Perrault Lake is a good pike lake. Anglers catch good numbers of them with some big fish too. There are better pike lakes in the area, but you can definitely target them here and catch plenty of them.
Anglers catch plenty of pike here by targeting the weeds in the bays as well as fishing all the rock here on the points, around the islands, along the shorelines and offshore too.
Clear Water Pike Fishing
Because of the clear water, some anglers struggle when targeting pike here with their heavier gear.
Use Fluorocarbon Leaders
If you want to have better success here, get rid of the steel leaders and use fluorocarbon leaders instead. If you go with 30 pound mono and a 40 pound fluorocarbon leader, you should do fine here. You are also going to have more success by learning to fish deeper water as well.
Fish Deeper
In clear water, pike will often be found deeper except for early in the spring when they move shallow to spawn. Otherwise, you might have to fish between 15 and 30 feet of water if you want to do better here. You will find some pike shallower all season long, but most anglers that stay shallow will usually not do as well.
Fish the Bays
Northern pike can be found in the bays from spring through fall, however, the bite is definitely better in the bays for bigger pike in the spring, early summer and fall. Once water temperatures rise in the summer, you will usually find smaller pike in the bays as many of the bigger pike will move to offshore waters. The weed growth in the bays will attract plenty of pike, but don’t rule out the rocks either as many pike are caught around the rocks on Perrault Lake.
Fish the Offshore Structure
Islands
There are many islands here and they will hold a lot of pike throughout the fishing season. Pike will roam the deeper water around these islands and they will often move into shallower water to find an easy meal. Rocks and weeds will hold pike around these islands.
Open Water Pike
In deep, clear water lakes, there are always pike that will roam the deeper waters out in open water. It is the same on Perrault Lake. Most anglers won’t target these fish, but good-sized pike can be found roaming the 30 – 50 foot depths as they follow schools of bait fish in open water.
Rock Humps
The rock humps are popular spots to fish for walleye and smallmouth bass on Perrault Lake, but you will find plenty of pike on these spots too. From summer through fall, the rock humps will hold some pike and usually the bigger pike. You may have to fish several of these spots though to find where bigger schools of fish are located.
Fish the Rocks
There are a lot of rocks and not as much weed growth, so plan on fishing plenty of rocks if you want to catch more pike. For some anglers, finding pike around the rocks is harder than the weeds. Fish the points, islands, rock humps offshore and find some of the areas with deeper water near shallow water and you’ll find some pike.
Fish the Weeds
Perrault Lake doesn’t have a ton of weed growth, but there are weeds in the lake and fish will hold in these areas. Pike will be found around the weeds from spring through fall, however, during the summer and fall months, many anglers report a lot of the better pike coming from rock structure out in open water. If you’re more comfortable fishing the weeds, target the bays with weeds until the bite slows down, then move to the rock structure.
Fish the Wind Blown Structure
Wind blown structure is always good for targeting a variety of fish. On Perrault Lake, there are plenty of islands and rock humps that will hold a lot of fish when the wind blows into them. Pike will be here feeding on bass, walleye 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.
