One of the most exciting fish to catch in Minnesota and the provinces of Canada is big northern pike. Big pike, for many anglers, has gone from a childhood trophy to a secondary fish in many waters, but we at LOA see big pike has an opportunity to catch a fish of a lifetime or affectionately what we call a Hawg Belly. These freshwater sharks lurk beneath the surface of a frozen lake stalking their prey along well-defined weedlines and mid lake structures with reckless abandonment. Furthermore, when other fish shut down during the fickle winter weather, the pike seem to always be on the prowl. Avid anglers relish the chance to do hand to hand combat with these ferocious fish and the sight of a blaze orange tip-up flag tripped by a Hawg Belly is welcomed sight for all.
Facts about Big Northern Pike
Big Northern Pike
Northern pike are abundant in most northern shield lakes so it doesn’t take much to get in on the action for pike in winter. Pike fishing for many years has been centered around the use of a tip ups and it is hard to find a better tip up than a Beaver Dam Tip Up. These tip ups are made in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and the folks at Beaver dam are leaders in the industry. Their wood base combined with a solid brass spinner trigger and spool, steel tube, and windproof cradle have made it a time tested tip up that can hold up to any big fish. When pairing our tip ups with a livebait rig we prefer to use two different quick strike rigs in “The Natural Rig” or the new “Fluoro HD Rig” by Big Tooth Tackle. These two live bait rigs are finely made with blood red trebles and Colorado Spinner Blades. You can get the rigs in a variety of colors with chartreuse/orange, bright red, or hammered gold being some favorites; they are well built and have caught multiple 40” plus pike each year. Big Tooth Tackle quick strike rigs have proven to a useful tool for landing monster pike; especially if you’re fishing catch and release. For catch and release of pike there is quite simply nothing better on the market that will lessen impact on the fish and provide them with a great opportunity to grow even bigger. Attach these quick strike rigs to 25-to-40 pound test nylon line on tip-ups to increase success. These three components combined are a deadly piece of arsenal on large pike.
Northern Pike
Pike, like all other fish, have distinct migration patterns. As the winter rolls along they will relate to different pieces of structure and will be chasing different kinds of baitfish. Early in the season be sure to focus in on shallow water bays that have solids amounts of green cabbage in them still. These weedlines are an attractant to other fish, such as perch and other small panfish, all of which pike will gorge on when the opportunity is there. When focusing on these shallow bays, use your GPS or map to identify weed eges, points, and bars. Remember lake weed edges and their depths will vary depending on the water clarity in that lake. A favorite combination we like to look for is a weedline that has a nice inside turn, these turns are a great ambush spot for pike. Pay close attention to the depth, if you are in shallow water, you you will want to put your bait roughly two-thirds to half way down. Northern, like walleyes will feed up at times due to the placement of their eyes on top of their head. As the winter moves on and into January and February, the larger pike will utilize the deeper basin structure; midlake rock reefs, long expansive points and out over open water. This time of year we approach each of these locations with a series of tip ups still focusing their feeding on perch, but will also start chasing some of your larger bait fish such as tulibees and ciscoes. We make sure to cover all aspects of the different pieces of structure with a series of tip ups set at various depths. Every hump or bar is different, but pay attention on your map to potential ambush areas, such as sharp breaks, pockets, turns, edges, or a point. When fishing the mouths of larger bays, be sure to focus on those weedlines and steeper breaks as those will be prime locations to find bigger pike.
A wise pike and muskie fisherman once told me, the mouth of every bay holds a nice pike protecting its turf, find out where it lives and what makes it tick, and you will have a battle on your hands. As the winter leaves and late ice arrives in March and April the sun starts to melt the snow and the ice current from water tributaries starts to flow creating current under the ice, often times concentrating large numbers of big pike. It is during this time, pike prepare for the spawn and will migrate back into shallower water. During this window you should focus your attention on pre-spawn areas. Go back and check out some of those same weedlines and shoreline breaks as you did during early ice, but also pay attention to your lake map to see if there are any creeks, small rivers, or tributaries that dump into the lake. When you find these creeks they are likely pouring into large expansive weed flats, check them out as they often serve as a hot bed for pre-spawn and big female pike. Remember finding pike is not as simple as just drilling a few holes, dropping down that number of tips ups, and just letting them sit. If you want to be a successful tip up fisherman you need to be moving these tip ups around and varying your depths and locations. Another tip when fishing these shallower weed flats, put your tip ups in a circular formation. When using this formation put your dead baits on the outer edge and a couple lively suckers in the middle. The pike will be attracted to the live suckers, but won’t be able to resist the Big Tooth Tackle rig and dead bait when it is on their way towards the lively sucker minnows. Having a strategic layout when setting up your tip ups, such as the circular one already mentioned, perhaps a diamond pattern or simply a line of tip ups along a shoreline break, will set you up for more success. Before even dropping the tip ups, look at the piece of structure you are going to fish, map it out, and create a battle strategy to besiege these monster pike.
Northern Pike Pictures
You may be dozens of yards away, in the truck, on shore, or in the fish house when a flag trips on the tip-up. Don’t worry about missing the fish. Big Pike, by nature, tend to grab bait and run with it before turning it and swallowing it. As you approach the tip-up you can see the spool turning the flag trip mechanism as the fish runs, watch for the spin to slow or even stop. There are many ways fishermen go about setting the hook on a fish using a tip up and ultimately it is a comfort thing like many other aspects of fishing. We recommend using a couple different techniques depending on the type of rig you are using. If you are using a quick strike rig you do not have to give the fish a lot of line or time with how the rig is set up with the bait. When approaching the tip up watch the spinner trigger to see if the fish is running with the bait, slowing moving with it, or sitting there sucking it in. Simply approach the tip up, lock the spinner in your hands, and set the hook pulling up on the tip up. Be sure to use a sharp upward motion to get those hooks set into the fish. A second way is to gently take the tip up and take it out of the water, grabbing the the slack in the line, and then feeling for tension. Once you feel the tension, set the hook and it is game on! Finally, if you are using a more conventional set up with a single treble hook, once the flag pops up, count to twenty, feel the tension and “Hawg Belly, here you come!”. These fish can be great fighters and as you are battling these pike it can be very helpful to have a fishing partner next to you to help you with the line as you are pulling it in. Being able to lay the line down neatly and keeping it from getting caught on the ice will give you a leg up on the fish when it makes its well known line ripping runs as it approaches the hole. Once you are able to put the fish on the ice, be sure to have the necessary tools with you to help give the fish its proper care and release. At LOA we always have the hawg bucket nearby where we carry pliers, tape measure, camera, possible glove, and other tools which help catch, record and release with ease.
And finally, remember this is an opportunity to not only catch fish but also create a great social atmosphere with your fishing buddies. Enjoy that time to socialize with them and play some games on the ice to help the time go by quicker. Remember a watched flag is like the bobber that will never go down when eyes are upon it; so relax, kick back, don’t watch it and you will soon hear FISH ON! Also be sure to check local regulations, the season closes end of Feb to early March in much of Minnesota and also many Minnesota lakes have begun to exercise slot limits to boost the size structure of the pike within specific lakes. Some of the bodies of water to focus in on for these Hawg Bellies are Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, Winnibigoshish, and Leech Lake. Get your tip ups spooled up, rigs ready, and take advantage of the battle you can partake in on with this predator. Happy Hunting and Get Hooked!!
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