Pike Lures?

CCMI

CCMI

Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
1,638
I'm relatively new to fishing, but I friend of mine just got a small jon boat and trolling motor this year and we'd like to start targeting pike.

From the several people I've talked to around here, Davedevil spoons are the popular choice. Just curious what other lures you guys like for Pike and/or what size/color Daredevils you've had success with.

Also, any tips or tricks for pike would be appreciated as well.



images
 
Catching pike is so much fun. Spoons like the daredevil are definitely a classic pike lure. Myself I have not had a lot of luck with them. My 2 favorite lures and the ones I catch the most pike on...are bass lures. A spinner bait and a top water buzz bait. Plain white or strike kings white and red bleeding bait are my most productive colors but that may be different in your water. I also seem to get my biggest fish early in the morning, 6-9 AM and it seems like when it gets hot in the afternoon they stop biting all together. The buzz bait is the most fun. Sometimes they will follow along blowing up on it 3 or 4 times before getting hooked. If they are not hitting the buzz bait after a while that usually means I need to go deeper. I switch to the spinner bait and fish it a few feet above the bottom. Feels like you got snagged when they bite, it just stops. But then it goes the other way and WOO HOO!

GOOD LUCK! :)

Fun spinnerbait pike.

SpinnerbaitPike.jpg


On of my best pike..Got it on the buzz bait and only had a cell phone for pic and my fishing buddy hadn't shown up yet.

61811pike1.jpg


Pike seem to like colder weather. I do best on rainy days. My best day I got 9 pike in 3 hours in this crazy storm.

RMAstorm.jpg
 
Rapala's in about any pattern and size. Usually the only thing I do different when fishing for pike versus bass is add a steel leader. They hit the same types of lures so in line spinners, buzz baits, rubber worms and flukes. Find the weed beds and fish over the tops of submerged weeds. If the water you are fishing is known for big pike use big lures.
 
The red/white Daredevil will do it .They come in all sizes. They like to ambush prey so fish the weeds where they wait for their breakfast !
 
The daredevil lures have done the job for me but I dress them up with either an Uncle Josh pork trailer strip in white or I take off the treble and jam it into the body of a rubber salamander or lizard lure then reattach it to the spoon. That gives it more wobble and slows down your drop rate so you can cruise it slower over weed tops.
 
Find the weed beds and fish over the tops of submerged weeds. If the water you are fishing is known for big pike use big lures.
Click to expand...
what he said. it depends on the water you are fishing. if it is weedy, might want to go with a weedless spoon (or weedless rubber)(spinner bait too). as someone said....most bass lure's will work for pike, but add a wire leader. as WILLSEE said, fish just above the weeds. i really like to fish for pike by casting vertical to where the weeds meet open water.

anyway....know the water you are fishin. if it is a lake filled with perch....go with a perch pattern that swims at the right depth. everyone has their favorites. one of my fav's has to be the old standby.... rooster tails! (or other in-line spinners).

sorry, i love fishing so i'm kinda babbling here. it really boils down to the fact that pike are predators, so many lures will work. depth and location are really the key.

my best advice would be to go to a local tackle shop ... spend some time there ... buy some stuff ... and ask them questions. they should tell you what works best and maybe even where to go.

Good luck!
 
willseeyalater said:
The daredevil lures have done the job for me but I dress them up with either an Uncle Josh pork trailer strip in white or I take off the treble and jam it into the body of a rubber salamander or lizard lure then reattach it to the spoon. That gives it more wobble and slows down your drop rate so you can cruise it slower over weed tops.
Click to expand...


BAM! good call. :thumbup:
 
^^
What they said:D

.... I like to change-up the speed of what ever I'm using; jerk, twitch,speed way up with an abrupt slow down...etc.
Seems to help trigger strikes.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys, really appreciate it.


B.Mauser said:
Catching pike is so much fun. Spoons like the daredevil are definitely a classic pike lure. Myself I have not had a lot of luck with them. My 2 favorite lures and the ones I catch the most pike on...are bass lures. A spinner bait and a top water buzz bait. Plain white or strike kings white and red bleeding bait are my most productive colors but that may be different in your water. I also seem to get my biggest fish early in the morning, 6-9 AM and it seems like when it gets hot in the afternoon they stop biting all together. The buzz bait is the most fun. Sometimes they will follow along blowing up on it 3 or 4 times before getting hooked. If they are not hitting the buzz bait after a while that usually means I need to go deeper. I switch to the spinner bait and fish it a few feet above the bottom. Feels like you got snagged when they bite, it just stops. But then it goes the other way and WOO HOO!
Click to expand...

I have a couple decent size spinners in white/ white-ish color, so I'll have to try that. I've had the most luck in the early morning as well.


willseeyalater said:
The daredevil lures have done the job for me but I dress them up with either an Uncle Josh pork trailer strip in white or I take off the treble and jam it into the body of a rubber salamander or lizard lure then reattach it to the spoon. That gives it more wobble and slows down your drop rate so you can cruise it slower over weed tops.
Click to expand...

Interesting.... would you happen to have a picture of the rig you're talking about?


