finiky pike

[cjflorence88]

ok here in MT where i fish no  live bait is leagel.  and the fish see nothing but smelt on tipup rigs all year. was wondering what i should do to increase my catch rate. i know the numbers are there anddifferent baitfish would help but not on the market here. any help would be great.

[Boydric]

What about trying the gulp alive.  I have heard of guys using that instead of live/dead bait?

[cjflorence88]

i have been looking at the bigger gulp minnows and think i may try them i have used the small ones and done well for browns and bass. but i think ill try it out next time out.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

Have you tried jigging?? May be productive.

I bet its tough with laws like that. But I know a bunch of people to do real well with dead bait.

[South33]

Here in NW MT all we use in 6-8" smelt and set it 1' off the bottom; & we have had amazing results. You should also try a #8 Swedish Pimple (treble hook) w/some worm or a piece of smelt on it & jig it.(make sure you have a leader). We have had some great results doing this. 

[jacksmelt71]

big chatreuse airplane jig w/ a strip of smelt on the main hook. theyll nail that. dead sucker w/ guts hanging out i heard works well on the traps too. sometimes they prefer a smaller presentation. try cut smelt w/ the head and half the body. cut from the top and pull the guts out  of the back part of the smelt and let it dangle out. for some reason the muskie up here like it this way. good luck!

[esoxeye]

I would jig...airplane jig,large tubes,giant chubby,large spoon and if multiple lines are allowed in your area I would still have a smelt on a tip-up or use a wind activated tip-up for a little action on the smelt.

[oldman50]

Big white jigs, heavy line, 2x4 jigging rod, and patience.

[waterwolf42]

big chatreuse airplane jig w/ a strip of smelt on the main hook. theyll nail that. dead sucker w/ guts hanging out i heard works well on the traps too. sometimes they prefer a smaller presentation. try cut smelt w/ the head and half the body. cut from the top and pull the guts out  of the back part of the smelt and let it dangle out. for some reason the muskie up here like it this way. good luck!

I agree.....try jigging and rip those lips

[farmboy]

I think it depends on what you are targeting for size. If you want lots of action and aren't strictly after trophy fish then I would try jigging. Big fish will also hit jigs but the true trophy fish in the 40 inch plus range very rarely will hit an aggressive bait.  In saying that, 40 inch plus pike will hit a jig too, I just haven't seen it happen near as often as it happens on dead baits.
I've had good success with #7 and #9 jigging rapala's, clackin rap's, airplane jigs and other glide/rattle type baits and have caught pike up to 20lbs on these type of baits but all of my fish over 40 inches have come on dead bait.
IMHO I think your best bet on improving your success comes in location and down sizing your terminal tackle. Most pike fisherman hang dead baits on very large treble hooks and 50 lb test+ braided high vis lines.
I like using thin diameter super braids and I down size on my leader thickness and treble size. Personally I believe using high strength, low vis/low diameter lines teamed up with using small trebles makes a big difference in both numbers of fish and size of fish.
Hope this helps you, just my 2 cents.

[CRA]

Try the 3/8 OZ Pk Flutter fish for northern pike. I use the firetiger glow the most. Sometimes I tip them with a gulp, others just jigging it.

I also use the PK Spoon Firetiger Glow, pearl Charturse and fire tiger for Pike 1/8 and 3/8 have been doing exceptionally well for me.