The sun was dipping low on the horizon as I cast my #3 Mepps spinner into my favorite country pond. As soon as it hit the water, I gave the rod tip a jerk, activating the spinner blade, and began a steady retrieve. Suddenly, my rod pulled away from me with the strike of a hammerhead pike. I excitedly reel in the small pike, landing the 15” fish after a brief battle. Carefully removing the hook, I released the fierce-looking pike back to the pond, taking in the evening's quiet, golden red and yellow sunset illuminating the shoreline trees and fields. Having moved the past year from the city of Madison to the small country town of Waunakee, this had become my solace as I struggled with the challenges of trying to fit into a farming community, having little in common with my freshman high school classmates. This pond became my solace on many an evening and quenched my inner need for solitude.
Pike hold a special place in my heart for angling adventures. They remind me of freshwater barracudas, with fierce features and vise-like jaws with a full set of razor-sharp teeth. Pike are the kings of their abode, and if I were a perch swimming around, I would be looking over my shoulder!
Knowing your adversary’s tendencies is an important key to successful angling. When it comes to pike, there is a keyword you should always remember – ambush. Pike are masters at ambush hunting skills, using their fins to stay suspended and motionless, waiting for a feeding opportunity to go by. They love cover. In rivers, look for downed trees and logs along the shoreline or cast to undercut banks. Slow backwaters and eddies are ideal locations to explore. If you see weeds under the surface, be sure to target those as well, using weedless baits like buzz baits or surface lures – frogs and poppers can be deadly effective, and hooking a pike on a surface lure is a blast – literally – as the pike comes up and slams your presentation.
Lake fishing presents a few more challenges, but again, target shoreline cover or find shallow bays with weed growth. In deeper lakes, pike will likely drop into cooler waters on hot days, making a deep diving crank bait a good option, casting along weedy drop-offs. More than one angler has been surprised by Montana’s Ft. Peck, jigging deeper waters for lakers and hooking into a pike!
Other popular casting lures include spinners, plastic paddle tail jigs, and spoons. These are all lures that pike will pursue and strike. Your retrieve should be steady and not too fast. A pike depends on sight, sound, and vibration. Often, that first splash of the lure hitting the water is what will alert the pike to a feeding opportunity, and strikes may come soon after your lure hits the water, so be ready to retrieve. Especially with buzz baits, the trick is to immediately close your bail, keep your rod tip up, and reel. You’ll find the sweet spot for retrieval speed that keeps the lure skimming the surface and making a big splashing commotion – so much fun!
Pike will hit just about any lure that moves, and they will also hit bait, including live or dead bait under a float. My personal preference is casting and moving locations. To each their own…
Rods and reels should match the lure you’re tossing, and both level and spinning reels work just fine. A medium/heavy rod will help pull those fish out of cover easier. Braid in a 20-30-pound weight is a good option.
As mentioned earlier, pike are predators, and one look at their mouth full of razor-sharp teeth will confirm that! Most pike anglers will use a metal leader to save those expensive lures. The pike aren’t leader shy, so no worries about scaring them off. When you catch your pike, if you plan to catch and release, handle them with care. Pike are surprisingly fragile. Barbless hooks, needle-nose pliers, and jaw pliers will help get that fish back into the water for others to enjoy.
The best time to fish for pike is the morning and the evening hours, although they will bite all day long, and all season long, making them a good choice when other fish aren’t cooperating.
If you decide to keep a few, save the larger ones and keep the smaller fish. Pike are good eating, but a bit of a hassle to clean. The accursed “Y” bone can present an issue when cleaning. I recommend checking out some YouTube videos on how to filet your catch. Meanwhile, releasing those bigger fish will allow other anglers to pursue the pike of their dreams!
