Best Pike lure you go to!!!!!

[Mudpout]

I bit my tongue for long enough on this one i think, anyone reccomending spoons needs to expand their tackle box and not at their local harware store. These are dated presentations, sure you will catch a few snot rockets on them, but their is always something better..ALWAYS. BullDawgs, Jimmy's, weighted bucktails, super shads, wild eyes are superior in any condition. Need the flash of a spoon, use a huge blade on a buck, want a slow flutter? husky jerk, grandma etc. Want to get deep and slow-roll? Bulldawg, these things are insane. A small dumb pike will hit just about anything if its feeding aggressivly, sure there are incidental catches on jigs when walleye fishing ( my biggest ever was caught on a 1/4 oz roadrunner on bottom motionless as i was putting a minnow on a clients jig)) but in no way is that a productive way to fish. If you are after real giants, 40 inches and over this wont cut it. These big mothers do not act like the pike that will hit a red-devil or a bass worm. These are apex predators that wil eat these snot rockets. In the last 2 years in seen a 55+ inch muskie hit a 30inch pike and a 42" pike hit a 26 inch pike. The pike on pike was really wierd, i could see this tiny head sticking out of the water with a huge tail like 4 feet behind it! This is what big fish eat, not ugly metal spoons that have been trolled over their heads for the last 15 years. As our fly fishing bretheren would say, Match the Hatch! This usually means imitating walleye, pike, sucker or whitefish/cisco. And ive gotten 10+ pounders in up to 40 FOW in July-august, big pike will suspend in open water near struture. Another point, leave your big shiny leaders at home with your red-devils, they are just as out of date. Flurocarbon works as long as you check your line once in a while.

[Yannick Loranger]

BullDawgs, Jimmy's, weighted bucktails, super shads, wild eyes are superior in any condition.

I beg to differ.

#1: If you're after monster pike, of course up size, but huge baits will never be my "go to" for pike. Sure you might get a monster, but you also have a very good chance at getting nothing...not much of a go to, especially for someone who doesn't get to fish as much as you or me.

#2: "...in any condition", again, I agree sometimes spoons aren't right, but many times they are.

My wife's PB pike was caught on a small #40 Wobbler. At 31", nothing to laugh at. That particular weekend, it's all the pike would hit. Not even a #50 Wobbler in the same color pattern was getting attention.


I agree that upsizing is the way to get big anything most of the time, but unless all you're doing is targeting trophy fish (I suspect few of us on Fish-Hawk, target exclusively trophies), spoons+pike=success 90% of the time.

To each their own.

Tight lines,
Yannick

[pikeman]

Hey 24/7 PM sent

[Mudpout]

I guess thats where we differ, 31" is a runt. I've fished for a living and put my faith and livelyhood on these lures. I have an assortment of williams spoons, but i use em for flashers for trout fishing. I am willing to share the conclusions of 1000s of hours of trial and error and you choose to dismiss them. I will bet everything i have that if you put me in the same boat with a spoon "fisherman" i will smoke them. I am confident of this because i see it happen all the time. When people come up for fishing trips they always bring lures that they heard have worked. They all have various red devils, 5diamonds, wabblers, whitefish. I will suggest they use my lures, if they are stubborn i will outfish them 10 to 1 until they take my offer and have the trip of a lifetime. You know whats kinda funny? The wives will always listen and outfish the stubborn husbands, and boy oh boy do they let them know it!!!

[Fishing 24/7]

I guess thats where we differ, 31" is a runt. I've fished for a living and put my faith and livelyhood on these lures. I have an assortment of williams spoons, but i use em for flashers for trout fishing. I am willing to share the conclusions of 1000s of hours of trial and error and you choose to dismiss them. I will bet everything i have that if you put me in the same boat with a spoon "fisherman" i will smoke them. I am confident of this because i see it happen all the time. When people come up for fishing trips they always bring lures that they heard have worked. They all have various red devils, 5diamonds, wabblers, whitefish. I will suggest they use my lures, if they are stubborn i will outfish them 10 to 1 until they take my offer and have the trip of a lifetime. You know whats kinda funny? The wives will always listen and outfish the stubborn husbands, and boy oh boy do they let them know it!!!

agreed!

[DropShotr]

I have some ol' wooden 5 & 7in. Bagley's Bang-o-Lures, some 3/4oz chartruse spinnerbaits, and Husky Jerks that have taken their share of St. Lawrence pike.

I have noticed they also seem to like hollow bodies too. Thank God for Mend-It.

