Northern Pike Fishing Lures

A highly popular and aggressive gamefish, the Northern Pike is one of the most sought-after species. Pike are voracious eaters, and are easily caught due to their set of razor-sharp teeth and strong bite.

Northern Pike fishing lures are designed to mimic the movements of natural prey. Top water lures include products such as the Rattlin’ Dog, which is 4 ½” long, and is classified as a “walk the dog” variety lure, and the Rippin’ Junior Minnow, which is a top water popper. Crank bait fishing lures include the Pike Diver which is a deep diving lure, the Pike Killer, which is a 5″ medium depth lure, and the Diving Minnow, which is a short 3 ½” and is designed to run deep.

The Northern Pike habitat includes the majority of the northern portion of North America, Northern Asia, and Northwestern Europe. They have a tendency to live in water which is less than 15 feet deep, overgrown with weeds, and close to the shore. Northern Pike fishing lures work in these prime fishing areas and address their opportunistic eating habits.

Because the Pike favor minnows and other types of small fish, fishermen and women are advised to imitate these fish when angling. Northern Pike fishing lures incorporate cranks, spoons, and spinners. Out of the wide range and variety of Northern Pike fishing lures, the Red Daredevil is by far the most popular and most used. During warmer weather, Pike congregate in weedy areas, such as bays. During the fall and winter seasons, the Pike will move to cooler waters, but will still remain near weedy areas since this is their feeding grounds.

When fishing through the ice, live minnows are very popular and are a great lure. Since Pike seek their prey by sight, it is important for the lure to move, so active artificial movement or live bait movement is very important. If you are fishing for catch-and-release purposes, it is advised to set the hook early so that the lure is not swallowed too deep to be safely removed.

When fishing for Pike in shallow waters, top water lures are the best choice. When large fish are expected, larger sized top water lures and buzzbaits are recommended. In deeper waters, and especially when fishing in colder weather, diving crank baits are the best choice.

Northern Pike are exceptionally good to eat, with firm, white flesh. Except for one troublesome Y-shaped bone, the Pike is relatively easy to filet. Pike can be served in a variety of ways, including grilled, fried, and baked and with a host of different seasonings and sauces.

Northern Pike Fishing Tips

Northern pike fishing has been gaining a lot in popularity recently, due in large part to the fight in the fish and the fun that comes with hooking one and reeling it in. As a result, many folks are looking for northern pike fishing tips. One of the best of these is to learn the predictable migratory habits of the fish.

Northern pike tend to like cooler water, and the shallower the better. Using that logic, it follows that they can be found in very shallow waters just after ice-out, when the shallower waters haven’t had a chance to heat up. There is about a two week window here when the big fish still haven’t started their transition to deeper waters and fishing the shallower zones during this time can take a lot of the guess work out of catching a trophy pike. One drawback to fishing just after ice-out is that often times fishing season hasn’t started yet. That’s something that will involve research for the particular area you will be fishing in.

The next period that is good for catching some larger northern pike is during the time that they are transitioning from shallow to deeper waters. This occurs just after the period mentioned above. The conditions are slightly less favorable than if you are able to get your line in the water just after ice out, but the bigger northerns do tend to linger as long as possible, feeding on the more abundant food sources nearer the surface. Once they head down deep, then the task gets quite a bit more difficult.

The last period that’s great for catching larger northern pike is when they return to the shallows just before the water freezes over again.

So if you are looking for northern pike fishing tips, none are going to help you out more than knowing when is the best time. Once you know that, then you can move on to other northern pike fishing tips such as what kind of lure to use and what kind of shallows are better than others.

Canada Northern Pike Fishing

One the most popular kind of angling in colder climates of North America is Canada northern pike fishing. Pike like colder water, there are plenty of them, and they are loads of fun once you get them hooked. Combine all that with the fact that they will go after just about any sort of lure, and what you have is a beginning fisherman’s dream!

Because the fish likes colder water, you can use that to your advantage when Canada northern pike fishing. Just after the lakes and rivers thaw, pike can be found swimming in the shallower waters. Pike like to hang out, waiting for their food to swim by before pouncing. They react to motion so what usually works best is jerking your lure. Stay close to the shore, cast your lure (pike like such a wide variety of lures, there is no need to discuss it here), and reel it in slowly while often giving your pole a quick yank. As soon as it hits get ready for some fun! Pike can get pretty large and they like to fight, sometimes even performing some aerial feats.

Once you get a pike to your boat you want to be very careful removing the hook. The only real danger to Canada northern pike fishing is the fact that pike have sharp teeth, and they have a lot of them! So you might want to have a pair of heavy-duty gloves handy, or look into the use of barbless hooks.

What can you do with the pike once it’s in the boat? Smaller pike are a little hard to bone, so those might be good candidates to release. If you’ve got a larger specimen, then you might want to start thinking about making dinner plans! With big pike it’s easier to get the meat separated from the bone, and if you can do that the white flesh of the pike makes for some great eating!