Pike movements

[HybridHunter]

I have my own general ideas on what these fish do through out the winter from spending as much time as I can on the ice. But it would be great to hear what you guys think and see how our experiences differ or end up being alike.

[HybridHunter]

Nobody wants to share their opinions?

[Papa John]

 Just saw your post and I  posted on the previous quick-strike topic about the recent story, "Half Way Pike", on new In Fisherman magazine. Great story with good back-up material about movements in both large and smaller lakes. Shallow early and late, deeper mid season using the theory of pike following preferred prey species. We have had similar experiences locally. Good idea for a sliding quick-strike rig as well. Have a date with the pike on a lake tomorrow morning!

[bigredonice]

you can never fish too shallow for pike...

[hardh2ofish]

I primarily fish two lakes.  One a 100 acre shallow sandhills lake.  Another a 3000 acre impoundment.  Just fished the later this last weekend.  Produced nice fish same as when left it last winter.  Got a lot of exploring to do on the bigger lake.  But with a very healthy population I'm hoping for a good season.  The smaller lake I also fish the same spots all through the season.  Hope to hear some more insight on big water pike movements.   

[deadsmelthead]

you can never fish too shallow for pike...

OR DEEP !!!

I admit I fish 10FOW or less most of the time, BUT you can get them out deep... My belief is follow the dink pan fish.. those school classes that run 3-8 inches.. Perch, crappies etc etc etc.. That is if you want to target the bigger Pike in my opinion.. I like catching fish dont get me wrong, but Ill take 1- 15-20lber over 5 hammer handles.. Ill also use jigged up dink panies as bait on tip ups..

BUT lakes and pike habits change from season to season.. And one lake can be completely different from another.

[HybridHunter]

Just saw your post and I  posted on the previous quick-strike topic about the recent story, "Half Way Pike", on new In Fisherman magazine. Great story with good back-up material about movements in both large and smaller lakes. Shallow early and late, deeper mid season using the theory of pike following preferred prey species. We have had similar experiences locally. Good idea for a sliding quick-strike rig as well. Have a date with the pike on a lake tomorrow morning!

It's funny you say that, I just got that issue today and read the article this afternoon. Very informative and I did like the quick strike set up. I think I may try it on my large baits. My mind set has been so stuck on fishing shallow until open water fishing this year. Now I know this is irrelevant to winter movements, but, during the turn over period this fall (Nov. 16) I was trolling for muskies on the st Lawrence and had a pike hit suspended in 110 fow. I never though pike would venture out that deep, but since temps were equal across the board, we marked bait everywhere. The old saying goes, find bait and you'll find fish. So, when the mid season transission occurs and all my buddies move out perch and crappi fishing, I'll be sure to follow. I'm not going to be so stuck on shoreline structure so much either. I want to experiment with sholes, sunken islands, and other structure out in the main basins a little more.

[HybridHunter]

OR DEEP !!!

I admit I fish 10FOW or less most of the time, BUT you can get them out deep... My belief is follow the dink pan fish.. those school classes that run 3-8 inches.. Perch, crappies etc etc etc.. That is if you want to target the bigger Pike in my opinion.. I like catching fish dont get me wrong, but Ill take 1- 15-20lber over 5 hammer handles.. Ill also use jigged up dink panies as bait on tip ups..

BUT lakes and pike habits change from season to season.. And one lake can be completely different from another.

It's going to be a good ice season.

[esox_xtm]

Lots of truths here but not all in one place. Too shallow? Sometimes 2'  under the ice is enough water for really big fish. Too deep? Sometimes fish suspend or belly down to the bottom in 30'  FOW in search of...... food. Best advice: follow the bait. Dink pannies are a great indicator and if you make your bait a little bigger and more helpless than the available prey you should be in good shape.

One tip if you can't find 'em shallow or very deep, check  out off the first breakline. Set your stuff as deep as the break and see what happens. Pike often suspend off a break at the depth of that last break; e.g if it was 7' before it tumbles off into 40' walk out 10 - 20 yards and set your stuff @ 7'. Not a bad plan and it has worked for me.

That said I usually start at least two of my three lines on an edge, weed, depth bottom content... If nothing happens I'll move in/out depending on what's happened with the 3rd rig or what I've observed around.

[Svengalli]

Further to the comment about 110 fow, I've had pike hit many times trolling over 100 foot of open water on LOTW and Minaki.

