# Trolling for Pike



## garvelink5 (Aug 20, 2011)

Gents,

So glad I found this forum. I have become addicted to trolling as I just started a month ago and my 6 year old son and I have been destroying Northerns.

We have been using Strike Kings 8xd, 6xd, and 5xd. I'm considering buying a 10xd as well. We have been trolling between 2-4 mph. During the summer we fished the break and had great success at 18-25 feet.

A couple of questions.

1. At what water temps do pike move in? Currently water temps are 70..... when will I go farther in and at what depth?

2. What trolling speed do u suggest for fall? What depth for fall? How deep should my cranks be diving in fall.



Finally, proud to announce my 5 year old son set a family record reeling in a 37 inch pike. The boy is hooked. We're just hoping for that 40incher someday. We have caught around 30 fish that are between 30-36 in the last 6 weeks. Hoping we catch bigger in fall.

Any help would be much appreciated by this rookie


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## jd4223 (Feb 12, 2012)

As far as water temps,depends on what lake(type of lake) you're fishing. The lakes that are pretty shallow and weedy the best time for bigger pike is just before ice up and then just before/after the thaw. During this period the pike will come shallower and be more easy to catch. Average depth will be around 8-15 feet or where ever the break line is in the lake, As far as big lakes with deep water,your best bet is to troll open water looking for baitfish on your depth finder and run your lures at and just above that depth. As far as speed goes,the normal rules apply,the warmer the water the faster the troll. As far as lures go,if your killing them with what your using stick with it and just vary the speed and colors. If you're interested,look up Spoon Plugging. Google Buck Perry and Spoon Plugging. Everything you asked is covered by him(now deceased). I don't think you can troll too fast in the summer using spoon plugs. Look on youtube about spoon plugging.


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## garvelink5 (Aug 20, 2011)

THank you so much for the reply. I will indeed look up spoon plugging and report back on my fall pike experiences.


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

garvelink5 said:


> THank you so much for the reply. I will indeed look up spoon plugging and report back on my fall pike experiences.


Fall they start moving shallow, the last vestiges of green weeds in late fall can be a bonanza.


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## Bruce William (Feb 11, 2004)

Will this program work in early October and looking to troll for pike. Any help would be appreciated.


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## jd4223 (Feb 12, 2012)

Yes it will(spoon plugging). The main draw back with spoon plugging is most of Michigans' lakes are shallow and weedy.Also a majority of the lakes are hard to troll due to their smaller size(in comparison to bigger and deeper lakes) and irregular break lines. There for you end up frustrated because you constantly snag weeds and the depth changes. The best way to troll these lakes is to map out the depth,weed lines,and points using a flasher/or fish finder,and marker buoys. Once you have established where the break line or depth you want to troll,use your marker buoys to pin point irregular break lines and depth changes,then use a lure(or spoon plug) that runs that depth. Then it's just a matter of how fast you troll. The advantage of trolling bigger and deeper lakes,is you can cover vast amounts of water without having to stop because of weeds and lack of distance before having to change depths and lures.The advantage of using spoon plugs is they always run a constant depth based on how much line is let out(color coded line or line counter on reel). You basically strain the water column from shallow to deep. Crank bait or minnow type diving lures will do the same thing provided you know how deep they run. One more advantage of using spoon plugs(especially in summer),is you can troll as fast as your boat will run and the spoon plug will not porpose(sp) out of the water. The spoon plug will automatically come to the surface if it becomes fouled with weeds. When trolling at the speed of pulling a water skier,you do not have to set the hook when a fish strikes!...lol. Good luck.


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## jd4223 (Feb 12, 2012)

Additional Info:If you want to buy a set of spoon plugs,google Buck Perry Spoon Plugs and buy them direct from their website. They have gone way up in price but it's cheaper to buy a starter pack from their site instead of going on ebay. I think the starter pack still comes with a booklet stating how to use them. If not,just look on their website site/forum for any question you might have. Spoon Plugs were all the rage in the early 70's but quickly faded out. Most people don't like to troll regular lakes because of the work involved in mapping the lake. Trolling for salmon/walleye is about the only trolling people due now. Lake St. Clair would be an excellent lake to spoon plug for Pike/Muskie and Bass,plus a bonus Walleye. Same thing with Lake Erie.


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## jd4223 (Feb 12, 2012)

1 more thing,you can buy the 5 lure starter pack instead of the 7 lure starter pack. Then buy additional lures(bigger sizes and colors as needed). Both packs come with a booklet. As far as the website:www.spoonplug.net,look at top of site for spoonpluggers forum,click on there...When buying individual spoon plugs,each lure has a depth range by size. spoon plug 100 is the most common size and running depth that I use,mostly in brass,or silver color.


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## jd4223 (Feb 12, 2012)

Forgot,1 last thing,go to www.bucksspoonplugs.com for the spoon plugs and look at top of website and click on Buck Speaks,he explains all about using the spoon plugs. Also you might just want to buy individual spoonplugs in a couple of popular sizes and colors(size 100 and 700)instead of the whole pack. You can also purchase the booklet in the Educational Section at top of page for $5. Sorry for the lengthy explanations...


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## 50incher (Aug 23, 2011)

jd4223 said:


> Forgot,1 last thing,go to www.bucksspoonplugs.com for the spoon plugs and look at top of website and click on Buck Speaks,he explains all about using the spoon plugs. Also you might just want to buy individual spoonplugs in a couple of popular sizes and colors(size 100 and 700)instead of the whole pack. You can also purchase the booklet in the Educational Section at top of page for $5. Sorry for the lengthy explanations...


Just curious, a few years ago there were guys trolling the Detroit river for Musky mainly on the Ont. side....I have seen them but never talked to any.....talk was the were "Spoonpluggers".....

