On The Hunt For Ice Time Pike

Northern Pike are known for their aggressive nature and dominance over prey. Pike are also a very tough fighting fish that like to rip drag and max out rods. The explosiveness of hooking a pike in open water can have similar effects under the ice. Pike still spend most of their day searching for their next meal and they still strike with vengeance. Pike like to eat and pike like to eat everything. Dangle a lively minnow in a pike’s face at it will get bit. Pound a size 12 jig tipped with a maggot and a pike will devour that too. I’m sure we’ve all experienced a time when we’re out targeting panfish with two-pound test line coupled with a tiny crappie jig and a ferocious hammer handle decides to join the party. That always gets my adrenaline pumping and there is just something about hearing that drag squeal. Targeting pike through the ice can be a lot of fun and there are some big fish to be caught. Let’s take a look at some winter locations and methods for catching Ice Time Pike.

Pike can be found where their food is. This sounds like an obvious answer and that probably seems that way because it is. Pike will follow around pods of baitfish, panfish and other small gamefish. Pike enjoy snacking on a meal of small bluegills or perch and they do it quite regularly, even in the arctic winter months. When trying to locate prime pike spots, I like to find areas where I know panfish and perch tend to roam. Weedy areas are always good bets for winter pike. Weeds attract baitfish and small panfish, and as we know, pike will follow their prey. Pike spend a lot of time cruising a weed line waiting for an easy meal to present itself. Pike also like to locate amongst pockets in the shallow weeds or areas where weeds grow scarce enough for them to aggressively attack their prey. Panfish have a sense of security amongst
really thick weeds and those are typically areas where you won’t find a lot of winter pike.

Pike also spend a lot of time cruising flats, both shallow and deep. Pike like that open space where they have superiority over their prey.  Perch that wander aimlessly over a flat have no place to go when a hungry pike swims by. Same goes for baitfish minnows. Some of the largest pike I’ve iced have come from large flats. Mud, sand, rock and gravel tend to make of the majority of these flats. Weed flats are common, but generally these are areas where you will see a lot of your smaller pike. The larger pike are out near humps and saddles that are scattered across large open flats. Flats that are accompanied by deeper water are prime areas as well. Pike will often time slide off shallower flats into deeper water as winter begins to wear on.

Underwater points and inside turns are probably one of the best winter spots for big pike. Areas where you have a large point that drops into deep water that is connected to or adjacent to cabbage or vegetation areas. These areas will sometimes have inside turns where baitfish likes to congregate. Pike will slide up and down the large point throughout winter and you can even find some pike holding to these areas  throughout the winter months. Some large points have all the characteristics of keeping a large pike happy from early to late ice.

And last but not least, pike will locate near mid-depth structure. Structure that stands out over the main lake basin will attract pike. Rock piles, reefs, sunken islands, bars… these are all areas where you can expect to find winter pike. Pike will cruise the main lake basin until they see something they like, or something that draws their attention. More often then not these areas are holding some sort of baitfish, panfish or perch.

Locating big pike can sometimes be a waiting game. Aggressively searching for pike can work at times, but there are also days when punching a half-dozen holes over a prime area and waiting it out will out produce hole hopping. When working a large flat there is no need to punch holes every ten feet. Covering a hundred yard area might only need three of four holes. These pike are roaming and are not likely to situate over a featureless spot for a long period of time. If a pike is in the area it will stop by and investigate what the commotion is all about.

I like to jig for pike. My best days on the ice have come from jigging and my biggest fish have come from jigging. Now, this doesn’t mean that I don’t use tip-ups, because I still do. I like to use tip-ups to help me find out what paths or locations the pike are using more quickly by getting out two lines. If I’m working a sunken island, then I usually set a tip-up on top or just on the break of the island and then I’ll work a series of holes off the island with a jigging rod. Pike like movement and action and you can often times entice most pike into biting a moving or quivering lure. Tip-ups are great for the dead-of-winter when you have negative pike that only want dead bait. But, when I’m on a hardcore pike hunt I like to take the jigging rods out. Working a jigging rod and a tip-up can be a deadly combo and it allows you to cover more water, more effectively.

