Pike fishing - Tips and Tricks

These are some very nice tips and tricks from a german pike fisherman - but we think his experience is just as valid for fishing for pike in northern america :)

The experiences and tips are developed over many years of pike fishing on the Saar, in the Rhine and in different lakes.

Pike-Tip (1): bait choice for spinning

After millions of throws with a variety of lures, I recommend a spinner warmly to you, that always works and brings a nice pike.

How should such a pike spinner be, so that it can be used in shallow as well as in deep water?

The pike spinner must have a certain size. Never use anything below size 3.
The pike spinner must be very light, so it can be worked with minimal pull at the water surface.
If you want to fish in deep water, a spinning rig with interchangeable weight head should be used.
The pike spinner should be silver - best with red or black stripes.
The pike spinner needs to have a large, almost round spinner blade.
Very important: the pike spinner must have a big red woolen bushel on it's triplet-hook.

If you now also vary with the spinning speed and response to the flow velocity, then you'll catch your pike.

(Here's an absolutely brilliant pike spinner that I use for many years: )

Pike-Tip (2): Time of Day

In 25 years, I have found that it doesn't matter at what time of day you go fishing. I've caught my biggest pikes in July in murderous heat. If at all there is a tendency, I wholeheartedly recommend the late afternoon in September and October.

Pike-Tip (3): Behavior during the Drill

Time and again, I had to watch as pikes got lost in the drill. Despite the pike being a fish which is very east in the drill, if you just heed some basic rules.

Drill Phase 1 - the pike is still deep down in the depths or far away from you:

Do not apply too much pressure. As long as the pike is not in your immediate vicinity, the pike moves quietly its course and follows your gentle pressure.

Set up your drill tactics never off at the maximum strength of your line. When the pike pulls into a lily field, or below an under-water-lying tree, of course you have to respond in timely fashion. So please, don't get me wrong. I myself often fish with a 25mm (about 1/10") fishing line - and no pike has ever torn my fishing line!

So, don't be afraid of tearing your line, hold back and drill with feeling and time.

However, beware: Do not dawdle during the fight and go for a swim with the pike. If the time has come to end the drill, then there are no more experiments.

How do you know that the time for the final phase of the fight has come?

You should always drill with steady pull. Please never point your fishing rod in the direction the pike's swimming, but always in the opposite direction.

When the pike is ready to be landed, it's coming with your steady pull to you. Experience shows that it will still take two to three calm breakaway attempts. That doesn't really matter as long as you keep the pike in the depths. After a few breakaway attempts, the pike is now in your vicinity.

Drill Phase 2 - the pike is coming up or near you:

This phase can be tough, because you have to get the pike now rapidly with increasing pressure into your landing net or hand range.

This should be done in one motion. Never drill a pike in the near vicinity. Because very close to you the pike can get extremely wild.

If you pull too hard you can even see a pike jump once in a while. Although it is a beautiful picture to watch a pike jumping, you better enjoy this picture, when another angler drills his pike.

By the way: At this stage the landing net has to be ready - because now it's too late to unfold it or untangle the net.

Estimate whether the pike will easily fit into your landing net If it could be close, then you forget about the landing net.

There is nothing worse than trying to push a capital pike into a too small landing net. This will go wrong - guaranteed - and your day is ruined!

So forget the landing net and move on to hand landing. Be careful, not to get your hand in the line and don't pull at the line and certainly not at the last inches of it.

Caution: When hand landing often the line tension is lost for a short moment. This is the most critical situation - focus and land the pike with your first attempt.