big pike and little pike in same river areas?

[splashhopper]

Hi all: I am heading our in a few minutes for some more pike action. ( got a waterproof case for my phone now too )

 

There are two places that I have been having succes with the pike so far this summer.

 

1) A small conservation lake that that has produce pike in the 20-30" range for me and a friend or two.

 

2) A small slow dark river that has produced pike up to 36" inches for me so far.

 

 

Given these two places, what are the expectations for pike getting any bigger than this in these places.

 

There is lots of other species of fish for the pike there to eat too btw.

 

When I see some of the posts of the "northern" pikes on here recently, I think I wanna put even more effort in to hooking in to a few of those brutes.

 

I just don;t know if they exist below Georgian bay is all.

 

Thanks.

 

I will be checking this thread on my Blackberry later tonight for any help you may have.

 

Tight lines

 

Splashhopper

[BillsTheBassMan]

Hey Ron,

 

If you're catching a 36" pike in the areas you generally fish (I roughly know the area) then you are doing well. You can't expect much more than 36", 40" would really surprise me. I think you can get into some hogs outside of G-Bay, but not too far outside of G-Bay.

 

Ryan

[alexcba]

well theres always a bigger fish out there.. how much bigger i dont know but if they are getting to 30" in one place then surely there are bigger fish swimming around the same place. they are also cannibalistic, so they can have bigger meals via other pike.

[Musky or Specks]

Truly big pike are a thing of the north although Simcoe and GB hold some. A 36" for southern ontario is pretty darn good

[lunkerbasshunter]

im know the great lakes waters hold some monster pike. Niagara river, st lawrence river. so its not just up north. a couple years back i saw a 10 year old kid catch a 40 off the bronte peer.

 

I would say that if there is an abundance of bait fish then pike can get big in many rivers and lakes. Not sure exactly the genectic make up of pike but you think, southern pike would have a larger growing season??? like bass for example?

 

cheers!

[spinnerbaitking]

I know there is bigger Pike in the water your fishing, just not lots of them because so many people take them home, a camper at one of the lakes was complaining to me about not being able to catch as many big Bass & Pike as we used to, as I questioned him about how many bigger fish the campers took to eat he implied quite a few, I kind of mentioned they were the problem & told him how long it takes for a fish to get that big & if they kept taking the bigger fish out of there they better not be complaining to me any more about not catching bigger fish, I think my point was spread around the camp but I'm not sure. The river is likely your best bet you never know. If you truely want to go for big Pike we should hit Lake Huron up this Fall or next Spring, we caught about 8 over 33" this past spring with a 39" & 40" being the biggest we caught, saw bigger ones just couldn't get them to hit

Richard

[cram]

Unless you're up north where the water is cool year round, you need deep water for big pike.

[splashhopper]

I know there is bigger Pike in the water your fishing, just not lots of them because so many people take them home, a camper at one of the lakes was complaining to me about not being able to catch as many big Bass & Pike as we used to, as I questioned him about how many bigger fish the campers took to eat he implied quite a few, I kind of mentioned they were the problem & told him how long it takes for a fish to get that big & if they kept taking the bigger fish out of there they better not be complaining to me any more about not catching bigger fish, I think my point was spread around the camp but I'm not sure. The river is likely your best bet you never know. If you truely want to go for big Pike we should hit Lake Huron up this Fall or next Spring, we caught about 8 over 33" this past spring with a 39" & 40" being the biggest we caught, saw bigger ones just couldn't get them to hit

Richard

 

I would be up for that Richard

[BillsTheBassMan]

we caught about 8 over 33" this past spring with a 39" & 40" being the biggest we caught, saw bigger ones just couldn't get them to hit

Richard

 

Call me crazy, but they don't get that big from not eating.

[OhioFisherman]

Ohio`s record pike Pike, Northern 22 lbs., 6 oz., 43" long. Lyre Lake. By Chris Campbell, Dayton. Oct. 3 1988

 

There is a chance there might be a bigger pike in the area? also a chance you might get hit by lightning fishing for it? Unusual catches happen, don`t expect them. If you fish waters that have a history of producing big fish your chances are better.

[spinnerbaitking]

Call me crazy, but they don't get that big from not eating.

 

HAHA Maybe not but they sure don't get that big from eating them either, I've seen bigger than that in both systems & every year there is bigger than that caught in a local family's derby but then they eat them

Richard

[SylvanOwner]

Someone mentioned it further up but it's worth putting some emphasis on.....big pike need cold water. They are quite a different beast than the 30"ers and smaller that people commonly catch. In a reservoir you'll need to be close, slightly above or below, the thermocline - look for areas where good structure coincide with this depth. In your river scenario you'll need to find deep, cool holes and/or springs.

 

Food is certainly not the only factor involved in growing big pike. It sounds to me like you're doing pretty well with size already - although I don't know the area you are fishing. Big pike in summer in Southern Ontario is not an easy game to play.

 

Good luck.

Edited August 9, 2010 by SylvanOwner

[Gregoire]

I think you have a better chance of getting a big pike up north this time of year, but there are monsters in the south that you can catch in the spring, however you can only catch them for a limited time. From what I have read and heard big pike head into deeper water in the summer and are much harder to catch. That is why I am becoming more interested in musky fishing. After catching a big pike this spring (around 40 inches and 10 pounds) all I can think about is boating a 20 pound + fish. I would also love to hear advice from anyone about catching large pike in the summer.

[jbailey]

Unless you're up north where the water is cool year round, you need deep water for big pike.

 

definately - can nail hammerhandles all day in the shallows but once they get big they head for the depthhhss