Early March Pike Fishing

[MCTFisher9120]

If i am correct, for zone 18 Northern Pike are open from January 1st-March 31st, if the plans work out i will be going out to my grandmas lake for a week to visit and possibly do some soft water fishing. Now this lake was frozen over at this time last year but i did not go out on the ice, however there is a small stream that runs a lot of water into this lake and this area stays open during the winter. During the summer I caught 2 pike in this exact area. It is a shallow area that leads off to a 8m drop.(look at pic) If i can safely get to this area by shore(witch I have hundreds of times) what baits and retrieves should I use to try to catch a pike. This area has a rocky bottom so i would guess using shallow running jerkbaits would be my best bet here. But I'm not sure how to retrieve them when the water is very cold.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated

Edited May 3, 2016 by MikeTheBassFisher

[kemper]

If the normal retrieve doesnt work, try a super low jerk retrieve. When I say super slow Im not kidding, its not uncommon for people to pause for as long as 15 seconds between pulls, and I have heard of up to 45 seconds (which I think is somewhat excessive).

 

If that isnt working, chuck a big ars minnow out under a float and wait.

[MCTFisher9120]

9 more days and i'll be going to try out some COLD fishing for pike(if they are there). All i'm going to be trying is what Kemper suggested, the jerk and pause retrieve with some jerkbaits...i even might try a Gulp jerk shad, i'll bring along my sign and camera...hopefully i'll be able to catch a pike or two!

[jediangler]

Live bait (minnow) under a float would be my first choice. You can even let it drift under the ice with the current. If not, try a big jig and 6" rubber shad body. Retrieve it slowly on the bottom with long pauses.

[bassjnkie]

For a bait you can't go wrong with a suspending jerk bait. Like Kemper said twitch,twitch pause, give it 10-15 seconds suspending time. If the pike are there I am sure you get a few or more.

[BillM]

Frozen smelt + bobber

[waterwolf]

big females have the feed bag on and are lookin' to pack on weight for the ice-out spawn.

 

i don't know how much current ,or how far out into the main lake the open water goes but live minnows or dead baits like sardines or blue stickleback served under a bobber represent an easy meal with little energy expended by momma pike and can be drifted out beyond your casting capabilties with other lures. the more water covered , the better your odds.

 

looks and sounds like you are in a great spot ,,

 

good luck mike

[OhioFisherman]

Mike, I fish mostly for bass here. Early April at times there is still ice in sheltered marinas, when the ice is gone sometimes just a day or two before I have fished them, I got pike on slowly cranked mid running crank baits, slow rolling a spinnerbait, and tubes. 3 to 5 feet of water.

 

Years ago when I used live bait more often we also caught them on shiners under a bobber crappie fishing in the very early spring.

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

I would recommend a live bait rig with large sucker minnows...4-5 " in length. they are very hardy and stay alive on the hook for a long time. i wouldn't use a bobber however...

i would gently cast the sucker on a treble with about a quarter ounce of weight 12-18 inches above the bait. leave it on bottom... let the sucker do the action and keep an open bail. watch your line very carefully as a sucker can get very agitated when a gater is nearby. put a bell on your rod tip if you're easily distracted...if a fish hits and starts to take line, let it. if you think he's got it good set the hook n hold on. EXTREMELY heavy fluoro or a wire leader is recommended...

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

i might be personally more inclined to fish the outskirts of ice out spawning beds as opposed to rocks too but that's just me!

[Maverick]

As stated in pretty much every post, go SLOW. If the jerk bait isn't working maybe try a tube or even a gulp on a dropshot or senko on a wacky rig, anything that can be fished slow. Fish this time of year aren't generally too active so you'll have to work for your bites. Good luck!

[EC1]

being a failure in early season Lake Ontario pike fishing, I shouldn't be giving much opinions, but if the crankbaits arent working, I would even try a slip float + plastic / live bait.

 

And for that approach, try do almost the same as you would crappie fishing, but probably with even longer pauses.

 

Crappie fishing = cast, pause, jerk, pause, reel in slack, jerk, pause, reel in slack. Continue until it reaches shore.

 

and in 9 days, looks like the weather might be pretty nice and you won't be too cold.

[MCTFisher9120]

I called the local tackle shop and I was told that many pike are being caught on large minnow rigs under a float(as many told me to do). I was also told that many big areas of the lake are wide open and have no ice on them ...I just need to get there already lol.

[scugpg]

what kind of hooks do you guys use for the minnow under a float? Just a treble in the back or the mouth?

[Raf]

Quick strike rig:

 

Edited March 8, 2009 by Raf