# Teach me how to catch Pike...1 Tip?



## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

Stelmon....I had good luck with one of the red/white DareDevil Spoons...I would use a steel leader though...Good Luck!


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## cireofmi (Feb 13, 2001)

My advice is first make sure you use a steel leader. Then use inline spinners and spoons. Thats it.


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## The Highlander (Mar 25, 2002)

Stelmon,
I met an old gentleman on the AuSable a few years back and I asked him what he was fishing for. He told me big pike. I asked what kind of bait do you use. He replied, "Dead smelt ona slip sinker, Sitting on the bottom. Really big pike don't get big by chasing small lively minnows." Made sense to me. I don't fish pike much. I believe in listening to the older folks, since they have been here longer than I.


Tony


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## Lunker (Aug 27, 2001)

Stelmon, 
Ive heard smelt is very good also. If you cant get any smelt or suckers, I have caught them by catching a bluegill and using it for bait. I always plucked out the eyes so it wouldnt swim away from the pike. It helps attract big fish too. I caught a few on big Mepps Minnow spinners with silver blades too. 
Good luck remember to pluck out the eyes for better action. Nasty huh but deadly...


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## Sailor (Jan 2, 2002)

Well stelmon-after my smartypants story about fishing Pike with peas I guess I owe you some sound advice. I've been fishing Pike with success
for over fifty years. As the prior posts suggest
there are many ways to catch Pike. Here are the ways that have worked best for me:
1)For BIG Pike nothing beats dead Smelt.You want
the biggest Smelt you can obtain with guts,scales,feathers and all-not the little cleaned ones from the grocery store. Big bottom feeding Pike are not line shy so use heavy line on
a casting (or better yet a downrigger) rod with a wire leader and a trebble hook-or a quickstrike rig. You do not need a sinker-just cast out and let it sink from your anchored boat-making sure the rod is in a pole holder or has a line tied to it-and that you have a gaff and a club. Then go about fishing gills or something else with another rod and start looking for a good taxidermist! 
2)Live bait: forget the Suckers and Golden Shiners! They are wonderful (and expensive)Pike bait BUT the best live bait I've found for Pike is 
a large(the bigger the better)fresh caughtPerch. The important thing is to mutilate the Perch i.e. cut off ALL the Perches fins(I carry a pair of scissors for this). The Perch will wiggle frantically and live for hours-And outfish any Sucker or Shiner. If you have trouble catching
a Perch-a Bluegill or Crappie will work almost as well.
3)Late Fall: troll fairly fast with a gas outboard
in a zig-zag pattern with #7 Mepps spinners about 30' behind the boat. In late Fall(October and November) Pike will follow the wake of the boat and you'll never catch as many any other time or way-it even beats Deer hunting!
4)Mid Summer: Pike are deep in the coldest water in the lake(if the lake has large springs concentrate in this area). Drift over the area you target vertical jigging your largest Daredevil or other large heavy spoon. Using a stout rod with heavy line and a wire leader, Raise the rod 2' or more off bottom and then lower it abrubtly letting the spoon hit bottom hard. Hang on tight to your rod.
When Pike fishing always have very sharp hooks.
It has often been said that Northern Pike are the only freshwater fish that "The bigger they get the better eating they are" This may be true-but if you begin to glow in the dark go back to perch fishing! Hope some of this helps.


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## stelmon (Sep 21, 2000)

Thanks for all the help guys. I will be out there in force. I know of a place where I could get alot of chub's. Those would probably work, right?

What pound line shoud I have?


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