I have frequently caught pike with a fish in its stomach which is half the length of the pike. For example, a 28 inch pike with 14 inch kokanee in its stomach. But most of the pike I catch, even quite large pike, have smaller fish in their stomach. I like to use 5"-6" fish for bait for pike. That size bait doesn't discourage smaller pike from hitting, and it attracts big pike just fine. A couple of weekends ago I was ice fishing with a gal who caught a 43" 24 pound pike on a 5" smelt.