How To Catch Northern Pike In Winter

December 28, 2020

Come fall, northern pike are suddenly reminded of their hunter’s nature, as they start to feed more and more aggressively. Pike follow the bait schools during the winter into shallower waters.

Muskie, Pike or Pickerel Maine Open Water and Ice

Like mentioned above, drilling multiple holes and focusing on luring the pike into the hot zone is an effective method many veteran pike fishermen use to catch more pike.

How to catch northern pike in winter. Pike feed actively throughout the winter, so you can readily catch them on early, mid and late ice, if you know where to find them. Pike fishing can be good under any condition as long as you locate pike and present the proper baits to them but cloudy and overcast conditions can be especially favorable. If you manage to make that mind switch, you are already on your way to pike success.

An important feature that distinguishes pike from other species is that they tend to prefer big baits, and will strike them hard even during the cold season, unlike finicky biters like walleye or perch. Pike feed aggressively during the winter and you can catch genuine trophy fish with time and patience. But even dead baits are exquisite choices for winter pike;

But even in the most unfavorable times, the predator continues its hunt at a slower pace. Northern pike are most often olive green, shading from yellow to white along the belly. Pike is fun to fish especially in the winter, and they will put up quite the struggle which is fun and exhausting at the same time.

Ice fishing article, catching northern pike during mid winter in northern minnesota. I have compiled a list of 5 tips you will want to consider when fishing for northern pike. When trying to catch northern pike, you want to consider the weather.

Northern pike are an ambush predator. Keep fingers away from the mouth beset with razor teeth and have a pair of pliers handy to remove hooks and bait. Vegetation hasn’t grown in enough for ambush foraging, and they most likely haven’t seen lures in months.

These are actually some of the very best times to catch northern pike, especially in warmer months. Northern pikes must be over 24 inches with a daily possession limit of two. The prime condition for catching big northern pike is when the water temperature is under 65 degrees, give or take.

Frogs topwater frogs work wonders as you can cast them onto the bank and twitch or wake them back to you. At the start of this period, focus your search in bays with darker bottoms since they tend to warm up faster. Many anglers feel that once the water temperature reaches higher levels, big pike become somewhat stressed and the bite subsides.

It’s all about the visual effect and the scent of the bait. They can also be fished in rocky areas with cold and clear water. In either case, it’s rare to catch a northern weighing less than double digits.

Their primeval morphology has changed little in 60 million years. Dead baits can be used to catch northern pike at any time of year, but the lure of an easy meal is especially attractive in late winter and at ice out, when food is at a premium. One type of fish you can target when ice fishing that will make for a very fun day is the pike, which is more accurately called the northern pike.

To target northern pike specifically during the winter months the gear and the strategy look different than in open water seasons. The methods used by pros to catch winter pike. Food is harder to come by in late winter because a full year of predation, disease and other natural forms of attrition has taken its toll on baitfish numbers.

Tips to catch the northern pike in winter. All fish are predators, but northern pike come dressed for the part: Baitfish and especially live ones (if they are legal where you are fishing) are the perfect bait to attract northern pike in winter.

And on a bigger point or reef, you might catch a few more. Hope these 10 best tips to catch northern pike will help you catch the big one. Pike are not hard to figure out, and they bite anytime the sun is up.

These soft body fish provide a healthy meal for the pike and so the big rush for savvy pike anglers is to get there before the food and therefore the pike. Topwater lures are another great way to catch northern pike as they will typically feed on anything that moves in the water. Live bait presentations draw anglers and fish alike with their erratic display under the ice offering an easy meal to the toothy critters lurking below in search of a snack.

At least you will get some winter exercising in and a delicious meal to boot after you catch the pike. Giant gators are also territorial, so on small to moderately sized structure you can typically expect to catch one, maybe two fish. In winter, it is critical to reduce the overall speed and intensity of fishing.

How to catch a northern pike. It needs its own section and not everyone is capable of doing that. The months of september and october especially are awesome pike fishing months, and many anglers catch the pike of their dreams during this period.

Sometimes, the fins are reddish. The guides at kasba lake fishing lodge are very experienced with northern pike fishing and can give you valuable advice on equipment choice and take you to the best areas to fish. Needle teeth, vacant eyes, thick slime, serpentine shape.

Spring is prime pike angling time, because pike are returning from spawning depths to the shallows. Ice fishing can offer many different experiences depending on what kind of fish you want to catch.

Ice fishing in Wisconsin.. My first pike. Ice fishing