Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Northern Pike fishing

I just started fishing for pike. I have caught 6 over the last week that were all 20" to 30". Am I supposed to use a leader to keep the line from getting cut? I was fishing for perch with my ultalite rod when I caught the first 3.

a leader helps.....ive caught a number of them on accident when fishing for walleye without a leader but a leader definitely helps keep lost gear to a minimum.....

A Wire leader definitely helps with bite offs.


Heavier braided lines work ok too as leaders

Yep, if I'm fishing for them on purpose I use leaders.

Thanks guys I will buy some today. Sounds like I got lucky that only one time my line cut and that was after it was on the bank. Pike are fun! The biggest one was on my ultralite and took a little while to get in.

If you're for thinking that an ultra light is fun wait, just wait....till you break out a 5 wt fly rod...

Dober

YES! Nothing like hooking up a nice one on a favorite lure and having a bite-off half way to the boat. For store bought I like South Bend Invisa-Leader particularly for lighter tackle. Take a couple with you, Northerns have perfected the art of kinking up leaders. Not that kinking matters when they're aggressive.

Looking forward to fly fishing for pike though my only rod is 8 wt. I did as suggested and bought the southbend leaders. Caught 7 but had one take a crank bait because the swivel failed. My fault I should have used the net.

I have also found-if you like ultralight- that #10 fireline is the shizzle...it has no stretch and enables you to set the hook on them...
Couple pics...

My pard with a 11 pounder caught on a Quantum 4' Microlight...yes!


A 17+ pound pike on a 4'9" Ultralight...



Ive got more.......

Your pard looks like he's wearing a big yellow diaper.

Just sayin...

yes leaders help, i have had several pike swallow the hook 4 inches up the line!

A number of years ago, I was fishing a northern (wire) Lindy Rig on a flat off a point. I lost the rig when the line (that godawful DuPont Prime) lost its knot (more on this later - we still were learning about the new lines and knots, but even after we did, Prime distinguished itself with its unfriendliness - probably why an "improved" version quickly followed and faded away even more quickly). The next day, we caught a northern a quarter of a mile away across the lake from the dock that had a Lindy Rig that had to be mine. (I never saw anyone else use them on that lake, it was very new, and there was no line attached to it.

On another occasion, on Shoepak Lake, we had an even more interesting experience with a muskie. I have God and two other responsible witnesses to this event. At the mouth of a small inlet stream, we lost a Bumble Bee pattern Believer (or Swim Whizz - I can never keep one stratght from the other) due to negligence in retying after fishal abuse of the line. We ventured up the narrow stream a ways before deciding that it was not where we wanted to be. As we reached the mouth again, there was a large "ka-whoosh" over near the reed bank and our lure was left floating on the surface. We retrieved it and it now holds a place of honor in the muskie box.

the wife says you and the dink catcher in Helena have to quit teasing me unless your gonna pay for the new gear

Really nice fish. I can only fish from the bank right now but I have been having fun with smaller ones. I figure the biggest ones I have caught have been 4 to 5 pounds. Trying to borrow a canoe so I can find the big ones smart enough to stay away from the dock.

Most of them will be in 15 feet or less of water...you may not need to get far from the bank....

I have to admit I am surprised at how fast a couple of 2 pound pike could twist and ruin a wire leader. At this rate I am going to have to make my own because they are too expensive to change every few fish. The water depth has not been the problem as much as getting to fishable water. Moss, grass mats, and other obstacles are keeping me from moving around the lakes very much.

I used to get frustrated over twisted leaders and went to using the titanium wire versions years ago. They cost a little more, but hold up so much better.

Fly fishing for pike is an absolute thriller. My best times fishing for northerns have come when fly-rigged for big smallies up north and having a big one smash a fly in shallow water. I think I've lost more than I've caught on my dad's old bamboo fly rod, but damn is it fun anyway.

Making leaders is easy, a bit of a nuisance though. But you get to pick components and convince yourself that yours are so much better than the commercial leaders.

I use a Du-Bro wire straightener (Bass Pro) which sort of works, they're never really straight again. But northerns don't seem to care when the bite is on, pretty much defines "aggressive." I tend to save the straight ones for walleye which tend to be more fussy, the lakes I fish have good populations of both so good odds of picking up at least a hammer handle when targeting walleye.

For ice fishing I make leaders from the thinnest single strand leader wire I can get, 27# if I remember correctly. Else about every third or fourth hit is a bite off. With even the smallest northern it's instant coil spring. Been meaning to try making leaders out of nitinol wire, the stuff that you can twist up and it returns to straight in hot water. Expensive stuff though.

even when fishing from a boat im usually back in the bays casting damn near to dry land and ripping spoons and the like through the vegetation to get teh snot rockets hiding with in.....if you can get to the spots that hold the snot rockets fishing from the bank really isnt that big of a handicap compared to some other types of fishing.....ive got a back water on the river i prefer working over from shore instead of a boat....

Me too but I really like casting in from a boat better than casting out from shore. I usually do best with a big shallow minnow-type plug though I don't target northerns that often. Big is good. I once caught a 24 inch northern with a tail sticking out of its mouth. Turns out it ate a 12 inch northern and was digesting it by inches, the head end was pretty disgusting. And yup, he struck my lure, no snag job, which was amazing with that 12 incher in its gullet.

BUT... The biggest northern I've caught was while finessing walleye that had settled on the bottom of a mud flat with the summer doldrums. Six pound test on a light rod, now that was fun! (And why I almost always use a leader.)