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While bass fishing this weekend, I caught my first Northern Pike in 20+ years and it really stoked the coals. If anyone has suggestions on the best ways/times to target Northerns and your favorite gear/lures, please jump in!


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Tooth proof/resistant leaders


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Fishing Northern WI I us cheap $1.00 wallyworld spinner baits. When the skirt gets ripped off I thread on a yellow or white twin tail plastics about 4-5" overall again wallyworld cheapies. We work shallow weed beds and drop offs running up to them. Sunny days seem to be better than dull but you never know. But I've had drizzly days that my arms got tired catching northerns, most run in the 20-30" size but you get them over 40" fairly often. We keep them over 5 LBs for eating. I can fillet them boneless and still have a one piece fillet. The solid white, large flaked meat is better than walleyes as far as I'm concerned, breaded and fried they are great but our favorite is a German recipe where they are boiled in spices/onions and served with browned butter poured over them, steamed potatoes with more browned butter and sweet/saur red cabbage.

We never bother with leaders as the spinner baits usually lip hook them. I run 12-14 lb. test mono line, the hardest part is trying to drag them up out of the weeds when they dive and burrow into them. We lose some when they do that, the spinner bait gets tangled and the northern can spin off the hook. Sometimes they come up with so much weed on them you can't tell theirs a fish in the mess.


After the first shot the rest are just noise.

Make mine a Minaska

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In my experience pike will hit just about anything you drag in front of them. I like fishing them with top water lures this time of year. They don`t hit top water much later in the season. Lately I have been using a white or black , white or black Johnson swimming grub attached to a spinner jig. Sometime I use a weedless sliver or gold with a twister tail and drag it over the weeds and Lillie pads.

Last year I caught a 27 inch pike while fishing for crappies with a white beetle spin , 4 pound nanofil line and a 4.5 foot ultra light ugly stick. So you can catch them on most any thing. A number 3 or 4 Mepps with a white buck tail works great too. On my pike poles I have 14 to 20 pound line and I use a steel leader.

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Big spinners and short steel leaders. Daredevils or big spoons work great as well. Try to stay with lures that only have one treble hook otherwise it’s a nightmare trying to remove the lure from their mouth.


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Talk about them hitting anything, I was on a grouse hunt in central WI and in the evening I threaded a grouse liver on a hook for some bullheads for breakfast. While dragging it across the top of the water retrieving it for another cast a big old northern inhaled it, big enough for fried fish and eggs for breakfast and fin and feather for dinner. I've also caught them soaking worms for bluegills.

Top water is a blast for them, one evening in central MN I was walking the shore casting to submerged timber with a jitterbug, I'd caught a large crappie and a huge bluegill on it when something missed it, on the second cast again a miss, on the third cast a large northern launched himself clear out of the water and just came down on the jitterbug with his mouth wide open. He was 42" and 22 lbs. My favorite top water baits for them are the Jitterbug, Hula-popper, Heddon Torpedo and Creek Chub Injured Minnow.


After the first shot the rest are just noise.

Make mine a Minaska

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erich: How do you fillet a northern in one piece without y bones? Thanks.

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On a bigger northern, when you take the fillet off lay it shin down. About a third of the way down from the top you will see a row of white dots, the ends of the "Y" bone. I use a long sharp fillet knife.

1. First cut is right along side the row of dot downward until you hit where the bones "Y" then turn the knife and follow the bones til they end.

2. Do the same on the other side of the dots.

3. At the end of the short side turn the knife and cut just under the bones, you should be so close to the bones you can see the knife blade through the bones. Just follow the underside of the bones until you meet up with your first cut.

4. The whole row of bones will lift up and away with virtually no loss of meat.

5. Remove the skin as usual. It helps to leave the skin on until the bones are out as it stabilizes the fillet to work on.

Nice to have a fish that helps you do the work. "Just cut on the dotted line"

Here's a short clip that will show how the bones come out.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...ED2363E2EE7A0894B89&&FORM=VRDGAR

Last edited by erich; 06/11/19.

After the first shot the rest are just noise.

Make mine a Minaska

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I’ve had great luck on pike using Mepps Cyclops spoons, the silver ones. Caught a 46”, 45.5” , and many over 35” this year, in Canada. And I’ve found this lure effective several years.
And for sure, use a wire leader. I use the longer ones, 15-18”.

Last edited by dale06; 06/14/19.

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If you fish in pike infested waters like I do a few time a year they tend to target you.

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22LR in shallow water!

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for natives...:)

Topwater works for me, but they hit minnows, too. Agree, they can target you, especially your stringer.

To reduce boat drama, we use barbless hooks on the trebles. If you bring them along side and pick them up by squeezing there gills shut you can forego the net. If you are keeping them, picking up by using their eyesockets to lift is pretty much foolproof--provided you hang on...:)

*
Foolproof as in they act like they are paralyzed--I would too, I imagine.

Last edited by tomk; 06/16/19. Reason: added

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Originally Posted by dale06
I’ve had great luck on pike using Mepps Cyclops spoons, the silver ones. Caught a 46”, 45.5” , and many over 35” this year, in Canada. And I’ve found this lure effective several years.
And for sure, use a wire leader. I use the longer ones, 15-18”.



The cyclops work really well. I put a single hook on mine and a large white or chartreuse curly tail grub for extra action.

My biggest pike was 47 inches and caught dozens over 40 over the years. If caught in cold clear water eat as well as a walleye.


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