any tips and tricks for catching northern pike through the ice

Looking for suggestions on how to catch northern pike through the ice like time of day, bait, rigging and anything else you could think of to help never been really successful in catching them through the ice

@billiam75

This video should give you a good start on the rigging and baits. AS for time of day I’ve always been most successful from 9AM – 3 PM… right in the middle of the day.

Here’s another video that covers a similar rigging approach using live suckers instead of dead bait, fished under tip-ups instead of using rods with the Ifish Pro. As you’ll see, if you’re in the right area this type of set up can be equally effective on walleye.

Thank you James holst for the tips on bait the rigs and time of
day I am anxious to use this information on Saturday

Goggle Jonny Petrowske In Fisherman. You’ll find an article for a pike tip up strategy that I used last ice season with some success in the Minneapolis metro. I haven’t been out yet this year but when I do I’ll be using this again. It keeps you moving with a jigging rod and keeps you on top of your tip ups as well. I’d like to get ahold of the ifishpro that James and company were using on lotw for this strategy. Would be fun. Give it a try some time. It’s a good way to search and cover water for pike.

If using tip ups keep active with them. Check them every 10 minutes or so to keep bait moving, keep weeds off lines and that they are not frozen up.

For me, I’ve been chasing Pike this year a few times in the West Metro with some success as well as a trip to the south side of Mille Lacs.

Daytime for sure. I have not noticed a big difference from early light to last light. Seems my best action so far this year has been the lightest part of the day. That 9AM to 3PM.

Just dropping down live suckers on a Quick Strike rig. For some reason, the Craw color blades has been the best producer. 3-5 feet off the bottom and just outside the weedlines. In about 10-15 FOW. I have been using the new iFish Pro devices and like em to some degree. A little tricky to set up when you are as fat and immobile as myself, but I manage.

@MikeW22 is right though, keep moving the setups until you find the right zone. Then once you hit a few times, replicate with the others. I set a typical spread with a buddy where we set some shallower and some deeper. Some higher and some lower to the bottom.

A big balance jig with plastic v tail removed and fitted with a curly tail grub works as well pop holes along a reed line the more the better

If legal use natural bait fish. For me that’s 3-4″ Bluegill.

@jamesholst
Do you have a pic of your homemade quick strike rigs?

Are they just a split ring with 2 droppers say 5 inches long or is there more to them?
DT

deertracker wrote:

@jamesholst
Do you have a pic of your homemade quick strike rigs?

Are they just a split ring with 2 droppers say 5 inches long or is there more to them?
DT

@deertracker

I don’t have any of those rigs here handy at the studio. I have them in one of the Otter Monster boxes on the sleds. We’ll be headed out to shoot our next show tomorrow night. I’ll grab one of those rigs and shoot some pics.

Ahem @jamesholst , but you already have details on the rig with images from the recent pike episode. I will attach images and save you the trouble.

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JD Winston wrote:

Ahem @jamesholst , but you already have details on the rig with images from the recent pike episode. I will attach images and save you the trouble.

I knew I had those out there somewhere… I just couldn’t remember where to find them. Thanks for the assist Mr. Winston!

Thanks JD. Not sure how I missed those pics.
DT

I’ve never fished Pike with a dead Cisco or Herring, only live Suckers. I feel like a moron considering I’ve seen so many on my Marcum VS625 sit and stare and even get head butted by a Sucker Minnow and not bite. Sometimes they want the easy meal.

Looking forward to trying QS rig next week

Doug Larsen wrote:

I’ve never fished Pike with a dead Cisco or Herring, only live Suckers. I feel like a moron considering I’ve seen so many on my Marcum VS625 sit and stare and even get head butted by a Sucker Minnow and not bite. Sometimes they want the easy meal.

Looking forward to trying QS rig next week

What I’ve experienced is that when the pike are on livebait, like suckers, they won’t eat a deadbait, and vice versa. Not sure why. But they can be very picky, particularly late ice when deadbait seems to be the only game in town.

Thank you all for the help so far using the quick strike rig and the changing sets more often I managed to put 7 pike on the ice and 6 walleyes all caught on tip ups. And to many yellow perch to count weighting on tip ups using a jigging rod we kept 150 of the biggest ones nice not having a limit on yellow perch in most of Montana

These are the smallest of the perch i kept Saturday

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REAL nice day! Congrats! Pass the knowledge along to someone else and introduce them to the sport of ice fishing.

You guys fish the dead suckers on the bottom or various depths?

ozzyky wrote:

You guys fish the dead suckers on the bottom or various depths?

I don’t fish dead suckers but when we do fish deadbaits, like herring or smelt (where legal), we suspend them off the bottom anywhere from a foot off the bottom to a foot under the ice. It really depends on the fishery. But we never place them right on the bottom.

im gunna have to get a list of supplies for those rigs to try out

James Holst wrote:

ozzyky wrote:
You guys fish the dead suckers on the bottom or various depths?

I don’t fish dead suckers but when we do fish deadbaits

I prefer the living Dead minnow (AKA Zombie Minnow) and yep, you guessed it…I fish it six feet under the surface.

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Quick strike rigs, knowing the fish’s main forage for that certain lake, and a windless tip up. Landed this ol’girl. 42″Inxhes on the mark and 22+lb , qnd i think timing, plus location, a lil luck from those above are the biggest factors. It took 2.5 ice seasons to even hook up with her. My buddy had on with a gill plate bigger than a 6″ hole when i looked thru, no bs. This told me i was on the right lake, the rest took sheer dedication.

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nick roberts wrote:

Quick strike rigs, knowing the fish’s main forage for that certain lake, and a windless tip up. Landed this ol’girl. 42″Inxhes on the mark and 22+lb , qnd i think timing, plus location, a lil luck from those above are the biggest factors. It took 2.5 ice seasons to even hook up with her. My buddy had on with a gill plate bigger than a 6″ hole when i looked thru, no bs. This told me i was on the right lake, the rest took sheer dedication.

Bet there’s a lot of eggs in that big old girl. I can tell by the way it’s fat-wide behind the head.

Well bean using dead smelt in anywhere from 8 to 20 foot of water keeping the bait at least 2 feet off the bottom and limited out twice on the northerns and walleye since the 4th

I tried a green and gold 1/4 ounce lender spoon today and I am hooked on them my tackle box is getting filled with many more sizes and colors proof in the pictures

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Nice!

I really need to start checking the date on my camera when I replace the batteries it is the jan 9 2015 not dec 16 2014 other one was taken on my friends phone

Here in Vermont I just use a shiner about 3-4 inches long with a single size 1 or 2 hook, depending where I’m going, that comes with a steel line and attach that to 12″ steel leaders. When setting up I set about 1-2 feet from the bottom or more if I’m over a weed bed.

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