Northern Pike Fishing

I think every fisherman at one time or another dreams of going northern pike fishing and landing that trophy fish. For those that dream to catch that trophy fish the best time to do it is in May when the northern pike begin to move into shallower waters to spawn.

It is at this time that you can catch some of the largest females while northern pike fishing. With large female pike loaded to the gills with as much as 2 to 4.5 lbs of eggs. These bloated females can be a lot of fun to catch, but I recommend that these big females must be released back into the waters in order to maintain a sustainable northern pike fishing stock.

So what are the best northern pike lures to use while the big females are spawning? Everyone has their own personal choice on what fishing lures to use, but I prefer a northern fly, shallow moving wobbler or shallow moving fishing spoons. If you are interested in northern fly fishing and want a visual marker when you fish, try a pike popper. One rule of thumb I like to use is the bigger the bait or lure the bigger the potential fish is that will eat it. This is not always the case but it is something to think about if you are trying to land that trophy fish.

After the pike finish spawning they slowly move into deeper water. It is at this time that northern pike fishing can get really wild. During spawning these fish use up a lot of energy and loose a lot of body mass and this makes them very hungry and aggressive. During this time they seam to want to bite on about anything you throw at them. It seems like throwing wobblers, trolling or even fly fishing will work to land one of these monsters.

In June and July, as the pike enter the deeper water between depths of 10-30 feet it is a lot easier to find these fish by using a fish finder. This way you will know exactly where all the fish are located, so that you can concentrate on several hot spots, instead of of testing the waters around the whole lake.

So with a little luck and determination almost any one can land a nice sized northern pike, but remember to take along a few essential tools that are often over looked. These tools would be a camera, scales, and a tape measure. If you have these with you there will not be any doubt that you are not just telling fish stories at the end of the day.