The lure options available for pike can be endless. Pike will take a jigging spoon, no doubt about it. A quarter-ounce jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head has been one of my go-to pike baits for as long as I can remember.  I like a spoon with a lot of flash and vibration. Spoons that make noise and get the fish’s attention are very productive. Flutter spoons also work very well for pike. Spoons are very versatile and can be fished in a variety of ways and in several different conditions. I prefer a more aggressive style of jigging when targeting pike with a jigging spoon. I like to incorporate a lot of 1-2 foot pops followed by several seconds of shakes and jiggles. I usually don’t use any pause sequences unless I get a pike that shows up and just swims around the bait without eating. The jiggle sequence is usually when the pike takes the bait.

Another option for pike is swimming lures. Swimming lures can be fished without any sort of bait at all. Swimming lures are designed to trigger fish by their natural appeal and action. Pike will hit a plain Daredevil or Rapala in open water so what makes things different under the ice? Pike will still strike lures without bait during the winter as well. The action of a swimming lure is designed to mimic baitfish and injured minnows. The circular motion and hops that a swimming lure gives off when jigged and pumped can really draw in fish from a distance and cause a lot of reaction strikes. Pike will hit the lure before they even know what it is that they are eating. You will find a lot of aggressive strikes when using swimming lures. There are a variety of options and sizes to choose from and I like to try and match the forage that’s in the particular lake or body of water I’m going to fish. For instance, if you know that lake shiners are the preferred bait in a certain lake then go with a silver pattern swimming lure. Or if perch are heavily populated you might want to go with a perch pattern. I like to work a swimming lure with a lift-fall sequence. A quick 2 foot pump followed by a return to the original spot. I’ll also add in a few jiggles and shakes as well. Don’t be afraid to make the lure quiver or dance while you pull away from a fish if a pike appears.

Another option for pike is a Flyer jig or Airplane jig. These jigs are designed to swim in circles and are usually tipped with a whole minnow through the head. You want the effect of a dying minnow as you work the bait. Work the jig in a lift-fall sequence and add in a lot of shakes and jiggles as if falls. Also incorporate some short, quick snaps when it returns to its original location. Lead head jigs can be used for pike as well and shouldn’t be overlooked. One of my favorite winter pike presentations is to rig a Lindy Tackle Techni-Glo Flyer with a 4-inch white twister tail. This technique works great as both a search lure and triggering option.

For tip-ups I like to use quick-strike rigs. If I don’t get to set the hook when a fish bites I want to be sure that a fish is still going to be there when I get to the hole. A quick-strike rig will enable you to have confidence that a fish won’t hit and run. You also get a more natural appeal when rigging up a minnow or dead bait on a quick-strike rig. A quick-strike rig looks like a wishbone of sorts. You have almost an upside down V with a treble hook tied on each end. Usually the V portion of the rig in made up of some kind of stranded wire or leader. You also have a blade above each treble hook as well. You attach the end of your tip-up line (I prefer either coated line or some sort of Dacron) to the top of the quick-strike rig. Once tied on you want to position the minnow so the minnow sits in an upright and natural position when in the water. I like to barely hook the minnow so it stays alive and can swim. I like to add some sort of weights about 10 inches up from the quick-strike rig, which allows me to get the minnow down to the desired depth and it also helps hold the minnow in place so it’s not swimming all over.

Locating pike is probably the harder of the two. Once you find pike they are usually pretty eager to bite. Smaller pike will stick around panfish filled areas, but the larger pike have a tendency to move and cruise mid-lake structure and larger flats. Stay mobile until you find a spot that looks productive and then give it a few minutes before you move on. If there are pike in the area, they will stop by to check things out. Work the jigging rod and tip-up combination. I’m a firm believer in the effectiveness of using a jigging rod for pike. You never know what you might have missed if you just set out two tip-ups and play the waiting game. I can’t honestly remember the last time when using both a jigging rod and tip-up that the tip-up out produced the jigging rod. And plus, you get the adrenaline rush and line stripping action of fighting a pike on a rod and reel!!

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson
www.mattjohnsonoutdoors.com