time for catching giant Pike.
Armed with the correct information in your ever increasing arsenal of fishing knowledge you can make the so called “dog days†the most productive time of year for truly monster size pike.
Please remember that this article is for everyone from the novice to the expert. I’m intending for all of you to come away with a better understanding of the how and why of midsummer pike fishing.
As a guide if I have new guests I hope that I’ll have the opportunity to speak with them ahead of time to discuss their level of skill and preference in fishing methods.
Usually it is simply “we want to catch big pike or bigger pike or giant pike†this is of course just fine with me.
Kay with her second biggest ever
In the am while I’m waiting for my guests to arrive at the dock I make sure that the boat is clean and organized. As my guests arrive I inspect their equipment as I help load it into the boat and organize it as I do so. Keeping the boat organized is an important aspect to safely enjoying a days outing. Many potential problems can be avoided by maintaining a safe “working†area. I’ll recommend placing rods in positions that prevent injury and keep the rods from falling around in the boat which is harmful to the equipment and potentially to the people in the boat. In a skiff with bench seats I always lay rods along the side of the boat. I place the reels ahead of the bench. This way when the boat vibrates over waves the rods will not fall. Placing the reels on the floor and rods leaning on an angle is just a mess waiting to happen.
I usually suggest retying knots if they have fished the previous day. I will suggest this again several times through out the day.
Bruce Nash with one of over 100 fish measuring over 40 inches that we caught in one week last July This was his second largest ever ( He caught his largest the day before)
Now it is mid summer and let’s add a mile high sky 24 –48 hours after a cold front. We know that 24-48 hours after a cold front passes the pike fishing will be slow – right??
Usually I will suggest walleye fishing out on some mid lake humps for a few hours. This is usually me with wide-eyed stares “what the pike guy wants to catch sissy walleye� This is followed by grumbling or plane outrage. If I am allowed I will use my sonar unit (a lowrance x15 – great unit) to search for pike suspended out off the sides of these mid lake humps. We’ll use jigs tipped with minnows and fish exactly like we really want to catch walleye. In fact we will catch plenty of walleye. Although I will intentionally move away from the sweet spots on that piece of structure if we are catching walleye too quickly especially if they are hitting very aggressively. An active big pike is not likely at work at that sweet spot at that particular time. I’ve learned to recognize big pike on my graph. The most active and catchable ones are 1-3 feet off bottom. When I spot one I’ll hold the boat over top of it and jig for walleye. I will have my guests vary their jigs depth from 0 to 4 feet off bottom. 7 out of 10 times we’ll catch a large pike while we are doing this. I prefer to take this approach for several reasons
First, in most cases I am going to prepare shore lunch and will want to have some walleye for that. Second, as we all know big pike keep bankers hours and prime time is from 10 –4. (Except during a new moon when sunrise and sunset can be dynamite. Third - Inevitably we will catch several pike in the 40-inch category.
Quite often I’ll have 4 or more clients and they will follow in a second or third boat.
If I take this approach and we do not catch any big pike within an hour on the first spot that I try then any boats that are following start to give up on me and leave. Many times I’ve heard departing boats mention something to the effect of “I guess all those big fish he caught on TV are fake.†Those boats will venture off and likely find a shallow bay and catch a bunch of hammer handles and maybe even a few decent 30-inch fish maybe even a 40. At days end they’ll return all excited about their catch until the guests in my boat tell them about the half dozen 40 inch plus fish that they caught. At this time of year Big Pike Do Not Mix with little pike. There are always exceptions to every rule. However in general if you are catching a bunch of hammer handles the your odds are very unlikely that you will catch many large pike in that area at that time.
While we are working this hump I will have my guests take long casts up onto the shallowest part of the structure. I know where this is because I have pre scouted the area and marked it with a small dark buoy. You have also done this correct? I’ll have them use rattle traps which will catch plenty of pike up to 36 inches but not many over 40 inches. I also have them use suicks, long minnow baits like sisco kids and shallow diving rapalas. We’ll even work it over with spinner baits and spoons. In most cases the suicks will work best.
Do Not drive over the shallowest part of the structure. This is where your most active pike will move up to feed. In your prescouting you likely noticed that you could catch a lot of small walleye and perch at this spot. This shallow spot will often have a variance in bottom make up. For example if you your hump rises out of 20 – 30 feet of water and has a large flat maybe 200 yards by 80 yards wide and that flat is 8 to 10 feet deep and composed mostly of sand. Look for an area where it reaches up to 4 or 5 feet and the bottom is mad up of rock. If there is a patch of cabbage in the vicinity that’s even better. In short look for anything different, something for the pike to use as an ambush site.
As the day wears on and more pike become active you will catch pike in other places across the flat especially on the edges where it drops into deep water. You have undoubtedly recognized by now that the “edges†of everything are key feeding spots for fish of all kinds, especially Giant Pike.
When fishing tough situations like post cold front and lakes with less than great numbers of trophy pike you have to “know “ that you are on the right spot. Years of experience have taught me that nothing replaces years of experience. Articles such as this help and give you a starting point in your search for more and more knowledge. What I’m hoping to do is point you in the right direction. And that is not toward those hammer handles in the shallow bays.
Of course the mid lake humps are just a starting point.
I’ll discuss Cabbage beds and dispel some of the myths about mid summer pike in part two.