I know they caught fish and were quite good fisherman !....also heard they were from Ohio.....was just wondering if you could shed any light on this.....was it a "club" of some sort ?....have not seen them in a 1/2 doz. years or more.....

I have Buck Perry's book but have not read it yet !....have always been intrigued by the spoonplug....I snagged a rod & reel many years ago and that's what was on the end of the line....I am going to check into ordering and trolling some, and do need to read that book....will check out the website, thank you....cheers....


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## jd4223 (Feb 12, 2012)

50incher said:


> Just curious, a few years ago there were guys trolling the Detroit river for Musky mainly on the Ont. side....I have seen them but never talked to any.....talk was the were "Spoonpluggers".....
> 
> I know they caught fish and were quite good fisherman !....also heard they were from Ohio.....was just wondering if you could shed any light on this.....was it a "club" of some sort ?....have not seen them in a 1/2 doz. years or more.....
> 
> I have Buck Perry's book but have not read it yet !....have always been intrigued by the spoonplug....I snagged a rod & reel many years ago and that's what was on the end of the line....I am going to check into ordering and trolling some, and do need to read that book....will check out the website, thank you....cheers....


I believe the guys you are talking about are the same guys who are on the Spoonplug.net website on the spoonpluggers forum. They talk about fishing the river and how they did in the archives. If I remember,they also posted on youtube. They also advertise their newest(not new anymore) giant size spoonplug called the JB1 and JB2 which they have a youtube video catching big muskies on the spoonplug. The guys name is Jerry Bales I believe. Very good video. I want to buy the JB1 or JB2 but they want $24 I believe. The main advantage of this size spoon plug is the depth it runs(I think 28 feet).If you fish wire line,you can use the size 800 spoonplug and get the same depth for about $11-12 for the spoon plug. However,the wire line cost plus finding a rod with a roller tip(unless you put a tip on your rod) is also pricey. I very seldom fish the 800 let alone the 700 series spoon plug. I normally fish the 100 series in most of the lakes around Jackson/Brooklyn Irish Hills area. I do have several colors in the 700 and 800 series but haven't had the chance to fish them. I bought all my spoon plugs back in the 70s and 80s for about half the price they are now. I never did buy the rod. Just the no-bo trolling line. I use the old Penn 209 reel and a 5' Depth Master trolling rod, I got on sale at Cabelas for just over $20. I paid $9 for the paper back book back then also.


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## 50incher (Aug 23, 2011)

28' is pretty sweet.....I know these guy's know their stuff....and the old Penn 209 ? !!....good stuff too....I appreciate the reply....

The rod I snagged was on Ont. side of river and very short, 5 1/2' max and had dacron line, mono and wire, lol....had been down there a few years....I forget what reel.....thanks again....


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## Larry Kirwan (Oct 21, 2017)

garvelink5 said:


> Gents,
> 
> So glad I found this forum. I have become addicted to trolling as I just started a month ago and my 6 year old son and I have been destroying Northerns.
> 
> ...


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## Larry Kirwan (Oct 21, 2017)

you are a lucky man for a number of reasons.....


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## fisheater (Nov 14, 2010)

jd4223 said:


> Forgot,1 last thing,go to www.bucksspoonplugs.com for the spoon plugs and look at top of website and click on Buck Speaks,he explains all about using the spoon plugs. Also you might just want to buy individual spoonplugs in a couple of popular sizes and colors(size 100 and 700)instead of the whole pack. You can also purchase the booklet in the Educational Section at top of page for $5. Sorry for the lengthy explanations...


JD, I didn't think anybody even knew what a spoonplug was anymore. I still own a early 1970's genuine Buck Perry spoonpluggling rod I purchased from Fishing Facts magazine with my paper route money. It is a little short for trolling in the canoe, but it is still a quality fiberglass rod


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## Spartazoo (Jan 28, 2004)

My 14 year old son and I love trolling for pike too. our go to lure is the trusty ole' hot-n-tots. We troll fairly slow in 16-20 feet of water and always catch at least one on our go to lake. We don't get out as much as we like but have hooked a couple 35"+ fish this summer. Will probably hit it a few more times before ice up in between steelhead trips.


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## jd4223 (Feb 12, 2012)

Spartazoo said:


> My 14 year old son and I love trolling for pike too. our go to lure is the trusty ole' hot-n-tots. We troll fairly slow in 16-20 feet of water and always catch at least one on our go to lake. We don't get out as much as we like but have hooked a couple 35"+ fish this summer. Will probably hit it a few more times before ice up in between steelhead trips.


I also slow troll Hot-n-Tots,but I troll with the bigger size Hot-n-Tot. The small size will work but I prefer the bigger size. My go to colors are black/silver, hot orange,frog pattern(green with black dots),and black/gold. While slow trolling,I will give the rod a few pumps(sweeps) to increase the speed of the lure and trigger a strike.


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## garvelink5 (Aug 20, 2011)

What size net should I be using? I prefer not to use net so I don't hurt fishing but sometimes you don't have a choice.


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## Spartazoo (Jan 28, 2004)

garvelink5 said:


> What size net should I be using? I prefer not to use net so I don't hurt fishing but sometimes you don't have a choice.


My son and I discussed just today we are going as soon as ice is out on our favorite lake.


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## jd4223 (Feb 12, 2012)

If I use a net,I usually use the same net I use for salmon. Big hoop and deep bag. Try and get a net that your hooks won't get stuck in(don't get cotton). Down side to using a net is the slime comes off the pike while he is twisting and thrashing. Try and keep the net in the water and remove the hooks. Some fisherman use a craddle to land their fish(muskie/pike). This way the fish is kept horizontal in the water. Kind of hard to handle craddle with 1 person though.


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