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Biggest Northern In Metro


fishersofmen

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Anything over 10lbs in the metro is very nice, they are around but you almost have to target the "big" pike specifically not just target pike to have a good chance at them, much has to do with lake selection, but as the summer warms you need to fish deep to have a decent chance at them. The smaller pike often stick around the weedlines and such like they always do, but the BIG pike will spend most of the summer heat roaming the deeper water, often right above the thermocline line if it exists in your lake. I have a hard time finding them in mid summer with my limited electronic equipment, spring is key for me when they are still shallow at times, but you gotta be on the right lake!

11lbs from metro

11pikehgj0.jpg

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My personal best pike was a 39 incher out of a gravel pit connected to a small river only when the river floods in the spring. I remember specifically just a couple casts after releasing the 39, I snagged a 35 while fishing in same exact spot... The pit itself gets deep 20 + feet, and is about 4 acres. the thing is chalk full of pike, bass, crappie, bullhead, and sunnies but is on private land is has since been chained off and off limits. I caught that pike three years ago and I just know there are 40 plus inchers in there... My best Bass from that same pit was 19 inches. I can't even begin to count how many times I was bitten off while going for bass (not using a leader) Real nice pike though for a west metro run off from a small river... Too bad it's off limits now.

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I love to target big pike because I think on a tip up there isnt a better fight with a fish than a pike using your bare hands. I havent lived here that long but have caught a few 10#+ fish. Nothing huge, but nice fish none the less. Every year in late march on non metro lakes I do very well with several pike to my name over 40 inches with my biggest being 44-1/2 and shes still swimming. Late March with dead bait has always been good to me. The big females like an easy meal before spawn so dead smelt on a tip up has always been a great for them. You just got to find the right spot.

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it is very cool when you kind find "your" own honey hole so to speak; but I am sorry I wasn't commentingon your post specifically rather the thread as a whole.

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I love to target big pike because I think on a tip up there isnt a better fight with a fish than a pike using your bare hands. I havent lived here that long but have caught a few 10#+ fish. Nothing huge, but nice fish none the less. Every year in late march on non metro lakes I do very well with several pike to my name over 40 inches with my biggest being 44-1/2 and shes still swimming. Late March with dead bait has always been good to me. The big females like an easy meal before spawn so dead smelt on a tip up has always been a great for them. You just got to find the right spot.

I believe the Northern Pike season closes in late February and does not open until May so it may be a tad illegal targeting those fish in late March if you're in Minnesota.

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It's continuous on the canadien border (where lot's of trophy pike waters reside). Also continuous on the mississippi along the WI border, which also has some dandy pike...I've gotten a few dirty looks from people down there while casting spoons in early april.

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Exactly my point JBMASTERANGLER. THere are places that dont close in Minnesota. IE Lake of the Woods, Some border waters.

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Hey guys, I have been a reader of this site for a while but just decided to join last night. Love the stories on big metro PIKE! Last winter I caught 2 over 37" and 7 total over 30"...problem is that you can't get on that lake anymore. I have been in a slump for the last couple weeks though. I have been out about 5 times on 5 different lakes in the northeast metro with no luck at all. Anyone having any luck with tip ups and suckers in the northeast metro right now? I just want to see my darn flag go up!

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i love chasing big pike in the winter. every year i catch a few over 10 but my two biggest are a 37 and a 39 all caught out of probabaly one of the most popular lakes in the metro. most of these fish are also caught at night which is what i do different than most people. with all of the noise durring the day i think the fish are more active at night. the 39 incher i caught at 8:30 at night on a rod. last week a guy speered a 41 incher in the same spot as i usually have my house. too bad that was a big one it weighed 19 pounds

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My longest Metro pike is 39" from Orchard in 1999. The pike was skinny and release. My fattest metro pike came from the St. Croix river a few years ago and that was 38" and fat. Pushing 17#. Look like it swallow a few footballs. That fish was also released.

Brian

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I had a near-40 hit my buzzbait last summer. We'd been bass fishing a small lake and switched to pike stuff because we kept getting bit off. I only had a crappy wire leader and it kinked around the bait and I had to pull it in backwards and underwater. Right at the boat this big guy smoked it but no hookup due to the stupid fouled leader! She's got a target on her back this year, I'm gunning hard for her!

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My best metro pike is a 37" out of the mississippi on open water and a 36" out of medicine last year through the ice

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I have caught some really nice ones on Whaletale! the lake by st boni! it was around 17lbs it was nice and fat!

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I have caught some really nice ones on Whaletale! the lake by st boni! it was around 17lbs it was nice and fat!

Carver are you a guide out on whaletail? I sure would like to get into some nice pike out there before the season ends, and it sounds like your the guy to talk to!

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Caught a 36 inch muskie on new years eve out of white bear lake. Caught it on 4 lb test while jigging for eyes.... heck of a fight. I'm actually surprised I landed it based that I lost 2x average sized walleyes in the holes the day beofre

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Unfortunately when I caught the fish I was by myself with no camera and was fishing for panfish so was completely caught off guard. However I will post it in 6-8 months when she goes on my wall......It was definately the best fishing experience I've ever had. The adrenaline and unbelief when I pulled it out of the hole was amazing. It sounds like its unusual to catch one that size out of a boat let alone through an 8 inch hole with 3 pound line. A week later that was proven to me fishing in the same spot for panfish again with the same rod and a 4-5 pound northern broke my line under the hole........Maybe I will catch a bigger fish some day but I highly doubt it will be under the same conditions.

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This winter I have dominated the big pike in the metro. I have caught a 38, 35, 34, 32 and a bunch a 30's. All on tip ups and almost all on sucker minnows. Just hoping that i can hook a 40+ before the season is over.

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My daughters biggest pike, 37 inches. I got one good picture before her arms gave out. 4.5 fow on minnetonka.

My biggest pike of the year is 40 inches in 5.5fow.

How do you post pics on this site?

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Originally Posted By: shakojdub1425
The pike in my pic is the biggest i have ever caught threw ice.

What is your biggest in open water?

I'll bet its that one.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
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