Northern pike are one of the most exciting freshwater fish to catch. Whether they are attacking a lure next to the boat or trying to steal your walleye that you’re trying to catch, northern pike can always make your day on the water a little more exciting. At times, northern pike can be fairly easy to catch because they will hit such a wide variety of live bait and artificial lures.
Habitat
Northern pike can be found in many different lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams. Pike prefer weeds over any other type of cover. You can still find some pike around wood and rocks, but weeds typically hold more fish. Find more information on the different types of water where you can find northern pike.
How to Catch Northern Pike
Northern pike are very aggressive. Bigger pike will easily grab a 15 to 20 inch walleye or another pike and it is common to see pike go after walleye that are being reeled in by anglers, especially if you are fishing on some of the better lakes in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada. You can easily catch pike with artificial lures because they are so aggressive. Lures that have a lot of flash work great because pike are sight feeders. Spinnerbaits, spoons, swimbaits, jerkbaits, spinners and crankbaits all work well for catching pike. Live baits such as chubs, suckers and large shiners will also work well for pike.
Northern Pike Fishing Tips & Techniques
- Northern Pike Fishing Basics
- Fishing Lures for Northern Pike
- Fishing Rigs for Northern Pike
- Live Baits for Northern Pike
- View all Northern Pike Fishing Tips & Techniques
Eating Northern Pike
Northern pike taste excellent, but there are lots of people that avoid eating them because of their Y-bones. Once you learn how to cut out the Y-bones, you can enjoy eating pike without worrying about choking on a bone. Pike are usually filleted, battered with a fish batter and fried in oil. Bigger pike can be also be cooked on the grill or baked.
Plan a Northern Pike Fishing Vacation
Planning a fishing trip for northern pike can be exciting. Most of the better places to fish for pike are up north in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada. Canada & Minnesota are definitely the most popular places to plan a fishing vacation to for northern pike. Most of the good pike lakes also offer good fishing for walleye and some lakes have good fishing for smallmouth bass, perch, crappie and even muskie. Some of the better places to plan a drive-in fishing trip to for pike are Lake of the Woods, Red Lake, Eagle Lake and Lac Seul. There are so many other lakes to drive-in, boat-in or fly-in to in Canada. Ontario gets the most interest, but don’t rule out some of the other provinces either. Canada offers some excellent fishing for northern pike. There are plenty of other places to plan a great fishing vacation to for northern pike. Take a look at the best northern pike fishing destinations.