Fish the Bays
There aren’t too many bays on this lake, but there are some bays here worth fishing and the pike do relate to them. You won’t find tons of weeds on this part of the lake, so it won’t be like many of the Canadian destinations that have bays full of weeds such as lily pads, reeds and cabbage. If you can find the weeds, fish them, otherwise, try to relate to the drop-offs as these are usually the areas that will hold more walleye. The pike will be there to feed on the walleye.
Fish the Current
The current area near the bridge will hold some pike. It usually holds a lot more walleye, but the pike will be there too. The pike are usually just on the breaks near the pools of calmer water.
Fish the Points
The points are great for walleye fishing and the pike will be here too feeding on them. The wind usually dictates the better points to fish, so try the wind blown points with a decent drop-off and you’ll find some pike.
Fish the Islands
There are several islands in this area and the walleye relate to these islands. The pike will be there too as they feed on the walleye. The wind can move the fish around, so try fishing the windy points and shorelines around these islands. The drop-offs are always good places to try as well.
Fish the Rocky Shorelines
There are so many rocky shorelines to fish. Walleye will often be found along the windy shorelines with many pike in the mix too. Fish the drop-offs and try to stay in the wind to find the better shorelines.
Fish the Reefs
The reefs hold huge schools of walleye and some very good pike fishing too. Some of these reefs will be loaded with walleye. When you find some of these better spots, you may need to upsize your baits to try to appeal to the northern pike. You can find plenty of pike relating to the reefs. Fish the drop-offs and you’ll usually do better.
Using Leaders for Northern Pike
Prevent northern pike from biting you off with a leader. Many anglers like to use a steel leader and these do work fine with your bigger, faster-moving lures. They also work great when fishing in murky water.
To get more bites consistently though, you can’t go wrong with using mono or fluorocarbon leaders instead of the steel leaders. To save money, go with the mono leaders in murkier water. In clear waters, go with the fluorocarbon.
If you want more information these leaders, take a look here to learn more about northern pike leaders. We also tie them ourselves and you can purchase them here.
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.