Of course we all know the St. Lawrence is fished out and it's dinksville. Do yourself a favor and stay away from the St. Lawerence.....far away

DS

[Yannick Loranger]

I've also outfished people 10 to 1 on spoons. Not many of us get to fish where a 31" pike is a runt. If you're fishing in a body of water in which the biggest of the pike get to be 12-15lbs tops, why wouldn't a spoon outfish a muskie lure?? And my point was just that Average Joe Angler won't be interested in fishing for huge fish and maybe with a little luck getting a bite, when we can catch great numbers of average or slightly above average fish with a given lure, making that his go-to.

I associate "go-to lure" as a lure than will almost without fail get you a fish, not a lure that has the greatest chance of getting a trophy, that must be where we differ.

Tight lines,
Yannick

[kunobasski]

Giant Gold Fish. They have to be full of eggs and and just lightly hooked so that they almost get off the bait hook. Lots of times they do!

Exotica Rideau.

[Fishing 24/7]

Giant Gold Fish. They have to be full of eggs and and just lightly hooked so that they almost get off the bait hook. Lots of times they do!

Exotica Rideau.

[Mr.J.]

I agree

The St.Lawrence pike are pretty small

[MLR]

Only way to settle it is to have Mudpout and Fisherguy33 need to be put in a boat together with each picking one 'go to lure"

I would volunteer to take pics of the entire event and post the results.

[Mudpout]

Yannick, You are near the ottawa river, no need to go any furthur. That river is full of big pike. Just because you don't see them doesnt mean they arent there. What the hell were the people using that you outfished with spoons? Spoons are a reaction lure, plain and simple, and not a good one. Look, we were about 15 guides and none of us stocked spoons for anything other then flashers, as a matter of fact spoons were a joke in the guide cabins and i expect it is the same everywhere. I'm goin back to silently lurking the boards, whats the point of trying to share knowledge. You my friend, are the stubborn husband in this case. I've guided for many like you.

[Yannick Loranger]

I'm not doubting that I may increase my odds of catching a big pike if I throw something other than a spoon.
I am not "the stubborn husband, I've fished enough places to know that what works on one lake, may not work on the next and if a guide; an expert of sorts on a certain lake, tells me to use a bulldawg, then that's what I'll do.

I'm glad you've shared your knowledge...am glad everyone here did. I'm just saying that a spoon will get you a pike almost every time, this thread wasn't about what lure you would go to for monster pike, just a go-to for pike.

You just have a different definition of "go-to"...I don't think you should treat anyone who uses spoons like they're somewhat inferior anglers.

I'm not trying to attack you Mudpout, nothing like that, I hope you're not taking this personally. I'm just standing up for all guys out there who don't get to be guides, that just want to go out and catch a few fish on weekends, and that enjoy catching anything, even just 31" runts on spoons.

As matter of fact, I'll have a pretty nice fishing machine this spring Mudpout, I'd love for you to join me early in the season on the Ottawa and we could tussle with a few pike. Maybe we could both learn something.

tight lines to all,
Yannick

[Fishing 24/7]

I'm not doubting that I may increase my odds of catching a big pike if I throw something other than a spoon.
I am not "the stubborn husband, I've fished enough places to know that what works on one lake, may not work on the next and if a guide; an expert of sorts on a certain lake, tells me to use a bulldawg, then that's what I'll do.

I'm glad you've shared your knowledge...am glad everyone here did. I'm just saying that a spoon will get you a pike almost every time, this thread wasn't about what lure you would go to for monster pike, just a go-to for pike.

You just have a different definition of "go-to"...I don't think you should treat anyone who uses spoons like they're somewhat inferior anglers.

I'm not trying to attack you Mudpout, nothing like that, I hope you're not taking this personally. I'm just standing up for all guys out there who don't get to be guides, that just want to go out and catch a few fish on weekends, and that enjoy catching anything, even just 31" runts on spoons.

As matter of fact, I'll have a pretty nice fishing machine this spring Mudpout, I'd love for you to join me early in the season on the Ottawa and we could tussle with a few pike. Maybe we could both learn something.

tight lines to all,
Yannick

seriouse fisherman right there.

i love the attitude

[nips]

I have some ol' wooden 5 & 7in. Bagley's Bang-o-Lures, some 3/4oz chartruse spinnerbaits, and Husky Jerks that have taken their share of St. Lawrence pike.

I have noticed they also seem to like hollow bodies too. Thank God for Mend-It.

Of course we all know the St. Lawrence is fished out and it's dinksville. Do yourself a favor and stay away from the St. Lawerence.....far away

DS

I agree stay far away from the larry, not a fish left in it Theres more 5lb+ smallmouth in there than anywhere in this country other than erie and simcoe