Pike Fishing?

[arcadia]

Hello all, I am going up North hunting this year and will stop for a day to do some fishing for pike. I have never fished for them before. Any helpful advice? Thanks. :-D

[waistdeep]

red and white or yellow with red diamonds and your good to go. Edge of weed beds or trolling deep. If they are there, ......fish on :)

[Sasquatch]

I've done well on red and white spoons or a slip bobber with a dead minnow if you can fish bait.

Don't forget a wire leader,those suckers have sharp teeth

[MB_Boy]

They eat anything......you can throw pretty much any lure at them you can imagine and they'll bite.

[arcadia]

Thanks for the help! What else is fun to fish for up around the Dawson creek-Ft. St.John area lakes? Will have a little zodiak for trolling,but will also be fishing from the shore as we have too many people to fit in the boat at once.

[arcadia]

Someone said walleye are up there. Anyone try for them?

[pete_k]

I"ve caught hundreds of pike on the Len Thompson spoons using #2 size with a treble hook. Like Sasquatch says,...use a wire leader.
Trolling zig zag off the shore at various speeds worked for me.
I've never used live bait on a pike.

Another good one is called "Lucky Strike". It's a chrome spoon with two rubys in it. Shaped like an oval, except pointed on the ends. About 2" long.

Pike are hard hit and run feeders. If they miss with thier mouths, the hook will sometimes impale the side of the body. I've brought in a few like that.
I've seen bottle caps and cigarette buts in thier guts.
Have fun. Great eating fish.

[Wild one]

All the above lures do work and are good to bring. I fished for pike a lot in Alberta and my go to lures were spinner baits(best late in the afternoon) storm wildeye series rubber pike or perch( bigger the better a must have for me)and large Raphalas (firetiger and pike pattern). For a wire leader the longer the better as I have had pike inhale lures far enough to get to my main line.

[308Lover]

Put one finger in his eye, and your thumb in the other---you can squeeze gently and he will open his mouth so you can dig the hooks out. I've even had to use a stick to get down to where the hooks were. If casting, continue for a while in the same spot--the splash seems to attract them a bit. Like Pete, I've caught hundreds on the old Len thompson (brass one side and red/white on the other. (No. I didn't keep them all. LOL)

[835]

Get yourself some top water "BASS POPPERS" and spinner baits.
Topwater is the best. Find weed beds and cast right into them. WAY more fun then trolling. Maybe not as productive but way more fun.
At least in my whopping 4 months of experiance pike fishing this is what i found.

[Kudu]

Pike on the Fly is fantastic - just use four to six inches of wire......

Here are a couple of flies I have used in the past Black and Orange always get hit

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/Gogga2/IMGP0110.jpg

[Ponderosa]

Pike will go after bait up to 1/3 their body size, so don't be afraid to try a bit of a larger lure. Top waters are great especially if they make alot of noise. lots of out pike lures are 6-8" long. fish the edges of the weedbeds, but remember, if the water is warm the fish will probably be in a little deeper. and good luck, Pike are alot of fun to fish.

[sawmill]

I still have the scars on my fingers from the first big one I caught.Carefull,they ain`t called slough sharks for nothing.Friggen teeth like a barracuda.
Swan Lake out by Pouce is a good spot,fish the weed beds,monsters hide under the lily pads waiting for baby ducks and muskrats.My best was 22 lbs.I caught him on a live mouse I got from My Dads hayfield.Probably not a good idea now days.:-|

[REDGREEN]

If you are going to be using bait, buy the frozen sardines or chub mackerel. Don't be shy on the bait size. I make my own leaders and run a treble hook with 12" of wire that I thread through the sardine or mackerel with another 2 feet of 60# leader off that setup. Even with that, I have had them get to my line. As already stated, the large Rapalas work great. Perch pattern or redhead are my favs. Give them time to swallow the bait if you are using it. Have a blast! I do.http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s49/brobones_2007/PICTURE.jpg

[Surrey Boy]

^^^
Awesome pic!

[Swamp mule]

One lure that i will stand up for is the "Buzzin frog" where the top torsoe is stationary while the bottom turns mimicking the legs are swimming. you cast just a foot or two into the weeds and it lands with a smack like a frog leaping and hitting the water. it really gets them stirring. I got them all the time and it works for me. Make sure taht you get atelast a couple extras and different shades og green.

[Gateholio]

I saw a great video on a unique way to filet pike. The guy made a cut on the top of the fish from behind the head, then slid the knife back towards the tail. Then he slit down under the Y bone and fileted off one side of the pike, then did the same on the other. Basically avoided the Y bone altogether. Try to find it, I though ti was pretty slick.

[Fishhound]

Pick up a couple of the williams wobblers there half gold plate half silver plate, they use real gold and silver when the lures are made, last year i was fishing at Little Atlin Lake in the Yukon we caught 60-70 pike in about 3hrs I caught at least a half doazen over 40 inches on these hooks it was amazing.

Even with steel leaders I broke off 8 or 10 of these hooks, but gold/silver combo worked the best

[REMINGTON JIM]

I fished in Atlin and the big Rapalas - about 5 " long or more - triple hooks with the the bright green strips caught fish unreal ! :smile: RJ

[boxhitch]

See if you can find a spoon with a fixed, single hook in the weedless type. Can't remember the name right off, but go weedless and save a lot of grief and $$$, especially from shore.

Gate, you hit a good point about prep. Fillet in four quarters so to speak and avoid feeding the y bone to anyone. Pike is far more enjoyable when your not choking on them.

[.330 Dakota]

Arrowhead spoon, tipped with a white twister tail,,,absolutely nothing better,,,won many an Ontario Tourney with that