The last couple of weeks I have been lucky enough to get up to the lake a few times. The fishing for us has been really good. We have been able to put together a few nice outings with some really big fish. I love targeting big pike through the ice, it is a thrill! We catch most of our fish using strategically placed tip-ups with both live minnows and occasionally dead bait as well. As far as how deep we like to set up in, it all depends. Weather your fishing weed edged, islands, points or a shoreline break, each day seems to be different. One thing we have noticed is if you’re not getting any action, to adjust where your bait sits in the water column. As a day moves on, weather and the pressure it brings changes. This will affect where bait, and predators swim in the water column. Don’t be afraid to switch things up and try your live or dead bait near the bottom, or even just underneath the ice. Pay attention to when you start getting bites, and adjust your other set-ups to match! We had a unique situation happen during the Super Bowl a few weeks ago. If you notice the 2 photos below, it is the same fish! Jack landed it first around 9 A.M. Then as we were packing up to head home around noon, the last flag went off and it was the same fish! This fish ate 2 GIANT minnows in a 3 hour span at two different holes about 80 yards apart. I guess catch and release does work! ;)
-Notice the nub on the tail
-Notice the nub on the tail
This past weekend we really got into the big fish. I can’t believe how fat the pike are this year. It’s great to see a healthy population throughout the lake. The fish below were caught in to different areas of the lake on similar type structure. We found a really cool pattern on day 1 and gave it a chance on day 2 on a different side of the lake but tried to mimic the pattern, it paid off! The best tip I can give someone is to pay attention to weather changes and also pay attention to what the fish tell you. When you do find success, ask yourself why? Why did that fish bite? Really go in depth with everything it took to catch that fish. For us, I ask myself questions about these things: Type of bait, size of bait, depth of bait, overall depth, weather patterns/changes, moon phase, type of structure, distance from structure, proximity to deep water, as well as many others. Being able to duplicate patterns for winter time pike are key! Overall, it has been a great year for the big pike. It’s not Muskie fishing, but it’s the closest thing I can do during the off season!
Some really nice healthy fish across the board. Especially the one I was lucky enough to land below!