Northern Pike Fishing

[wallacio]

Large flashy spoons like a 6" Williams Whitefish can also be good. (although moreso on bright sunny days).

 

They sure did work the other day huh bud?

[solopaddler]

They sure did work the other day huh bud?

 

 

They did for you that's for sure buddy!

 

(Dave had a stellar afternoon on our fly in last week trolling a large Williams Whitefish for pike. )

[Dabluz]

I use a 3-D fish finder and I still do not trust what shows on the screen. Those things that show up like fish on the screen could be anything. Just drifting over a dead branch will show up as a fish. How can you tell the difference between a sucker and a walleye? On a steep slope, there is no way of detecting fish that are close to bottom because of the shadow effect caused by the steep slope. The shadow effect is difficult to explain in words but in a diagram, it's easy to see how fish can go undetected. Walleye are so often too close to the bottom to be detected and pike are almost always hidden in heavy cover. Yes, there can be fish spotted on the screen but those fish are often at mid-depths and are not in feeding mode. On top of that, a sonar is not much use for detecting fish when used in less than 10 feet of water. I only use a sonar to find structure and then I turn it off when anchored because they do emit lots of noise. When drifting and casting, the sonar only detects structure under the boat. Use your fishing experience and polarized sunglasses to find fish.

 

For walleye, the best trick I can offer is to use some of those jigs with those sharp Sickle hooks. Yes.....those expensive ones. Get any colour you want....as long as they are black with white or red eyes. Do not put anything on the hook except some lively nightcrawler.

Do not cram the hook with too much meat....let the nightcrawler move in the water. The walleye will snarf it all up. Very often you will feel a sharp bump and then nothing. It's as if the jig is snagged on bottom. The walleye will often not even move an inch. Use a very sensitive, light yet very fast action rod. I use 4 and 6 lb mono unless there are lots of snags. I switch to 6 to 10 lb Fireline when then I start losing too many jigs.

[wallacio]

Here's just a little tease.

 

 

How's that report coming Mike???

[solopaddler]

Here's just a little tease.

 

 

How's that report coming Mike???

 

 

Bill's been asking as well LOL!

 

I've been working non stop since I've been back, I'll likely start tomorrow....

[Dabluz]

If you want to minimize the fact that the line gets tangled in the hooks of lures, use a baitcasting reel. Ever notice that when you cast with a baitcasting reel, the lure flies through the air like an arrow? I can't guarantee that the lure will fly like an arrow everytime but for me, it's more than 95% of the time. When using a spinning reel, the lure always tumbles through the air. The tumbling action causes the line to get tangled in the hooks.

[Syn]

They did for you that's for sure buddy!

 

(Dave had a stellar afternoon on our fly in last week trolling a large Williams Whitefish for pike. )

Thanks for the tip. Had a couple in the storage. Just moved them to my tackle box for tomorrow at the G-Pool.

Edited August 7, 2009 by Syn