The northern pike is one of the easier fish to catch on the Clearwater-Pipestone Chain of Lakes. These cannibalistic predators are continually on the prowl or lurking in the weeds in search of their next meal. It’s not often that a pike will ignore a well presented artificial lure. For the angler to be consistently successful though, you need to know about their feeding habits and where to fish for them.
The prime forage for northern pike in our chain of lakes is yellow perch and ciscoes; they also eat smaller pike, suckers, walleye, bass and even small ducks. They commonly take fish one-half their own body length. Generally spring and fall produce the largest pike caught by guests of Little Moose Lodge.
Deep, clear lakes with a forage base of ciscoes, such as Pipestone and Clearwater Lake tend to produce bigger pike than do lakes with a forage base of panfish or shiners. Pike that chow down on oily ciscoes, or lake herring, really put on pounds in a hurry.
It’s fairly simple to locate the smaller pike; they spend nearly all their time in shallow weedy water throughout the seasons. Locating trophy pike is not so easy; you must become familiar with their seasonal movement patterns.
Spring
Early season pike are found near their spawning grounds in shallow weedy bays close to streams and rivers. The best bays have sandy or muddy darker bottoms where the water warms up sooner, these bays also attract the pike forage. If you approach the bays quietly you sometimes will see the big pike or muskies sunning themselves.
Casting spinner baits, buck tails, spoons, shallow crank baits, jerk baits, surface lures and a variety of soft plastics will produce good results. Your tackle box should have a good variety of natural colored and florescent colored lures. For the fly-fisherman, this is the best opportunity to catch big pike on large streamers; black is a top color providing a very strong silhouette, along with white and chartreuse
One of the best presentations for catching huge pike is still fishing with live bait. Cast out your bobber with a 8 -12 inch sucker minnow attached to your quick-strike rig and wait for the bobber to disappear; it wont take long to hook into a pike if you are fishing in a good area. One drawback to this type of fishing is sometimes they become deeply hooked. For a healthy release, it’s best to cut the line, rather than trying to work the hook free and damaging the pikes gills and stomach.
Summer
Once the shallows bays get to warm for their comfort; the bigger pike head for deeper water. Unlike a muskies warmer water temperature preference, big northern pike prefer cooler water in the 50 to 55 degree range. Main lake rocky or weedy points that gradual taper into deep water are prime summer pike spots. Rocky reefs or cabbage weed humps near deeper water, island clusters and narrows between shorelines are good summer pike locations.
The same lures used in the spring are just as effective for summer pike fishing; normally you just have to fish in deeper water. There are many excellent deep running crankbaits on the market that work great for pike; several include the Rapala Deep Down Husky Jerk. Casting and jigging are good presentations; a lot of our guests unintentionally catch big pike while jigging for walleye. Trolling subsurface lures along weed lines, drop-offs and rocky reefs at speeds from 2 to 5 miles per hour is a deadly summertime technique for pike. Trolling allows you to quickly cover a lot of water and the fast-moving lure triggers lots of strikes.
Fall
As the water temperature begins to cool down in the early fall, the bigger pike can be found again in the weedy bays. Cast large spinners, spoons, spinner baits and jerk baits over top and alongside the weed beds. Trolling is another good presentation, especially when using planer boards so the fish don’t become spooked by the boat. Keep trolling speeds below 2 miles per hour; even though these fish are in shallow water to feed, the colder water has slowed down their metabolism.
Later in the fall, once water temperatures drops into the 40’s, ciscoes move in to shallow reefs and rock bars to spawn. The pike are right behind, gorging themselves, bulking up to nourish their eggs over the winter.
Fishing for big pike is unpredictable at the best of times and demands that the angler keep an open mind. If your regular techniques aren’t working, don’t be afraid to switch.
Recommended Rods and Reels for Northern Pike Fishing
Jig Fishing- 6’ to 6-1/2’ medium-heavy spinning rod/reel combo with10-15lb line
A fast-action rod will give a good immediate hook set. Especially in clear water, use a clear fishing line such as Vanish fluorocarbon.
Casting- 6-1/2’ to 7-1/2’ medium-heavy baitcasting rod/reel combo with12-20lb line. Use a fast action rod and a high speed reel, Use a low stretch monofilament line or a braided line. Although not as durable, a spinning rod and reel combo is also suitable.
Trolling- 6’ to 7’ medium-heavy baitcasting rod/reel combo with 12-20lb line
Braided line such as Power Pro works well.
Lures and Tackle
- Deep diving crankbaits such as Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk, Super Shad Rap, X-Rap Magnum in a variety of sizes, diving depths and colors.
- Shallow water crankbaits including Rapala Jointed, Husky Jerk, Countdown in various sizes and colors. 6-8 inch Suick in sucker or black color pattern.
- Larger spoons, including Len Thompson Five of Diamonds and Eppinger Red/White Dardevil are a Canadian tradition. The weedless Johnson Silver Minnow also work extremely well.
- Spinnerbaits in white, black and chartreuse, Indiana and Colorado blades.
- Top water lures such as Heddon Zara Spook, Suick Ciscoe Kid 700 Topper and Arbogast Jitterbug, white silver or frog are top color choices.
- Various in-line Mepps spinners including Mepps Giant Killer Bucktail .
- Rat-L-Traps in larger sizes of red, blue, silver and gold.
- Assortment of Berkley Gulp or Powerbait soft plastic shad, flukes & twister tails best plastic colors are white, pearl and chartreuse.
- 12-18 inch steel leaders with quality snaps such as Berkley Cross Lok
- Polarized fishing glasses, jaw spreaders, needle nose pliers, slime towel, fish handling glove, floating markers, measuring tape, camera and fillet knife.
