The area lakes have been known as a great pike fishery and it continues to be that way today. You can catch pike all over the place from the weeds to the points to the rocks. If you target them, you can catch good numbers of them and some trophy fish are here as well.
Crane Lake
Crane Lake is mostly known for its walleye, sauger, smallmouth bass and northern pike fishing. Anglers do well here for walleye and sauger and for those who target northern pike, you can catch some big fish if you put in the time. Some quality crappie and perch are available. Smallmouth bass are here in good numbers too.
Crane Lake Minnesota DNR Report
Sand Point Lake
Sand Point Lake is located on the border between Minnesota and the Province of Ontario and is part of the Namakan Reservoir, which also consists of Crane Lake, Kabetogama Lake, Little Vermilion Lake and Sand Point Lake. There is no road access to several of the lakes. Thus, anglers gain access by traveling by boat from road access points located on Crane or Kabetogama lakes.
Walleye are abundant in Sand Point Lake with a lot of nice eater-sized fish available. You can also find some very big northern pike in this lake with fish over 40 inches a possibility on this lake. Smallmouth bass, sauger, crappie, rock bass and perch are also available.
Namakan Lake
Namakan Lake is located on the border between Minnesota and the Province of Ontario and is part of the Namakan Reservoir, which also consists of Crane Lake, Kabetogama Lake, Little Vermilion Lake and Sand Point Lake. There is no road access to several of the lakes. Thus, anglers gain access by traveling by boat from road access points located on Crane or Kabetogama lakes.
The fishing is very good on Namakan Lake for a variety of fish. Walleye are abundant in the lake with a lot of good eater-sized fish. Northern pike are here as well and there are some very nice fish in Namakan Lake. Pike over 40 inches are possible on this lake. Some of the other fish include smallmouth bass, sauger, crappie, rock bass and perch.
Best Baits for Northern Pike
Northern pike are known for eating just about everything they can get the mouths on and there is definitely some truth to that. For the most part, if it swims, pike may eat it. There are some baits that definitely will catch more pike than others though. Spinners, crankbaits, spoons, swimbaits and soft plastics are some of the best lures for targeting pike. Live baits such as minnows and perch are great baits too.
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Best Rigs for Northern Pike
There are many different rigs you can use for northern pike, however, since pike are so aggressive, you really don’t need to use as many of them as you would if you were trying to get good at largemouth bass fishing. For most situations, you can keep it real simple with a jighead and a minnow or soft plastic bait. To learn about some of the rigs that you can use, take a look at our best rigs for northern pike page.
Best Techniques for Northern Pike
Anglers catch pike with many different techniques. Casting, trolling and drifting are most popular ways to target pike, but there are some other methods that also work well too.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for northern pike page.
Learn More About Northern Pike
Our northern pike fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our northern pike fishing website to learn more.
