Decent northern pike lakes

[Knife2sharp]

Since I moved to WI a decade ago I've done very little ice fishing and when I do go, I generally go across the border to MN metro lakes. I used to have a permanent house that I put out yearly because I had many lakes close by. I picked up one of the Fishing Map Guide books with all the topo maps for this region. Looks like most of the decent lakes relatively close by are in Polk county. I saw the post of the nice northern from North Twin lake. I really like pike fishing and I'm curious what lakes in this area are good pike lakes? I live in St. Croix co and have caught northerns on Mill Pond from my kayak, but never caught one through the ice. I need to start seeking better ice waters.  Since most of these lakes are 40-60 minutes from me I just a couple or a few decent lakes to check out. I just want to rule out the panfish & walleye lakes.

[32footsteps]

The best bet is to do a bunch of research on smaller bodies of water that hold pike and a favorable forage base.  An issue in Wisconsin is that there is the mentality that pike are viewed has a quarter step above a rough fish so when they are caught many small fish are killed for pickling or other reasons.  If you do your due diligence you can find some really nice pike in places where there is little to no pressure.  It might take a full year to get a handle on this but a good starting point is in published research.  Fyke netting surveys paying attention more to what was surveyed as a forage base.  Identify bodies of water that catch your eye and then as soon as you can at ice-out spend some time with a spotlight looking for pike in the shallows that are spawning.  Another time of the year that can provide great info is during duck season.  Pike on many lakes will crawl up into the shallows and cruise for baitfish and warmer water and are often observed by duck hunters.  If you duck hunt then perfect...hunt bodies of water that have pike potential and keep your eyes peeled into the water as you are setting your decoys up looking for any fish that might be kicked up.  The next thing to keep in mind is that many of these smaller bodies of water can be cyclical where you have maybe 2 years where it's really producing well but then tapers off considerably for about 4-5 years only to come back. 

What I consider my true home lake in a different part of WI than where you are is viewed as a whole lot of nothing and has a reputation of being impossible to fish...yet it's the type of water where if you fish it every day throughout the year you have about 5 days where you swear you are in a Canadian fly-in lake.  It took a lifetime to learn it's quirks and I'm still learning them but patience and perseverance are the key.  If you don't know what the native forage is you are dead in the water.  If you know what it is then it is hard to beat.  We just came off of an up swing in the cycle and dozen fish days of pike over 30 were not uncommon but yet it wasn't the type of thing where any old Tom, Dick, and Harry could come out for a few hours and run into the same thing.  It took getting dialed into a pattern.  I have not kept a pike from that lake in about 25 years because lakes like that are incredibly susceptible to harvest.  The best thing about it was that even though it sits right on a well traveled highway guys kept going right past it without giving it a thought.  Those lakes are out there but it takes some legwork to discover them....and they typically do not see much if any  pressure.   

[Knife2sharp]

Thanks, I've been looking at some of the smaller bodies of water in this area, one of them being Pike Lake.  This and another couple nearby are relatively shallow, 20 ft and under.  The gill net data looks good, but I wonder how they've faired from the past two winters as far as winter kill.  From what I can tell they're not connected to deeper lakes.  My only concern is the distance to access these lakes are about the same distance to some of my favorite metro lakes that I already know.  Plus I have a lifetime angler license for MN.  I also release most of the fish I catch, so I don't mind slot limits or minimum size limits.

[32footsteps]

A couple of other things to consider.... 

A small body of water like that is one that doesn't need to get publicized at all.  Therefore the lake I specifically spoke of flies way under the radar.  The previous biologist for the area sanitized official reports somewhat because if everything was made public that body of water would be a zoo.  No need to tip anyone off to something that could get exploited.  It's ironic that you mention winter kill.  The years when I've done my best on some of those smaller bodies of water is a year following a reported freeze out.  No lake is going to completely freeze out unless it freezes tight to the bottom or there's something else completely out of whack.  What I've found follows Nietzsche's ideas quite closely....the strong will survive.  A freeze out could set you up for something really, really good because it knocks out available forage and those top line predators are easier to fool because they do not have the forage they previously did.  Once that forage base returns in strength why would they want to eat something out of the ordinary when they've been gorging themselves nonstop for months? 

If a small body of water has an abundant supply of bullheads consider me very, very intrigued.  If bullheads are not present in large quantities and it's a nondescript panfish forage base then I'll pass.   

[Knife2sharp]

I meant Long Lake, not Pike lake.

[esox_xtm]

Interesting outlook 32fs.....

The bullhead thing is real. I've looked for that as a musky fisherman over the years. Pike aren't too different.... I'll test your theory on winter kill this spring. I was going to bypass this location altogether but what you said makes some sense and I think it's worth some days to find out.

Broadening the horizons.....

[32footsteps]

I became convinced of the bullhead significance many years before I started muskie fishing, but I totally agree with the muskie correlation.  If muskies are in a heavily  populated bullhead lake/river then those things get fat.  Bullheads are incredible forage for pike/muskies but an overabundance can make it tough to catch them.  They'll get damn big chowing down on bullheads but why would they want to eat something hanging on a hook that doesn't fit into their environment when there are loads and loads of bullheads for them instead? 

Something I've seen on this type of water is that where pike are the top of the line predator (meaning no muskies present) is that the pike exhibit behavioral nuances that are more similar to muskies than they do when muskies are present.  Pike typically will eat anything but in these systems where they are at the top of the food chain they can be a bit more finicky and need to be patterned especially if there is an overabundance of bullheads. 

Regarding the thoughts on winter kill.... It's a fun one to tap into because public opinion will be solidly in the "that lake froze out, there's nothing in there anymore" camp so you'll have less pressure.  On a few of these "prone to winterkill" lakes in my neck of the woods I will never directly disagree with anyone who says they freeze out.  I'll simply shrug my shoulders and gently support that theory.  As a general rule people turn into idiots about this sort of thing.  One year they'll be convinced that a lake completely froze out but two years later you'll be catching 10-15 pound pike and foot long perch.  So if it froze out, how did those older fish get in there?  Common sense isn't very common and when it comes to talking down a favorite honey hole, if they want to believe that their shortsightedness is common sense then be my guest.