White, chartreuse and orange are the top colors for fishing spoons with soft plastic trailers. Plastics in the 4- to 6-inch sizes are ideal for rigging with both wide wobbling and weedless style spoons.
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.”
What is the best pike spoon?
3-5/8″ Dardevle spoon has been a staple for pike fishermen. The classic red and white or yellow five of diamonds color scheme are proven to be the best pike color combination for Canada pike fishing.
What color of lures work best for pike?
The very best lures to use for pike in clear water are swimbaits, softbaits, and crankbaits with an authentic pattern and swimming action. Natural lure colors that resemble the pike’s prey, such as white, silver, green, or black, have proven most effective.
Are spoons good for pike?
It’s true that spoons do a fine job of tempting pike into striking, but my experience with spoons suggests that these baits work best when fish are actively feeding. The wobbling and flashing action of a spoon requires a steady and fairly fast retrieve speed.
What time of day are pike most active?
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.
Do you need a steel leader for pike?
Wire leaders for pike are needed when fishing with baitfish, smaller lures, and softbaits, as these can be swallowed swiftly and easily by the pike. For larger lures and when trolling for pike, you can use a thick fluorocarbon leader instead, as it is unlikely that the pike will swallow the entire bait.
What month is best for pike fishing?
Regardless of where you fish, late May and early June is a prime time to target big pike. The majority of pike will spawn around the full moon cycle in April whether under ice or open water. By mid-May the spawn is over and the big fish look to regain all the weight they lost during the spawn process.
What is the best bait for pike fishing?
Soft rayed fish that have lots of natural oil in the skin and flesh make the best dead baits for pike fishing. These natural oils leech into the water and help to attract pike that may be cruising in the area. Some of the best dead baits are smelt, alewives, small whitefish, chubs, and the always popular sucker.
What colors attract northern pike?
Black or ghost patterns of lure baits are a great start. Pike will see a black lure against the skylight near the surface of the water more than other colours. Ghost lures that contain a translucent body are very effect on dull days fished deeper in the water.
Why can’t I catch pike on lures?
Sometimes you have to virtually run the lure past the pike’s nose before it’s tempted to strike. If fishing a narrow drain or canal, always cast your lure ahead of where you’re walking so you don’t spook the fish. Remember, pike are often laying in wait in shallow water and margins.
Do pike like bright colors?
On brighter and sunny days this is however the hottest colour to fish with! Even in deep water, there is still light penetration and a light reflecting color can be very deadly for big pike. So don’t just choose for bright colours on these sunny days, but try something flashy! 5.
What kind of lures do northern pike like?
Top choices for pike include spinnerbaits, inline spinners, lipless cranks, and loud topwaters like buzzbaits and walking baits.
Do pike still feed when spawning?
During spawning, much the same as other species, the pike is too pre-occupied to be interested in feeding and responsible anglers will have hung up their bait rods in march to leave the pike to it. Pike are generally more spread out, using weed cover to ambush their prey.
Do pike like topwater lures?
Many species are a blast to catch using topwater lures, but northern pike frequently charge baits with an unbridled aggression that are fascinating. Willing participants, pike are often eager to take a bait off the water’s surface because the presentation appears to them to be an easy meal. Here are three…
What is the bite force of a northern pike?
44 Newtons
The pike fish’s bite is quite strong, as they often bite with enormous pressure. The largest pike fish discovered, a Northern pike nearly 32 inches long, generated a bite force of 44 Newtons. This isn’t enough to sever a finger but is strong enough to kill its prey and adversaries.
What size lures for pike?
Go for lures in the 6-inch / 16cm range as these will be easy to cast and will catch pike of all sizes.
What depth do you fish for pike?
Most of these fish are caught in shallow water. Big pike, however, go deep. Many times they are in water 15 feet deep or deeper. At these times, a big deep running lure is needed.
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.
Where do pike hide in lakes?
Structures can be anything from weed beds, underwater trees or boulders, even deep ridges or underwater edges that are close to shallow weeds. On big lakes formed on rivers, pike can also be found in areas where smaller streams flow into the lake or where currents form in these lakes.
Do steel leaders scare fish?
Do Wire Leaders Scare Fish? As many leaders are coated or come in dark, low visibility colors, they do not seem to scare the fish you target.
Lorraine Wade is all about natural food. She loves to cook and bake, and she’s always experimenting with new recipes. Her friends and family are the lucky beneficiaries of her culinary skills! Lorraine also enjoys hiking and exploring nature. She’s a friendly person who loves to chat with others, and she’s always looking for ways to help out in her community.