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manmountain8
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I'm braving the cold to go after Big Pike on Basswood on the opener. I'm interested in reading any comments, stories, tips, or advice you might want to share. Feel free to tell me how crazy I am for going that early. Right now I'm planning on deadsticking a big Sunfish Swimbait with an 8' 6" MH rod spooled with 30 lb Power Pro slick with a 60 lb Flourocarbon leader.
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Lotw
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manmountain8: "Are you telling me someone had conceded a point in an online forum? Well there's a first time for everything. Not that it matters to me, although, I'm already planning an April Pike trip to LOTW for Pike in 2019."
Feel free to email me for some info
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shock
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manmountain8: "pastorjsackett: "A big pike trip sounds like a blast. Good luck! I've told this one here before....
Thanks for sharing. That's a good multi-species day. I've been wanting to get out to Knife lake ever since I heard the story of my Grandpa's 17lb Walleye and my Grandma's 14 lb Walleye. Well that was on Saganaga/Seagull but they went to Knife too. That was in the 60's. Closest I've been was the end of the Gunflint Trail and fished from shore for an hour. Caught 3 walleyes. " Seagull & knife 2 of my favs !
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manmountain8
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No one cares about Pike fishing do they? Alright, more for me.
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mastertangler
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Patience grasshopper.
I'm thinking dead bait would be the ticket. Especially for big ones. Several Utube videos about this method.
While I am a huge swimbait fan I wonder if they will be in the "chase something down and kill it mood". I rather like the idea of a black Mogumbo grub from kalin on a big gap 3/4 oz jig head. Hogy makes the right jig heads for this.
Speaking of Hogy they make some large plastic slug go type lures which you could work slow and erratic. Twitch, drop, twitch drop, pause etc. let it sit on the bottom for a while even.
Basswood has some big bad girls........be careful with that cold water. Good luck.
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QueticoMike
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Here's a spring pike story for ya.......
The last evening of the trip I took out the solo canoe, while Mike fished with his brother Tom in the tandem canoe. It was close to sunset when I hooked into something of considerable size fishing with the 3X Zulu. Right away I knew it had to be a northern pike. I reeled the fish close to the canoe, but each time it stripped off drag on a hearty run. Mike and Tom watched in amusement and continued to fish. It appeared I was on my own with landing this one.
Once I determined I couldn’t land this fish in the canoe, I started to paddle towards shore one handed towing the pike along side. The pike would make continuous runs as I paddled. Several times I had to stop paddling and work the fish back. I finally made shore and tried to land the fish, but each time I tried to grab it by the head it would slip away, its head was too big for my hands. On the third pass I made a tail grab for the fish and pulled it in backwards. The fish measured out at 41 inches. My Zulu was 8 inches down the pike’s gullet, and I didn’t know how I was able to land this fish without using a metal leader. The line must have been like dental floss wedged between the razor sharp teeth. That was the famous last cast of the trip as the sun faded below the tree line.
Needless to say the Zulu became a staple in my tackle box.
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manmountain8
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mastertangler: "Patience grasshopper.
While I am a huge swimbait fan I wonder if they will be in the "chase something down and kill it mood".
Well, you deadstick the Swimbaits in the spring. A lot pauses and twitches. You can use any suspending crank bait for that. I've always used a husky jerk but I'm getting into swimbaits now. I am thinking about a portable aerated baitwell to bring some live bait though.
I'll definitely look into some other slower presentations though. Thanks.
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manmountain8
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That's a cool story about a big fish. Must have been about 20 lbs huh? I'm hoping to catch a bunch of those.
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manmountain8
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I once saw a guy in our group hook about a 4 lb Walleye and just after we first saw it come up, a big Pike grabbed it from the side and dove to the bottom. He loosened the drag and let her run. 20 minutes later we got a 2nd look at it. It wasn't hooked but just refused to let go. He had to pull it in real slow. He wound up landing it and it was 46". It wouldn't let go even after it was in the boat. There wasn't much left of the Walleye. My biggest Pike came from a lake in the Twin Cities of all places. 42" with a ridiculous girth. I had to bear hug the thing to hold it. I've never seen drag peel off so fast and so long. I thought it was gonna take all my line. I've caught longer Pike but that was by far the biggest.
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Lotw
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My best time for open water pike is right around the 25th of april, that is 100% dead bait fishing at that time. Around opener the swim baits will work, don't overlook slow rolling a spoon too. I feel like by that time these methods are going to work better than dead bait. Fish pretty slow. Check out the MR. Wiggley, that's a killer early pike bait.
heres a dead bait pike caut 4/23/2017 45"
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shock
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whats that metro lake ? ;) i have found this out after many Bw opener trips, and if your within a week of ice out big pike are extremely sluggish and not very active , and i also have seen them sunning themselves in a sandy bottom and nothing i casted interested them . like walleyes after there spawn they can be difficult to catch. all thou my biggest pike did come out of ice out conditions and it was netted first time in. bottle neck bays on bigger lakes are usually a magnet this time of year. and yes definitely soak some good size deadbait from camp , but it will hard to keep the lakers off ;)  added a couple more pics of pike caught on deadbait on opener.  
