the bucket, don't be afaid to use them.

Location is also important. I fish drop offs near weed beds, about 30-40 feet into the bed to out beyond the drop off it's not too deep. My best days tend to be cloudy days. That does not stop me from fishing sunny ones, but they don't seem to be as productive.

Offline cold_feet

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Re:big pike
« Reply #4 on: Dec 12, 2003, 02:18 PM »
Esox
Didnt meen a 1' chub but around where I live its hard to get chubs that are 5to7" in the winter most are 3 or 4'' long and a little scrawney looking. Good bait can be hard to find around here. The other thing we used to do to the chubs is trim one of the fins Dorsel of Pectoral fin this would make the chub have to swim a little harder to keep itself upright and of course it looked and was wounded.
Cold Feet

grumpymoe

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Re:big pike
« Reply #5 on: Dec 12, 2003, 02:46 PM »
coldfeet    geeeeez-you've got scrawny bait with a hook in them and then you cripple them--why dont you feed them for awhile first ;D ;D-seriously, are you allowed to trap your own live bait where you fish ??we can trap up to 15 dozen minnows but our crazy province regulates they must be dead before transporting >:( >:( >:(

Offline Bob_D

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Re:big pike
« Reply #6 on: Dec 12, 2003, 02:55 PM »
ColdFeet,
Don't be afraid to use Golden/Arkansas shinners. I like them better then chubs and suckers due to the extra flash you get. 4" is about the minimum where I fish or the perch will keep setting off your traps.  ::)


travisrcollier

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Re:big pike
« Reply #7 on: Dec 12, 2003, 11:56 PM »
hey thanks everyone i will be trying these tips tomorrow on keho lake where the alberta record pike was caught
hopefully i get at least one over 5 lbs
i will post how it was tomorrow night
good luck this weekend everyone

CTStriper

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Re:big pike
« Reply #8 on: Dec 13, 2003, 04:57 AM »
After watching bass on my Aqua-Vu trying to keep up with my big shiners, I have started to clip the fins on my big bait. As was stated above, pike are lazy ;) Clipping a fin helped me BIG time. If you clip a pectoral fin, the bait will struggle to keep it's balance in the water and that will draw a pike in from a distance. I have also clipped the tail down, this makes the bait struggle to swim up. Once you figure out how much is enough to take off you can get your bait to struggle quite a bit without going anywhere. Our water here on my end of the Connecticut River tends to be murky, so any extra vibrations the bait puts out helps.

Also, I have noticed a dramatic slow down in the action as we get late in the season here. Our ice out is usually mid March. By the end of February, the females (most of our fish over 36" are females) are heavy with eggs and not in the mood to chase lively bait. I have found that dead bait works much better during these times

Hope this helps ;D

Offline cold_feet

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Re:big pike
« Reply #9 on: Dec 13, 2003, 09:28 PM »
Grumpymoe
Yea they are small. Their called Arkansas Anorexic Golden Shiners LOL . Yea we can get our own bait but most of the creeks are frozen tight. at 7.00 a doz. you would think that you would get a good chub but for the most they are left over Crappie bait that grew a little to big. It does suck going out their with these but whats a fisherman to do. We do catch Goldies in the spring for the Pike and some are close to a Quater pound or better. Makes a nice big splash when they land and scares the h#ll out of the guys in the boat next to us when we cast them at them. Their are not a lot of bait shops left in the area that handle chubs and the ones that do all have the same size small.

Essox
I call them chubs. But they are Goldies. Wouldnt fish with anything but. Thanks

Cold Feet

travisrcollier

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Re:big pike
« Reply #10 on: Dec 14, 2003, 03:14 PM »
so i fished keho lake alberta on on saturday and it was a bad day from the start. my buddy and i drilled 2 holes then i went to set up our bait lines i had dropped my line and set the rod in the holder and went to get my hole cover on my way back to the hole i saw my rod tip bounce a little so started to run towards it  but before i could get there i saw the butt end of my $50 ice fishing combo shoot down the hole. The pike must have gone 10 to 15 lbs to flip my holder over i had it packed tight in slush and ice and i had it spiked into the ice. The fish took a small smelt on a snelled hook about 4 feet off the bottom. Let this be a lesson to all, dont leave the rod unattended until the hole is covered or the rod is tied on. the rest of the day we got the scattered hammer handle on glow jigs but nothing respectable. Hope you guys all have better luck than i did this weekend.

Offline cold_feet

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Re:big pike
« Reply #11 on: Dec 16, 2003, 07:00 PM »
Travis
That will teach you to listen to us. A tough lesson learned but you were on fish. Hope the rest of the year is better for you.
Cold Feet

grumpymoe

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Re:big pike
« Reply #12 on: Dec 17, 2003, 10:05 AM »
travis c  can you tell me exactly where you lost your rod on the lake-my brother lives out your way and he's looking for a cheap rod ;D ;D geez thats a hard way to start the season but happy  :'( :'( :'( :'( for the rest of the season-grumpy

TIPUPMILITIA

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Re:big pike
« Reply #13 on: Dec 17, 2003, 05:01 PM »
I CAUGHT A 37IN. 12LBR ON A SUCKER THAT WAS 12IN. LARGE NORTHERN WANT ONE MEAL TO GRAB THAN A BUCH OF MUCH FASTER LITTLE ONES. I AGREE W/ THE ABOVE. CUT OF THE REAR FIN TOO. THE MINNOW WILL LOOK EVEN MORE TEMPTING. ;)
MANY FLAGS! :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

grumpymoe

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Re:big pike
« Reply #14 on: Dec 18, 2003, 03:28 PM »
just an odd update on some findings from last weekends fishing-caught 26 northerns saturday & sunday and most were on the small side. the largest went around 4 1/2 lbs and when i cleaned it--pheeeeeew-stunk like you wouldn't believe.-accidently slit the gut open and it was plug full of freshwater shrimp and bits of weed--no minnows or perch fry--this female had an exclusive diet, but still hit my large chub.  :P :'( :'(

Offline wallyguy

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Re:big pike
« Reply #15 on: Dec 18, 2003, 05:22 PM »
here in saskatchewan we use large smelts or whole herring on quick strike rigs

Offline Tip-Up

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Re:big pike
« Reply #16 on: Dec 24, 2003, 10:36 PM »
I fish exclusively for big pike (+20 lbs.) and there is no doubt in my mind that big bait = big fish. Plus it really cuts down on those annoying smaller fish. Mostly I use 8"-12" tullibees.


 



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