Now for winter.  UMWV but on big bodies with lots of structure at first ice I'll find them where I left them, patrolling the shallower edge of a deep structure reef, rock pile, channel or weed line looking for the primary forage in any given lake.  For me that's often tulibee (ciscoe).  As deep winter sets in I'll usually find them in the main body of water queuing on deep water (20) transition spots such as main lake points or submerged islands and as most anyone who knows pike knows... as winter wanes and the days lengthen they begin to move ever closer to weedy back bays eventually sitting in very shallow water.  Some back bays will out perform others.  If it has a feeder creek and gets a lot of early sun...  .  Keep in mind the smallest bodies of water I experience will be 10 thousand acres to a few million acres.   

[thomasthepikehunter]

Pike will go wherever they want, but the general opinion I get from others, and I find to be true, is they rarely go more than 40' or 50' at any time of the year. I find pike to be the deepest mid summer and mid-late winter. I hardly fish fall, as thats hunting and football season, so I don't have much of an opinion on that. First ice I find pike deeper, around the weed line. Small pike can be had right up shallow. Once ice gets 6"-12" (what most people consider first ice) and often the ice is no longer clear, pike will come up very shallow. My preferred depth at this time is around 4'-8'. I catch them even shallower than that. As the weeds die, I find that pike move out, often to drop offs, and will spend most of the winter there. The latest I can fish them here in MN is to the last weekend in february, and they are usually on their way to spawning areas at that time. I'll find pike at the mouths of bays, or near creeks, or just in shallower by reeds. The time of day plays a huge part as well. I never have had much luck with pike at first light. Usually 9 am or so is when the action really starts and it goes to about noon. You can catch them all day, but an hour before sunset is where I always have the best luck.

[Baberuth]

I love the challenge fishing for pike and have tried to learn as much as I can about them. Opening day is usually a big day as is early ice (first month). I have caught them in very shallow water. If there is 12’ or less of water under the ice, I just get the bait in the water 6 to 8 feet. After a night without food and the early light hits they’re hungry and troll for food. From cleaning them right after a catch on the ice I have seen ten 4-6” bait in their stomachs and none very old. At some time the feeding will slow. I have caught pike all times of the day, but like others who will attest early morning and an hour before dark. I think they feel the time is coming where they won’t “see” bait and they need to fill the tank. Pike are sight feeders while some fish can feed at night due to smell. When their vision changes from cone to rod vision at night (think I got it right) they won’t be eating until morning light. This is as hungry as they will get all day and the search is on. I have been places where I could experiment with everything in my box to see if anything was better than anything else. Everything was working at 2 places, but where they backed off almost hitting a spoon, when I dropped in a golden shiner it took less than a minute for the strike. I have had them hit a sunfish a soon as it landed. I could see him after the swirl/splash with his gills flaring, treading in place and then swimming off…until I set the hook! We set the tip ups starting at 3-4’ and keep moving deeper. Many times I have seen them trolling along shorelines early in the morning and move out deeper as the day goes on. I am not sure which thrill is better, ice or open water, but when you are setting the drag with your thumb and pointer finger for the big ones is the ultimate.
This is all New York pike fishing and my resume is 50 plus years of doing it. I am sure there are more experienced guys on this site, but I just wanted to contribute.
Baberuth

[HybridHunter]

I love the challenge fishing for pike and have tried to learn as much as I can about them. Opening day is usually a big day as is early ice (first month). I have caught them in very shallow water. If there is 12’ or less of water under the ice, I just get the bait in the water 6 to 8 feet. After a night without food and the early light hits they’re hungry and troll for food. From cleaning them right after a catch on the ice I have seen ten 4-6” bait in their stomachs and none very old. At some time the feeding will slow. I have caught pike all times of the day, but like others who will attest early morning and an hour before dark. I think they feel the time is coming where they won’t “see” bait and they need to fill the tank. Pike are sight feeders while some fish can feed at night due to smell. When their vision changes from cone to rod vision at night (think I got it right) they won’t be eating until morning light. This is as hungry as they will get all day and the search is on. I have been places where I could experiment with everything in my box to see if anything was better than anything else. Everything was working at 2 places, but where they backed off almost hitting a spoon, when I dropped in a golden shiner it took less than a minute for the strike. I have had them hit a sunfish a soon as it landed. I could see him after the swirl/splash with his gills flaring, treading in place and then swimming off…until I set the hook! We set the tip ups starting at 3-4’ and keep moving deeper. Many times I have seen them trolling along shorelines early in the morning and move out deeper as the day goes on. I am not sure which thrill is better, ice or open water, but when you are setting the drag with your thumb and pointer finger for the big ones is the ultimate.
This is all New York pike fishing and my resume is 50 plus years of doing it. I am sure there are more experienced guys on this site, but I just wanted to contribute.
Baberuth

Thank you! I'm FishinNY as well