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mastertangler
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shock: "whats that metro lake ? ;) i have found this out after many Bw opener trips, and if your within a week of ice out big pike are extremely sluggish and not very active , and i also have seen them sunning themselves in a sandy bottom and nothing i casted interested them . like walleyes after there spawn they can be difficult to catch. all thou my biggest pike did come out of ice out conditions and it was netted first time in. bottle neck bays on bigger lakes are usually a magnet this time of year. and yes definitely soak some good size deadbait from camp , but it will hard to keep the lakers off ;) "
Yup, we are trying to help you out. Right after ice out pike are known scavengers and I wouldn't be out there without dead bait. Look into it........you can thank the board later. Again I suggest some Utube instructional videos of which there are several. Just another tool in the box is all.
If you go a bit later, or if the water has warmed some then lures become more effective. I have read in In-Fisherman of using a rubber bass jig (like for flipping) with a plastic trailer and gently hopping it on the bottom with frequent long pauses very early in the year.
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QueticoMike
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Lotw: "My best time for open water pike is right around the 25th of april, that is 100% dead bait fishing at that time. Around opener the swim baits will work, don't overlook slow rolling a spoon too. I feel like by that time these methods are going to work better than dead bait. Fish pretty slow. Check out the MR. Wiggley, that's a killer early pike bait.
heres a dead bait pike caut 4/23/2017 45"
"
Nice Jack!
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shock
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Some border water you can, you would have to check the regs out.
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manmountain8
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Ah, nice. So is that the case on Lake of the Woods? I'll have to remember that when I'm trip planning for next year. So you live on Lake of the Woods? Must be rough. I live in a concrete jungle and only get to dream about places like that.
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manmountain8
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Thanks for all the advice. I will bring some deadbait too just in case. You never know when the ice will go out and what pattern the fish will be in. The metro lake where I caught that Pike is a tiny little weed choked reservoir in Bloomington, called Mt. Normandale. Very few people know about it and they are mostly going after the big Largemouth that are there. I caught a 40" Pike there as well, but aside from those two the biggest Pike have topped out at 10-12 lbs. I've caught dozens that size over the years.
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manmountain8
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Lotw: "My best time for open water pike is right around the 25th of april, that is 100% dead bait fishing at that time. Around opener the swim baits will work, don't overlook slow rolling a spoon too. I feel like by that time these methods are going to work better than dead bait. Fish pretty slow. Check out the MR. Wiggley, that's a killer early pike bait.
heres a dead bait pike caut 4/23/2017 45"
"
...but where are we talking about for that time frame? The timing on Basswood could be much later.
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Lotw
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I'm on Lake of the Woods, I would say it should be very similar.
You can catch fish on deadbait all year, it just wont be as productive.
we are catching a lot of big fish in that time frame beacause they are finishing up spawning and returning to the main lake. They are very concentrated.
I caught a mid 40's within 200 yards of this spot may 15th 2 years ago on a big spinner bait. but most of the big girls are gone by then.
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shock
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always good advise MT , not a true monster but this was caught on(opener) a jawbreaker hopping it off the bottom as MT suggested. 
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QueticoMike
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Another pike story........
It was towards the end of the day and we were fishing from shore at the north end outlet of the lake. What used to be a stream maybe five feet wide was now a little river with a width of 20 feet. In years past the other side of the creek was littered with large rocks, now they are a foot under water. The shore line we were on was a smooth, gentle sloping slab of granite. You could only walk down along side the creek so far before the slope increased to a point where it would not be safe to stand. Since the water had never been this high before, I had never fished the creek. I was using a bull frog colored Lucky 13 and casting it down stream in hopes of a smallmouth in the current. The first pass through a big fish took a swipe at it, but I had no idea of the species. So I made another cast to the same area with similar results, except this time I could tell it was a northern pike. I was guessing around 7 or 8 pounds. I typically wouldn't try to hook a pike that size because of what they do to the lures.
My fishing day hadn't been going well so I decided to pursue this fish. The next cast I make connects with a good hook up. Right away the drag starts to sing and line begins to peel off the spool. It's running me down stream and there's nothing I can do about it. Not only am I fighting a big fish, but I’m also fighting some strong current. I knew then this fish is much larger than my first estimation. My line began to head across the river which used to be all rocks and I saw a tail come out of the shallow water. At the time it was the biggest tail I had ever seen on a fish. My heart started to race. I began to worry about the fish breaking me off in the rocks. The fish once again made a move further down stream and I couldn't stop it. The spool of line on my reel began to look sparse. I had to do something before I was spooled. I decided to start using my thumb for a drag system and began walking back up along the creek, pulling the fish back up stream. Then I would run back down stream and reel up as much line as possible. I was in the "tug of war” mode. This scenario repeated itself several times as we both struggled. All at once my line became slack and I thought the fish was gone, but in the next instance it was right back on again. I thought it had come loose and then I snagged the monster again somehow, I was not sure what happened? Tom said this battle went on for a good 10 to 15 minutes, it seemed a lot longer to me. I finally tired the fish and drug it up the rest of the creek to the shoreline, where Tom was able to land the fish. The fish was hooked on the outside of the head near the cheek. I thought maybe this is where I hooked the fish after it had become loose.
