How Do You Catch Pike Through Ice?

The most common way to ice fish for Northern Pike is by using Tip-ups. This ice fishing contraption is simple and effective. More Northern Pike have probably been caught using a treble hook and a sucker minnow on a Tip-up then any other method.

What is the best bait for pike ice fishing?

Best Baits for Ice Fishing Pike

• Large (Not Jumbo) Golden Shiners. While it’s true that pike eat prey items over to half their body weight, they key in on more plentiful food sources that take less exertion to capture.
• Medium-Large White Suckers.
• Large Sea Smelts.

What is the best depth to ice fish for pike?

Typically, many northern pike ice fishing takes place in water 10 to 30 feet deep with your suspended minnow hanging anywhere from near the bottom to a few feet below the ice. You will want to experiment with how deep to fish your minnow.

What is the best month to catch pike?

The water temperature, light intensity, and weather conditions are usually just right during September and October, and so these two months simply provide the very best of timings when it comes to pike fishing.

What time of day is best for ice fishing?

The best time of day to ice fish is during the first couple of hours after sunrise, and for about 2 hours both before and after sunset. These are the times when most fish are heading to their feeding grounds, and when most species are active.

How deep are pike in the winter?

Agreed, however, that in most prime lakes, most bigger pike come from 15 to 35 feet of water during midwinter. Granted, too, depth is relative. Twelve feet is relatively deep in a body of water where weedgrowth ends at 6 feet and maximum depth is 25 feet.

Do northern pike bite at night ice fishing?

Will Northern Pike Bite at Night? Northern pike will feed into the nighttime. As a general rule of thumb though, most anglers find fishing darkness within 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise to be the most productive.

Do you need a leader for ice fishing pike?

In order to be able to safely land your ice pike, you either need a strong fluorocarbon leader of about 50-60lb or a titanium wire leader of about 25-30lb.

What time of day do Pikes bite?

Pike in the morning are more active than usual. Early morning right before the sun rises is an excellent time to target hungry pike. You can either find them in open or shallow water hunting down their first meal of the day.

What colors do pike see best?

“I find that in the early spring, the pike really prefer the bright orange and chartreuse colours. Yet, come fall, silver, grey, and black combinations that imitate ciscos and other congregating baitfish seem best. So I tend to use bright lures in the spring and flashy baitfish patterns in the fall.”

Where do big pike hang out?

The really large Northern Pike are more likely to hang around points leading into bays, narrows between islands or in river current especially later in the spring. They like to hang around areas where Walleyes and Bass are migrating through to ambush them.

What time of day do pike bite ice fishing?

If sleeping in late is your thing then pike will be your new favorite fish under the ice. The morning bite is quite good but many anglers find mid-morning the best. Anywhere from 10 am to 2 pm is productive on many lakes. However, you need to experiment on your local lakes to see if this rule applies.

How far apart should ice fishing holes be?

Here’s the quick answer: If you’re fishing next to someone else on the ice, your holes should be at least 5-6 feet apart to avoid fish getting tangled in each other’s lines when you pull them up. If you’re using a camera for ice fishing, the hole for the camera should be at least 2 feet away from your fishing hole.

What time do pike feed in winter?

Best Time of Day for Pike Fishing in Winter
Ideally, this would be the hours between early morning and noon. Winter, much like spring and fall, equals cold nights and, quite often, somewhat warmer temperatures during the day, which is when the pike will be feeding this time of year.

Do pike bite in cold water?

The best ways to catch cold water pike include slower spin fishing with inline spinners, crankbaits, and soft baits close to the bottom, as well as float fishing and bottom fishing with dead or live baitfish in deeper water and over drop-offs.

Where do big pike hang out in winter?

Winter pike haunts
Focusing on weeds might work in shallow, small to moderate-sized lakes that are typically choked with wall-to-wall vegetation. And it might work on larger lakes at last ice when the pike are migrating toward shallow bays, coves and rivermouths to spawn.

Can pike see lures at night?

As pike are somewhat less active at night, you will have to fish lures that are bright and vibrate a lot to get their attention.

What’s the best weather for pike fishing?

Favorable weather conditions for pike include a low-pressure system with moderate temperatures, overcast skies, and southern or southwestern winds. Rain does however have a somewhat more negative effect on the pike’s appetite and should hence be avoided.

What can you use for bait for ice fishing?

For ice fishing live bait, try wax worms (bee moth larva), maggots, spikes (fly larvae), wigglers (mayfly larvae) or minnows. You can drop your bait and leave it alone, or you can slowly jig to attract the fish. Ice fishing jigging also works with artificial ice fishing bait.

Where is pike ice fishing target?

Large bays are some of the best spots to target winter northern pike. Specifically, you are trying to take advantage of a large weed flat that will readily hold baitfish. Diehard ice anglers say while any weed type is good, the best variety is cabbage in 5-15 feet of water.

What do northern pike eat in the winter?

Northern Pike remain quite active throughout the winter months, making them prime targets for ice fishing. Anglers typically suspend dead bait like suckers, smelt, ciscoes, herring or other large forage fish beneath tip-ups and wait for flag to pop, indicating a strike.