Muskie strikes for XL pike
After almost 20 years of guiding for each trophy pike and muskie, I’ve realized invaluable insights into the habits of those members of the esox household and the right way to fish for them. Whereas there are similarities within the method to pursuing these apex predators, there’s additionally distinct variations value noting.
Successfully concentrating on giant pike calls for the instruments and mindset of a muskie angler. Nonetheless, the technique for constantly discovering massive pike differs considerably from that employed for muskie — and even smaller pike.
XL pike, XS pike
Some of the notable issues I’ve realized is that massive pike and little pike are two very completely different creatures. Little pike are plentiful and have a tendency to high school collectively in similar-sized teams. That is nicely and good for those who’re on the lookout for motion and a enjoyable day of casting and catching. There’s an opportunity you’ll locate an enormous pike whereas catching numbers, however to routinely contact massive pike, a basic shift in method is required.
Huge pike are sometimes lone wolf creatures. They hunt alone, or in very small teams, and occupy the most effective cowl and construction obtainable. Their very presence makes these areas undesirable for smaller pike.
Temperature verify
In the course of the spring’s pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn phases is a singular time the place massive pike and little pike share frequent habitats.
Throughout this time, pike of all sizes hunt down the warming water of shallow bays, creeks, sloughs, and tributaries. Discovering areas the place water temperatures are within the mid 40s, whereas the basins are nonetheless within the 30s, is essential for finding spawn-phase pike.
That is the one time of 12 months the place I don’t depend on muskie baits for catching massive pike. Spoons, small-to-medium suspending jerkbaits, glide baits, and minnow-imitating comfortable plastics are all go-to displays for pike through the spawning levels.
Shifting into summer time
As spring offers option to summer time, water temperature performs an enormous function in separating massive pike from little pike and muskie. Muskies and smaller pike tolerate hotter water, the place massive pike don’t. Whereas I routinely catch small pike and massive muskie from very shallow, heat water through the warmth of summer time, massive pike aren’t as prevalent there.
As soon as water temperatures heat above 70˚F, massive pike search cooler, deeper water. Studying to focus on deeper water through the summer time months will enormously enhance your probabilities of finding trophy-calibre pike.
Searching on humps
Focusing on humps in principal lake basins is a profitable technique I exploit. These spots sometimes maintain walleye or bass, however they’re additionally a scorching ticket for large pike.
Jigging is likely one of the finest methods to contact massive pike on humps. I exploit a trolling motor to zigzag over it, and across the perimeter. Jigging from 15 to 30 ft beneath the floor is the norm.
Pike typically droop off the sting of humps, over deeper water. Sonar is useful for recognizing these fish.
Baits
The Bondy Bait is the champion of jigging deep summer time construction. It’s not unusual for everybody in my boat to be jigging completely different variations (sizes/colors) of a Bondy Bait. They’re heavy, with a spinning blade that provides vibration and flash, and match the dimensions of pelagic baitfish comparable to ciscos. They only work.
Different baits value jigging embrace extra-large lipless crankbaits and muskie-sized tube jigs.
spoon a hump
I found a method that works for fishing humps utterly accidentally. A consumer misplaced a walleye rod over the aspect of the boat. We tried to retrieve it by dragging the underside with giant spoons. Because the spoons have been being introduced as much as the floor, their ascent stored getting interrupted by aggressive pike.
I’ve since modified this method by positioning the boat on the shallowest a part of the hump and fan casting spoons away from the boat. When the spoon lands, let it sink to backside on a slack line. Then reel it in with a medium-to-fast retrieve. This mimics a fleeing baitfish and triggers highly effective hits.
Open water (sonar required)
Focusing on pike in open water looks as if a needle-in-a-haystack proposition, however the rewards are definitely worth the effort. Aspect-imaging and forward-facing sonar play an enormous function in open water success. I run devoted items for each.
The most important pike spend appreciable time in summer time in big-water basins. Not on particular buildings, however merely cruising round searching for massive meals. Huge baitfish like ciscos shall be in cool, deep water.
Discovering baitfish is essential. Use your electronics to identify them whereas trolling massive crankbaits across the basin. Chances are you’ll sometimes luck out and hook an unmarked pike, however your principal focus is pinpointing particular person fish. When you mark fish, relying on the depth, change to casting or jigging.
Baits
Shallow fish (15 ft or much less) are more likely to chase a forged bait like giant comfortable plastic swimbaits or tubes. Waterwolf ’s Shadzilla and Chaos’ Poseidon swimbaits are go-tos that come straight out of my muskie field. Fish positioned deeper than 15 ft are finest focused with vertical jigging ways. Once more, the Bondy bait will get the nod most of the time.
My XL pike gear
• 8-9′ ft extra-heavy motion muskie rod
• Dimension 300 to 400 baitcasting reel
• 50 to 80 lb braided principal line
• 130 lb fluorocarbon chief (9″ lengthy)
• For jerkbaits, walk-the-dog, and different presentations, I typically use a 174 lb single-strand wire chief
• Trolling leaders are 150 lb fluoro, 60″ lengthy
• Dimension 3 or 5 Stringease Keep-Loc snaps
Fall fishing for large pike mirrors almost each side of fall muskie fishing, together with equipment, baits, areas, and methods. These apex predators behave very equally to every different right now of 12 months — greater than any different time.
Present pinches
My primary go-to location for large fall pike is present pinches. My residence lake of Lac Seul in northwestern Ontario is a big reservoir with fixed circulation all through the system. The present is extra pronounced the place the water is compelled by any type of narrows or pinch level. These areas are gold mines for pike and muskie. The present acts like a conveyor belt that feeds baitfish by.
Jigging
I exploit my trolling motor to slowly work into the present. Bondy baits and 10-inch tube jigs are high producing displays.
My jigging entails protecting my rod tip simply above the floor, whereas looking for the underside with my jig. As soon as I hit backside, I reel up a number of ft. My jigging movement is a gentle carry of six to eight ft, a quick pause on the high, then dropping again down. On the drop, comply with the bait with the rod tip. The bait will foul on slack line.
Trolling
Trolling is pretty easy in present areas. Muskie baits within the 9 to 12-inch vary trolled 25 to 75 ft behind the boat will produce. My all-time favorite trolling bait for large pike is the nine-inch Grandma. Baits this measurement are on no account too massive for trophy pike. Even small pike routinely hit muskie-sized crankbaits trolled throughout fall.
Range trolling speeds between 2.5 and 4 miles per hour.
Rubber on rocks
One other high fall sample for large pike. Merely put, this entails casting quite a lot of muskie-sized comfortable plastic baits to numerous rock construction.
Prime areas embrace distinguished factors and reefs which are adjoining to deep water. Give particular focus to transition factors. These separate giant bays from deeper basins and are distinguished on any giant defend kind lake.
Fish construction that the wind and waves are crashing into. You’re much more more likely to discover energetic fish versus fishing the calm aspect.
Baits
Customary comfortable plastic muskie baits will work. Some go-tos embrace Waterwolf ’s Shadzilla swimbait, Chaos’s Medusa, Musky Improvements Bulldawg, and Pink October’s 10-inch Monster Tube.
Excluding swimbaits, I fish these with a pull-and-pause retrieve. Use quick pulls and brief pauses to fish shallower, whereas sluggish pulls and longer pauses can obtain any desired depth.
Strive taking a web page from the muskie playbook, whereas recognizing the variations between muskie and small pike, to assist on the hunt for XL esox lucius.
Initially printed within the June-July 2024 subject of Ontario OUT of DOORS