The northern pike measured out at 41 inches and we were guessing upper teens to 20 pounds. I was shaking and exhausted after the battle. The fish was exhausted as well. Tom snapped a couple of pictures of me and my embattled opponent to document the event. The next step was to get her back in the water for revival. I held the pike by her tail and began a pushing and pulling motion to force some water in the gills. This process went on until she was able to swim away under her own power. A below average fishing day in the Quetico turned around with one cast. After that catch and release I wasn't so bothered by the number of smallmouth I had caught that day.
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Savage Voyageur
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The water will still be cold for them. They will be in shallow water that time of the year. I have seen them in 2 feet of water at my cabin. They like to warm up on the shallow sandy bottoms in the morning. Try a large Rattling Rapala, the one with the B.B. inside a metal tube.
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manmountain8
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Lotw: "My best time for open water pike is right around the 25th of april, that is 100% dead bait fishing at that time. Around opener the swim baits will work, don't overlook slow rolling a spoon too. I feel like by that time these methods are going to work better than dead bait. Fish pretty slow. Check out the MR. Wiggley, that's a killer early pike bait.
heres a dead bait pike caut 4/23/2017 45"
"
So can you fish for Pike before the opener? Is there a catch and release season up there or something or do you just risk it. I secretly fish for species that aren't open yet, but I use my crappie rod.
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manmountain8
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So the Bass season is continuous for all border waters. That would mean we could pretty much catch and release anything before the opener as long as I don't use my Pike Rod with a big spoon or something. Good to know. Thanks.
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manmountain8
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Its says the Lake of the Woods Pike season is continuous.
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shock
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manmountain8: "Ah, nice. So is that the case on Lake of the Woods? I'll have to remember that when I'm trip planning for next year. So you live on Lake of the Woods? Must be rough. I live in a concrete jungle and only get to dream about places like that. " page 58 LOW would not be continuous. Mn regs
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pastorjsackett
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A big pike trip sounds like a blast. Good luck! I've told this one here before....
A few years back my son and I were on Knife Lake in early June with our tripping partners--this is our early season trip where all we do is fish. On the first day, we paddled up the shore, casting as we went when Colin said from the front of the canoe "this water is so green.....look at this weed bed." He snapped on a large silver spoon and snagged a good pike on the first cast. He had no leader and the fish just kept running and jumping so I told him, "Don't get your hopes up. You're not getting this fish in." Suddenly the fish was right below us and then I looked and next to it was another large pike with a silver spoon standing straight up out of its mouth. There were TWO fish down there and I had originally looked at the wrong one. Colin finally worked the fish close and I was able to grab it. This was the beginning of a great day of fishing for him that included a 24" walleye, 21" smallie and 25" laker. Total blast.
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Lotw
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shock: "manmountain8: "Ah, nice. So is that the case on Lake of the Woods? I'll have to remember that when I'm trip planning for next year. So you live on Lake of the Woods? Must be rough. I live in a concrete jungle and only get to dream about places like that. " page 58 LOW would not be continuous. Mn regs "
Read it again.
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manmountain8
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pastorjsackett: "A big pike trip sounds like a blast. Good luck! I've told this one here before....
Thanks for sharing. That's a good multi-species day. I've been wanting to get out to Knife lake ever since I heard the story of my Grandpa's 17lb Walleye and my Grandma's 14 lb Walleye. Well that was on Saganaga/Seagull but they went to Knife too. That was in the 60's. Closest I've been was the end of the Gunflint Trail and fished from shore for an hour. Caught 3 walleyes.
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manmountain8
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Read it again. "
I've read it again. You must be reading the wrong thing. It clearly states that the Pike season on LOTW is continuous.
Northern pike OPEN SEASON
EXCEPTION: Continuous
Lake of the Woods
and Rainy River to the dam at
International Falls
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shock
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Lotw: "shock: "manmountain8: "Ah, nice. So is that the case on Lake of the Woods? I'll have to remember that when I'm trip planning for next year. So you live on Lake of the Woods? Must be rough. I live in a concrete jungle and only get to dream about places like that. " page 58 LOW would not be continuous. Mn regs "
Read it again. " i thought exception meant it was not continuous , the border does run through LOW , my bad.
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manmountain8
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Are you telling me someone had conceded a point in an online forum? Well there's a first time for everything. Not that it matters to me, although, I'm already planning an April Pike trip to LOTW for Pike in 2019.
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