newboykool Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 So me and a friend went to a small lake filled with pike during the weekend, we know this lake really well and i used to catch them on crank bait and spinner bait, but i wanted to switch it up for once so i used a perch patterned popper. i got at least 10 hits and only managed to land 1, from my past experience with bass , i was waiting to feel the weight of the fish before i set hook, but during all those hit, i never felt much weight, most of they just jumped out of the water . Was it me? or the fish? Thanks =]
johnnyb Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 I would think it was the fish....just taking swipes at it....I've never had much luck with topwater early in the season....or really ever, for pike...on a consistent basis anyway. They like a nice buzzbait mind you....but the stop and go stuff just doesn't seem to get them turned on all the way. In my experience, anyway.
BillM Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 (edited) Definitely noticed the short strikes this weekend, nipping at the end of my slashbaits. Wait until the water warms up a bit, then the topwater bite should turn on. Early season pike fishing is all about being slow... I was pausing up to 3-4 seconds this weekend while running FlatRaps/XRaps and it paid off pretty good. Edited May 30, 2011 by BillM
aplumma Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 WE are at 72 F here and the topwater bite is working well. We are using the soft frogs and finding good hookups. Some of the popper lures with the single hook were still hit or miss. This is for Bass down here that are in season though. Art
ehg Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 Never had great success for pike on topwaters. Through out an inline spinner or rattle bait just below surface and they get hooked. Pike just aren't into topwaters like bass are, it seems.
redskullz Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 Ive caught quiter a few pike on topwater baits...buzzbaits seem to be most effective, but i have also done quite well on a rapala skitterpop. There is times where they dont commit though, especially in cold water.
Guest ThisPlaceSucks Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 i've had most of my topwater success with pike "walking the dog" with a zara spook. i've had fish come clear out of the water and had fish try and hit the spook 5 times before finally getting them. as others suggested, there may have been environmental factors that led to the fish being sluggish this weekend.
TDunn Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 Definitely noticed the short strikes this weekend, nipping at the end of my slashbaits. Wait until the water warms up a bit, then the topwater bite should turn on. Bingo!! I was out yesterday with some clients for pike. We managed a whack of fish but it was a day full of short strikes. I had them chucking inline spinners, spoons and jerkbaits. I took a dozen or so casts throughout the day with a popper. No strikes, swirls...nothing...Still to early here for a good topwater bite but I would think it is game time in southern Ontario. Stick with it, next weekend might be a different story for you. Our pike are just off spawn by the looks of most of them yesterday. Good luck to you....Top water pike is addicting! TDunn
BillM Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 Tyler, water temps on the lake I was fishing were around the 60-61 degree mark. I'm hoping once things get to 65-68 range the pike will be willing biters on anything. We boated a dozen yesterday and probably had at least that many follow up and just nip at the rear hooks, lol. Was a nice change of pace from tossing streamers for residents though!
daryl0815 Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 I tried topwater for pike yesterday at Frenchman's bay, and I had no hits or follows, using a popper, I did have a couple of hits on a lipless crank though, in my experience top water doesn't get pike going as much as other methods, but I don't know much so don't take my word for it, I remember seeing an In-Fisherman episode back in the day and they were slaying huge Pike on topwater flies, but then again it was northern Saskatchewan, you could probably catch a Pike using an old beer can with a treble hook in it!
splashhopper Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 (edited) 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. Edited May 30, 2011 by splashhopper
ehg Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 I tried topwater for pike yesterday at Frenchman's bay, and I had no hits or follows, using a popper, I did have a couple of hits on a lipless crank though, in my experience top water doesn't get pike going That is what i am trying to say as well. In the 8 yrs. or so of looking at reports on this site i haven't seen a 'topwater pike' post. People usually succeed using spinners, x-raps, husky jerks, even jigs and minnows. In 30 yrs. of fishing never caught a pike on topwater. Many pike were caught using inline spinners or suspending bodybaits though. Looking forward to a post of someone catching pike on topwater, never seen it yet.
BillM Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) I've caught some really big pike on topwater, probably 75% of my pike come on a topwater of some sort. But it's all when and where.. Tossing them in the spring time is going to lead you nowhere. Watch the water temps, you'd be amazed at how deep those gators will come from to smash a Zara Spook. Hell, my first muskie was on a Zara Spook off of a weedline going from 15 > 30ft of water. Edited May 31, 2011 by BillM
splashhopper Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 That is what i am trying to say as well. In the 8 yrs. or so of looking at reports on this site i haven't seen a 'topwater pike' post. People usually succeed using spinners, x-raps, husky jerks, even jigs and minnows. In 30 yrs. of fishing never caught a pike on topwater. Many pike were caught using inline spinners or suspending bodybaits though. Looking forward to a post of someone catching pike on topwater, never seen it yet. Here u go ( take a look half way down his belly) I snapped the pic just as he shook the Matzuo free.
bow slayer Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 I have had good luck using jitterbugs for pike in both the Lavigne area of Nipissing and while camping at Grundy Lake. It seems early morning while the mist is still on the water and just before dusk seems to work best for me and pike with top waters.
Rizzo Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 most of the pike I catch up at the cottage (Parry Sound) are on topwater. If I gotta catch one of them stinky slimy buggers I at least want to make it exciting! Generally I'll use a popper style bait if I'm casting to structure, but have caught lots of pike trolling a jitterbug behind a canoe.
manitoubass2 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 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. Great post! I love the scum frog as well. I'll start tossing top waters at about 60 degrees on the river, about 65 degrees on lakes. Sometimes (mainlydusk and dawn) the action can be great. I won't use top waters for pike in the afternoons very often though, just doens't seem to produce for me. As for the scum frogs, took me a good few days to "learn" the patience before setting the hook, now its just natural. I picked up some chatterbaits this weekend I'm looking forward to trying, never used em before
newboykool Posted May 31, 2011 Author Report Posted May 31, 2011 Thank you all for answering i'll try to head out to the lake this weekend and see if it gets any better hopefully to get a video =]
ehg Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 There you go newboykool seems like you have to wait until the summer for pike to hit topwaters. Personally fish Kawarthas where there was no pike once musky season opens which explains my lack of success.
fish_fishburn Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 Walking the dog with a big Zara Spook has caught me lots of nice Northerns over the years. You never know if its gonna work though unless you try it. When its working they hit with tenacity for sure. My favorite is the black and white skeleton looking one.
BillM Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 Walking the dog with a big Zara Spook has caught me lots of nice Northerns over the years. You never know if its gonna work though unless you try it. When its working they hit with tenacity for sure. My favorite is the black and white skeleton looking one. Most of my Zara Spooks are missing eyes and half their paint due to these toothy critters, lol. I can't complain though! Nothing beats a topwater strike!
oates Posted June 1, 2011 Report Posted June 1, 2011 I used to get a lot on Chugbugs (bass that is), top-water has gone to crap for me. Could be a Thames river thing.
cram Posted June 1, 2011 Report Posted June 1, 2011 Have caught lots of littler ones on both zara spooks (like everyone else is saying) and the smallest jitterbug skittered across the surface.
backbay Posted June 2, 2011 Report Posted June 2, 2011 Ditto here on the Spook, and I also have a number of Berkley Frenzy Walkers that I use. One of my most memorable catches last year was a nice pike that launched completely out of the water to take a Frenzy Walker; it was great! I was tempted to break out the topwaters this weekend, but I think it'll be another week or two before it makes sense to go that route. Last weekend, I was interested to see some small water snakes crossing the shallows I was fishing without getting bit. In a month, if the fish were at all hungry, I don't think that would happen....
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