How to catch pike in canada?????????

OK,

Let me start by thanking all of you for your suggestions on pike fishing in canada from a few months back. We (bro sis and I) are taking my dad to canada to catch some big unns in may. I was wondering if any could help with water temps and how these fish act in the different areas in the spring. We are going to have a good time but I want to be as prepared as possible. I am a bass fisherman and DO NOT KNOW IT ALL!

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Joe

Big sucker minnows, and big pink floats, just make sure the floats are pink, the pike won’t eat your suckers otherwise.

Be carefull with using minnows or even dead bait like Sisco’s or Smelt. In alot of areas in Cananda it is illegal to use any of these baits, even native bait caught from the same waterway. The alltime best lure for Pike in Cananda in the spring is a spoon. Doctors or Johnson’s silver minnow spoons are good. Pixie spoons are good too! Daeredevil still catch huge Pike in Canada, all excellent choices. Silver and gold are great but it wont hurt to have a few colored ones also. Almost every nice Pike (20# +) I have seen caught up there in springtime is on a minnow spoon. The exceptions are there, other favorite I have learned are- jointed/non jointed floating rapala’s, 6″ Suicks in sucker pattern, remove all the hooks from these lures except the back one. Get a handful of weedless spoons and cast any matting or vegetation, if the water is 12″ deep you might be fishing way to deep, I mean think SHALLOW, more shallow then you would ever think- especially if there is vegetation invloved. I have started using large palstics with limited success on my body of water but this is a good choice for pressured fish that you know are there. Jelly-hoo’s or big palstic leaches would be my choice here. Find the rivers that dump into the body of water you are fishing and that’s were the Pike will be, as long as you are fishing the post spawn window you will be golden, find the shallow flats or bays next to the mouths of the rivers. The Pike will be warming/ feeding on these flats and will be most active mid afternoon. Mornings can be slow and you might pass over a spot loaded with huge pike that wont get active until they start to warm up. Usually you will atleast catch a few to give you an idea that they are there. Once you find a spot like this, keep it to yourself, heavy pressure will drive these fish out fast! Moderate pressure will give you your honey-hole for maybe 4-5 days. Hit it once a day for a few hours then leave it alone until the next day, just dont spill your guts around the campfire talkin 10′ tall and bulletproof. This will get you started, nothing is more fun than finding a flat full of big hungry post spawn pike. Bring heavy duty gear- you will find out how good your $200 combo really is. use 30# fireline and make a bunch of good leaders- titanium is good. Pike are easy to handle by hand, a net will damage the slime on the fish and could potentially kill alot of fish. Get a good glove and pick them up under the gil plate. Nothing worse than fishing an area and seeing dead pike scattered around the bottom because guys are afraid to handle the fish properly, simply take your time handling them even if they are snapping on every other cast. Be careful fishing pike like this, its like a drug that is very adictive. I am a confessed pike fishing junkie, I am hooked. I get the shakes, cold sweats etc. You have been warned!

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Be careful fishing pike like this, its like a drug that is very adictive. I am a confessed pike fishing junkie, I am hooked. I get the shakes, cold sweats etc. You have been warned!

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I second that.
Bigpike covered it pretty well. I wanted to add #3 mepps Cyclops spoons work great. The 42incher in my avatar fell to one of those. Since you area bass fisherman you should have some soft plastic jerkbaits in your box i.e. BIG Sluggos’. they work awesome. Cast.. Twitch twitch….. SLAMMO!!!! Its a HUGE-EN… YEah Buddy … Man You got my blood boiling just thinking about it. Grab some big Jigs from your box asd well and put some kind of swim tail on them I like To use all black jigs(maybe that new larger size chatterbait) with a white paddletail plastic trailer. As was stated earlier fish shallow think like you are fishing for spawning bass shallow. I start over weedbeds keeping the boat in about 9-10 foot of water and working shallower. Just a few things that I use hope it helps.

May is “early” in Canada…You may still get snow or icy conditions…so bring some warm clothes.
Dont over look big topwaters like the Zara Spook…pitch em into shoreline cover just like you were bass fishing. Head for shallow black bottom bays that warm up faster.

Nothin like a big Gator blowing up a topwater!

PS… your basic walleye/smallie spin rod won’t cut the mustard… I use a 7′ MH Avid Baitcasting rod with 30# PowerPro braid and a 4′ 40# Flourocarbon leader. If I were to use a spin rod it would be a 7-8′ MH or H action with an appropriate reel.

I have been to NW Ontario the last week of May for the last 7 years and as long as the water temp is below about 50 degrees you will find the pike in as little as 1-2 feet of water, with 4-6 feet best. Look for bays on the north side of the lake with dark bottoms that will warm quickest. As for lures, spoons are great, but I have found that they can be too fast of a presentation often when the temp is still in the 40’s. A #14 Husky Jerk has boated more 40″ plus pike in our group over the last few years than anything. I am sure any shallow running suspending crankbait would work, but don’t be afraid to fish them slow. (twitch, twich, pause style) I will second the large ruber/plastic swimbaits comment also, Slug-go’s and the like get inhaled. Good luck!

I think a better question might be how to NOT catch pike in Canada in the spring? Seriously, just about anything you throw around weeds, wood or rocks in the spring will work.

Thanks for the tips guys!

What kind of leaders do you reccomend?

I dont remember much about the last time we went because I was only 8 years old and my brother was 12. Back then having two little kids with big lures casting around wasnt an option so we just trolled alot. I do remember the largest and most fish did come casting in the shallows though with jointed rapalas. I am gtting so stoked just thinking about it. I see alot of you saying to use braid, is this a “must” or is there a mono that would work as well? All of my bass rods should wourk fine, all MH 7′ with shimano curados or citicas.

Thanks again!

Chartreuse double willow leaf spinnerbait with a chartreuse pearl 5″ grub as a trailer. One of the nice things about this bait is the hook-up ratio is good but you don’t tear up the fish too badly with the single hook and the fish can be easily released w/o too much fuss.

Casting a Red Eye!!

We make our own Florocarbon leaders in 40# or 50# strength. I love them because the don’t kink and don’t sink if you are using a suspending lure. I would agree with the idea of spending a couple of extra bucks and getting a titanium leader. It is work it not to have to deal with a bunch of cheap leaders that get kinked up after 10 fish. Also, where are you guys going?

We are going to Snowshoe Lake with Walsten Outfitters out of Kenora..I think!

This may be a stupid question but, you use 50lb Flouro Leaders and the teeth on the fish don’t cut it?

Again, I’m a bass fisherman…we dont like teeth!

If you know how to catch bass you know how to catch the big gators in Canada! Have fun!

dd

If the leader gets a visible nick on it you will want to retire it, but generally a 50# fluoro leader will make it through 100 pike, which may be 1 day or 3 days depending on the fishing. Also, you will absolutly want to bring at least two mouth spreaders(one always seems to end up in the lake at some point) Good Luck!!!