A good pike rod

[Weeds]

Hi. Topic title more or less states it all. I do alot of fishing for Pike along the Toronto waterfront on weekends, especially now that the Kawarthas have closed up shop for the season. Now I have a great Musky rod but that just seems a little heavy duty for Piking along the T.O. waterfront; I know they have some monsters in there but at the same time there are quite a few hammer handles as well. I actually just purchased a medium 6 and a half foot St. Croix Baitcasting Rod for Toronto outings but it almost feels a little light for what I imagine a good pike rod would be (I've only ever caught one pike, it was about the size of a whole Mackerel you might get at a Restaurant). So....Suggestions....anyone? I've read a few articles and seen a few fishing shows where they actually suggest a medium power action rod but I'd like to hear others thoughts. Thanks, Ross

[tbayboy]

I used a medium heavy in the spring and was happy with it, the little guys still gave it a bit of a bend but it was able to handle the mid 30"ers as well (biggest I got this spring). I've used my cheapo BPS tourney medium as well though and didn't have any problem with the bigger guys either though a couple times I wished I had a bit more backbone.

[cranks bait]

I have a 7' Crucial Baitcast Med that is alright for pike, I have landed a few 40" with it. I prefer to use my 7" Compre baitcast that is med. heavy. I still have the senitivity, but more power. I also use a 7'2" Cumara spinning Med. Heavy. It also works really nice for the pike and bass. I get a lot of feisty fish here in the St. Lawrence river, thus I prefer a med. heavy rod.

[snag]

I use MH 7' for both baitcast and spinning.

 

You will need to go deep and your gear needs strength for weeds, lure weight, distance and hauling a largish fish in an obtuse location.

 

I also have some back-up rods 6' to 8' for specific applications.

 

Tip:

Leave your expensive rod at home if you are fishing below 0 degrees with a windchill.

 

Good luck!

 

S.

[GbayGiant]

Yep, I have no problem pulling them in on a medium walleye rod, but it would depend on lure weight/reel size/line diameter as well, I think a MH to H bass flipping rod 7-8' would probably be the best all around pike rod, I find musky rods are way to heavy even for the biggest pike and a medium action walleye rod can't handle heavy lures. So if I had to choose one I'd go with a MH or Heavy bass flipping rod or I'm sure some companies probably make Pike signatures, not sure but they would be similar to a flipping rod.

 

When you say medium it all depends because they always vary in strength, like a bass medium, walleye medium and musky medium are all way different but basically a MH bass would be good all around.

[Weeds]

Thanks for the replys. I'm kicking myself because when I picked up the medium action rod I could have just as easily gone with a medium heavy or even heavy. But.......I suppose this will have to do. For now. Until I can sneak one more rod into the house without the wife noticing.

[007]

Hey weeds

 

I use a 7ft Medium-Heavy BPS Tourney Special for casting lures for pike - caught a few small ones with it without any problems and also caught carp to 15lbs with it.

 

I'm hoping to give it a spin tomorrow along the TO waterfront/islands tomorrow - fingers crossed.

 

007

[Raf]

as mentioned the 7' mh is a great pike rod.. if you're shore trashing however, a longer rod may be a good idea. this time of year i wouldn't be afraid of using an 8' muskie rod and throwing the big stuff for pike too.

[brickNblock]

...yesir....Im thinking what Raf said,

Maybe even 8-6 mh with a fast taper.

[ccmtcanada]

Yep...medium heavy is my preference, but I have used medium with some success as well.

[Toronto_Angler]

Sorry to Hijack the topic. Are the Pike still biting at Harbourfront? The last few times I've been down the cabbage that is left is brown and dead and I couldn't even get a follow.

[Dabluz]

For the past 10 or 15 years, I've been using 2 rods for pike. Both rods are exactly the same. They are 8 1/2 foot Berkley Steelhead Rods. However, one was broken about 10 inches from the tip. They have both been great so far. I've just bought a MH fast action Team Daiwa 7 foot one piece rod that looks and feels fantastic but I have yet to use it. To me, the rod I choose is more due to the type of lure and technique I am using than what sort of fish I am targeting.

[Rich]

6'6 Medium action is all I use unless I'm after trophies (then I use my musky rod).

[addict]

7ft medium heavy baitcaster good for pike bass and anthing else that swims

[mistyjr1]

I use 7' medium heavy like many it seems. Caught a nice 36''er on one this year. I know that this is a bit heavy for a pike but if you think there might be a chance you will be fishing somewhere with both muskie and pike, I have a Pete Maina 7' medium heavy, can definitely hold pike and can hold a good size muskie too. Combo with a

nice reel is 200$.

 

My 3 cents

 

Mistyjr1

[Burning Babies]

In my limited experience with pike fishing, 6'6" and 7' MHs have worked well as well.

 

 

Given that the OP's question has been pretty unanimously answered, perhaps I can add a similar one. On the few occasions I have gotten to fish pike, I have spent a fair amount of time fishing bigger baits than a MH can really handle: 7" Bomber long As, big 1 oz Reaper spinnerbaits, etc. I have been using a Bass Pro Shops 7' H action, medium to slow power Spiralcell rod for these. The action and overall length feels about right, but the 12" handle feels too short, and I find casting it hard on the wrist. I am considering a Pete Maina 7' MH rated for 1/2 to 2 oz lures, but I am concerned it might be too stiff: I have a Maina 7'6" MH which is way stiffer than I would want for this job, but it is also rated for far heavier baits (2-10 oz). Does anyone have experience with this rod, or have an alternative recommendation with a similar length and handle size?

 

Edit: Jeeze; I didn't read Mistyjr1's post completely. Is Maina pretty comfortable for throwing bigger pike baits? How does the action feel compared to an MH bass or muskie rod. I guess I'm looking for something in the middle.

Edited November 22, 2007 by Burning Babies