42 inch pike

[bassbuster1]

We got out on the lake today chasing big pike ,the bite was slow, Larry did get a real nice 42 inch pike first big pike of the season for us.We got 3 others a 36 incher and a couple of smaller ones .

BB1

[WOODYWOODS]

Nice fish BB. Those big pike should be going in all those shallow bays now. What a great way to spend the day. Woody

[bassbuster1]

The big girls are starting to go we got a 42.5 incher today and 10 smaller ones.

BB1

[muc33]

Nice fish bassbuster1, just got off the phone with the office, set up to see you on the 30th of May!!! Keep fishin!

[WOODYWOODS]

Way nice! Woody

[bassbuster1]

Got another nice one .Check out my blog on the Falls Motel website .

BB1

[Neighbor_guy]

Nice!!! Bait? Lure???

[bassbuster1]

Xraps and flukes fished slow , color did not seem to matter.Keep moving the pike are bunched up in small areas of shallow bays.Look for the warmest water in the bay ,the bays we were fishing were know more than 4-6 ft deep in the middle,work the edges first then make a few passes down the middle,this also will produce a nice walleye or two this time of year.

BB1

[bassbuster1]

2 more big ones this morn Larry got a 45 and a 41 incher xraps.

The pictures are on my blog. www.fallsmotel.org

BB1

[tearin' lips]

You guys are certainly boating some nice pike there bud!!! That 45 is a beast!

[Scott M]

Larry had a nice blog writeup that's worth sharing:

Quote:

Since I live in International Falls, I get to fish Rainly Lake where the northern pike season is continuous. This enabled me to learn more about fishing pike in cold water as I can start fishing as soon as I can get a boat on the water. I love catching big northern pike and the first couple of weeks after ice out are the best. Since pike spawn in shallow, weed and reed filled bays, that is where we look. I prefer large bays that have cattails, submergent weeds and emergents such as bullrushes or pencil reed.

My presentation depends on water temperature. On my boat the temperature probe is on the trolling motor which is about 18 inches below the surface. Since I am usually catching pike in less than five feet of water, even as shallow as one foot -- that means the temperature reading is pretty close.

This spring we were on the lake the day after ice out and found water temperatures in one of my favorite bays was already 46 degrees. Remember the bays usually are ice-free before the main lake. I got lucky and my first pike was a 42 incher which I released. We only caught three pike in four hours that day. The other two were small.

Over the years I've caught some really nice pike in water temps between 46 and 55 degrees without using live bait. The best baits are the ones you can work slowly and erratically especially in cold water. Bass style suspending jerk baits are my favorite. Rapala's Xraps or Storm's thunderstick and other companies that make shallow running, suspending baits. These baits are weighted so they rise very slowly when paused so they give the illusion of suspension. That is when the strike usually occurs. Cast it out and retrieve in a series of erratic jerk-baits and pauses varying your pause depending on conditions. Example: long pauses in cold water, etc.

I use 30 lb braided line with six feet of 14 lb monofilament leader tied directly to the lure. Bite offs are fewer in cold water. If you need to add a steel leader, the lure will not rise slowly, instead, it will sink. This can cause problems--you can experiment. Plastic baits rigged weedless are sometimes the best cold water pike rig you'll ever use. I rig those the same way I would a jerk bait. Cast these baits into weed or reed beds where treble hooks do not dare to tread. My favorite plastic baits would be bass size flukes or sluggos or any of the new plastic swim baits that you can rig weedless, favorite colors would be pearl or white--as I can see these baits and work them better. Cast them out and retrieve them with a series of jerk-baits and pauses so they look like a dying bait fish. Once the water temperatures reach 55 degrees or more, spinner baits, spoons, or other faster moving lures will be more effective.

Great tips and thanks so much for sharing with the rest of us. Those pike are a treasure.

[bassbuster1]

I can personally testify to the statment above,I have been fishing pike this way for the last couple of years .

Larry Bollig is in the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame,he is a successful tournament fisherman and a radio show host of Bearfacts and Fishtales , I have spent alot of time in the boat with Larry and he is by far the best fisherman I have ever fished with ,it is like going to school. This is for those of you who are wondering who Larry is.

BB1