Lake Nipissing is known for having good populations of northern pike and because of its size and all the fish that are here to eat, this lake grows some very big northern pike as well. This lake is huge and you have so much water to fish. Most anglers target the vegetation in the bays for northern pike and that’s a good pattern to fish here, but don’t rule out all the rocky structure because a lot of pike can be found on the rocks too.
Catch Lots of Pike
With all the bays with weeds here, you have lots of places to target northern pike. If you hit enough spots and use some of the better action lures for pike, you can catch a lot of them here. It’s not uncommon to have 20 to 30 fish days when targeting pike and big fish are here too.
Catch Big Pike
Lake Nipissing is a large lake with tons of food for northern pike. Because of this, there are some very large pike in the lake. Pike up to 40 inches and above are caught every year.
East End of the Lake
This part of the lake is more open, so expect bigger waves, especially if you are fishing the offshore structure. Closer to shore, you have some smaller bays and two larger bays that provide good fishing for pike early in the season. You will find a lot of pike on the offshore structure from summer through fall.
West End of the Lake
The west end of the lake offers so many more productive spots to fish without having to worry about big waves. Fish all the bays, points and islands and you’ll run into plenty of pike.
Fish the Bays
There are numerous bays throughout the lake that offer weed growth and these bays will hold pike throughout the seasons. Find the deeper weed edge and you’ll most likely find some of the bigger pike in that bay.
Fish the Islands
There are so many islands to fish on this lake, especially on the west end. Fish the rocks, weeds and better drop-offs around these islands and you’ll find plenty of pike. The wind can definitely play a role in what side of the island you will find the pike, so when the wind picks up a little bit, you may want to fish the wind-blown side of these islands.
Fish the Points
The points will hold plenty of pike too. Whether these are main-lake shoreline points or points off of islands, you have plenty of points to fish. The points with some vegetation, rocks, a nicer drop-off or some wind blowing into it will all hold some pike. From spring through fall, points are a great spot to fish for northern pike.
Fish Offshore Structure
There are a lot of offshore rocks on Lake Nipissing and they hold a lot of fish. You can target pike on these underwater rock piles, shoals and reefs. Many anglers will fish this structure for walleye and perch, but the pike are here too in good numbers from summer through fall.
Fish the Rocks
Rocks are a great pattern for northern pike, especially when summer rolls around and many of these fish move to offshore structure. Along the shorelines, you will find plenty of pike around the rocks near points and islands.
Fish the Weeds
The weeds are usually the best pattern for catching lots of pike and that is usually the case here. You’re going to find a lot more protected water on the west end of the lake. You have lots of bays, islands and points to fish here. Target the weeds in these areas and you should be able to catch a lot of pike.
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.