TPVT said:
what he said. it depends on the water you are fishing. if it is weedy, might want to go with a weedless spoon (or weedless rubber)(spinner bait too). as someone said....most bass lure's will work for pike, but add a wire leader. as WILLSEE said, fish just above the weeds. i really like to fish for pike by casting vertical to where the weeds meet open water.
Click to expand...

This might be the worst picture of all time, but is this what you're talking about? I assume you aren't talking about casting vertically in the water like a vertical jig....

untitled.jpg



TPVT said:
sorry, i love fishing so i'm kinda babbling here.
Click to expand...

No problem, babble on brother :D




Keep em coming if anyone else has input!
 
CCMI said:
This might be the worst picture of all time, but is this what you're talking about? I assume you aren't talking about casting vertically in the water like a vertical jig....
untitled.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes (assuming that green is supposed to be a weed bed). it really does all depend, though. heck, it might be best to toss to the shore and reel back above the weeds too (or through them if they break the surface). That's the trick....finding them! Experiment. That's half the fun. Like mewulf1 said....sometimes it's just a matter of playing with retrieval speed, as well.

Dangit! why am i sitting here at work?? :)

P.S. this may go without saying, but if you're fishing a known weedy spot that holds pike, keep your eyes peeled. look for a surface boil. means a pike is scaring up bait fish.
 
Pike will go after just about anything including pennies when thrown overboard. Spoons like daredevils and anything shiny attracts them. Live baits work well too like minnows and frogs. I recommend using a leader as their teeth are sharp like razors and I have lost many when not using a leader.
 
CCMI said:
Interesting.... would you happen to have a picture of the rig you're talking about?
Click to expand...
No, sorry I don't. Look at some of the soft baits shaped like lizards with legs. Take one and cut it off mid body above the back legs. The shank of the treble gets shoved up through the body so the legs hang back in line with the spoon. On a spoon the treble set has one hook that rides in the down position so line your impaled critter up so the legs ride flat with the plane of the spoon body. Give it some test casts and see if it go woooga woooga woooga. Experiment with it and have fun. That slow pulse beat is what you want. Pike and muskies love that and want to kill it. Sorry no pics, you'll get it just monkey with it.
 
Growing up in saskatchewan our go to big pike set up was to find a sandy shoal next to a drop off and tip a big bucktail/maribou jig with a 3 to 5 in frog hooked through the nose(more bone). Anchor on the shallow just before it starts to drop off and fire it out into deep water and work it up the slope hugging the bottom.

Daredevils and the old 5 of diamonds(yellow and red) were good, a big "sidewinder" lure worked pretty good as well.
 
TPVT said:
Yes (assuming that green is supposed to be a weed bed).
Click to expand...

What, can't you tell from my MS-Paint skills? :D


willseeyalater said:
No, sorry I don't. Look at some of the soft baits shaped like lizards with legs. Take one and cut it off mid body above the back legs. The shank of the treble gets shoved up through the body so the legs hang back in line with the spoon. On a spoon the treble set has one hook that rides in the down position so line your impaled critter up so the legs ride flat with the plane of the spoon body. Give it some test casts and see if it go woooga woooga woooga. Experiment with it and have fun. That slow pulse beat is what you want. Pike and muskies love that and want to kill it. Sorry no pics, you'll get it just monkey with it.
Click to expand...

Ok I gotcha. Now, do you use the same treble hooks from the lure or do you replace them with a longer shank? I just picked up a couple at a garage sale and the shanks seem kinda short to rig even 1/2 a plastic bait on there (from what I remember, don't have it in front of me).
 
I use the treble hook that is on it. The soft bait you use would be cut off to fit the shank up to the split ring so if it is an inch or less it will work. You can schooch it up onto the ring if it is more solid. Around here I get a lot of my lures at garage sales so I can tinker with rigs and see what works without spending a lot. I imagine Michigan is about like Minnesota, folks gather up fishing gear over the years and never use half of it then someone puts it on the driveway to sell and you can get stuff for nickels to the dollar at times. The best spot to get these things figured out is on the water...Memorial Day is coming so get out and get casting.
 
willseeyalater said:
I use the treble hook that is on it. The soft bait you use would be cut off to fit the shank up to the split ring so if it is an inch or less it will work. You can schooch it up onto the ring if it is more solid. Around here I get a lot of my lures at garage sales so I can tinker with rigs and see what works without spending a lot. I imagine Michigan is about like Minnesota, folks gather up fishing gear over the years and never use half of it then someone puts it on the driveway to sell and you can get stuff for nickels to the dollar at times. The best spot to get these things figured out is on the water...Memorial Day is coming so get out and get casting.
Click to expand...

Cool that's what I figured, thanks for the tip. Haha, yeah I could've bought a dozen more spoons and half a dozen empty tackle boxes from the same guy if I'd wanted.
 
Everyone has mentioned most of the classics and they all work. Two more are the Mepps Minnow spinners. They were my dad's favorite and he brainwashed me as well. I've also caught some big pike and a muskie or two on flatfish lures. I don't dare get these monstrosities anywhere near a weed bed though so they are more a spring or late fall lure along drop offs or gravel bottoms.
 
Mepps #5 in the classic red and white- it'll slay the pike and the fives are big enough to entice Muskie too!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top