River Pike?

I really want to target pike in several of the rivers around here in NE Iowa (Cedar River, Wapsipinicon River, Sell Rock River). Where do pike like to go this time of the year and during their spawning times?

I’ve heard a lot about backwaters, but i’ve never really tried to target them, but after hearing about a lot of large ones being accidentally caught, i really want to target them.

I don’t think a lot of people target them, they are looked at as a nuisance.

I’ve got a spot that after the water in the river drops I go fish the mouth of this creek. Springs a good time to fish for northerns around here and as soon as the creeks clear up and warm. One of the northerns favorite foods is quillback. quillback enter the creeks and the northerns follow often times going back up into the creek aways but I’ve caught most of mine at creek mouths. I know a spot across the river from this creek thats all mud on the bottom and the northerns winter over there because of the slower water and because thats where the quillback eat from the mud. As soon as the water starts to get up around 60 degrees in the creeks is the time to fish those mouths. I use the biggest spinners I can find or make some up with 2″ to 3″ blades and pull them over diffrent depths, the spinners flash and vibration really attract them and they slam them. Alot of times pulling big spinners right on the surface to make as much noise as you can will produce savage strikes. Hit the creek mouths when the water in the creeks warm and clears, thier a good spot, good luck.

Don’t forget about current eddies and structure either. Pike love to ambush their prey. If they’re not out harrassing a buffet somewhere, they’re usually lying in wait for something to come along. Paddletail plastics such as Mimic Minnows and Calcutta Shads have been really good in the streams and rivers here in WI. Vary your retrieving styles while you cover these areas so the fish will let you know what presentation they favor, then go for some numbers! Colors in my favorite flows tend to be a natural shad look or something in red/white. The Calcuttas in 3″ white/red eyes and hooks have been just killer on pike around here and I favor their tail action too. They really dance! Calcutta brand plastics seem harder to find but worth it if a local shop is willing to order for you.

I do a lot of bass fishing and catch a ton of pike. When the water gets warm, look for any colder water streams that dump into the river that have some good depth to them. That always seems to produce pike in summer months. Hope this helps in some way! Good luck this summer

Right Boods and when the river waters warm they hold less oxygen and the oxygen in cooler creeks also attract walleyes. One creek mouth I fish and was walking twards had a 5 pound walleye laying right in the middle in 10″ of water, the fins were almost out of the water and in the middle high sun part of the day. It turned around and moved back out and over the sand ledge at the mouth, I didn’t spook her that I knew of, it just decided to move. So I walked out into the middle of the creek where this walleye was laying and back this fish came so I froze. It swam right up to my chins and touched both of them and turned around and swam back out over the ledge. I walked quietly making no ripples etc. and looked down at this sand ledge at the creek mouth and there were a dozen or so 2 to 5 pound walleyes taking in that cooler oxygen rich water. Creek mouths are usually clear and halfway deep close to them and theres almost always fish nearby wheather it be northerns, walleyes or smallies, especially if thier deep and in the middle of the summer heat.

Can anybody teach me how not-to catch so many northens in the river I fish I mean really…a six buck lure…like every day DANG! Where’s the smallies?

Northerns are a bonus fish! I’ll take one whenever I can while I’m bass fishing!! They are so fun to catch

I use Tyger leader in northern rich waters.