Some of my best days of pike fishing have been on topwater lures.
My favourite is the Scum Frog. Black, yellow, glow in the dark white and white/green combo work well for me.
I also like Matzuo poppers and really big Jitter Bugs.
The reason i love fishing the Scum Frog is that I can toss that baby in to the thickest mess on the water or the ugliest mess of trees that have fallen in the water. I have NEVER hung a scum frog up.
The key is to feel the fish BEFORE setting the hook.
I lost a ton of fish before I learned to count to about 3 or 4 before setting the hook. Thanks for all the tips from other OFC'ers.
The EXPLOSION really gets the adrenaline pumping and it takes PATIENCE to NOT set the hook upon seeing the strike.
Make sure u have the lightest wire leader that u can find. I like a 10lb wire leader and am going to be trying flourocarbon this year to see if I get even more action .
Good luck.... it takes practice and patience... with patience being the biggest challenge.
But once u get the hang of it and u are fishing with a friend that "hates top water " fishing and hooking fish and he isn't.... u will appreciate the practice time.