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Of course, angler interest is sparked by much more than such imaginative tales, however; this gamefish has a truly awesome lifestyle. The pike is an extremely efficient predator that has remained relatively unchanged for more than 60 million years. Its stomach is as indiscriminate as it is insatiable. Some of the standard food items pike regularly feed upon are ducks, muskrats, mice, and birds of all types. In fact, documented cases have shown pike having attacked foxes and pigs that have ventured too close to the water's edge for that late-night drink! Small pike, called hammerhandles or jacks, usually feed with wild abandon, much to the pleasure of anglers. However, the 15 to 20 pounders can be difficult to catch. By understanding the lifestyle of lunker pike, you can greatly improve your chances of putting that 20-pounder on the wall. The first step in finding large pike is to chose a watershed with big fish. Despite their often varied diet, large pike are basically fish eaters; preferring and oftentimes requiring large forage fish to sustain life. For instance, Scandinavia, Alaska and Canadian pike are among the largest in the world because of the abundance of large trout, salmon and rough fish available. The water itself can range from a tiny slough to Alaska's largest freshwater lake, Lake Iliamna. As a general rule, however, lunker pike favor a prey that equals 10 to 20 percent of his own body weight. Occasionally, he'll take on a potential meal that's well over 40 percent of his own size. An old adage sums it up: If you want a large pike, use a large lure. Another tendency of large pike is they're often extremely lazy, preferring to ambush their prey rather than chase it down. This tendency to strike a bait or lure if it will provide sufficient nourishment to warrant the energy expended is called energy expenditure/mass relationship and figures predominantly in catching lunker pike. Oftentimes anglers retrieve spinners and spoons (popular pike lures) far too fast to be effective. A lure should be able to work through weeds with minimal hangup, provide a tantalizing, wobbling effect that imitates a crippled forage fish species and either possess a floating, slow- sinking or diving quality to further trigger this instinct. These actions can be found in one lure, and explains why plugs have become the lure to use for large pike.
*Plugs in the five to eight-inch class work best *Jointed plugs draw more strikes than one-piece plugs. *Action is the most important quality in a good, pike-producing plug. *The effectiveness of color varies from watershed to watershed. *Plugs must work well with a short, black wire leader. A four-to six-inch, multi-strand plastic-coated type with a non-swivel clip is best. The first rule to remember when fishing plugs is patience. A 20- pound pike can take from eight to 14 years to attain this weight. So expect to work for your trophy for hours or even days. Early in the season, big pike can be found in relatively shallow water. At this time, I prefer to use shallow-running plugs such as the Injured Minnow, Chugger, Spook, and Floating Rapala. I prefer to pole a boat as far away from shoreline as possible, but within accurate casting distance. When I see likely looking pike cover-- water lilies, sections of reeds, open areas in grass-filled bays--I cast the lure to the base of the shore and slowly retrieve it through the cover. If there are no strikes, I speed up the lure in increments until its buzzing the surface. Pike are often finicky, and at times prefer a fast-moving lure.
Pre and post-spawning pike are often very territorial and will often lie dormant in deepwater channels near their spawning grounds, either waiting until milt or eggs ripen or for them to gain part of their strength back to begin feeding. Therefore, the best fishing will usually be seven to ten days before the spawn. and immediately after. This can be as late as early June here in Alaska. On any lake with pike, it's important to search out the shallow water structure, especially those near steep drop-offs and those near weedbeds. Pike prefer to ambush their prey, and do this by either hiding in available structure or by lying still on the bottom, especially along a migratory pathway used by trout and other lake fish. I prefer the deeper water for large pike, especially those off rocky points at the opening of weedy bays. Here, pike will wait quietly for a fish to pass overhead. The forage fish, or your lure, have little chance of surviving the sudden lunge of a northern at close range. I like to fish such an area in two ways. The first is to determine the bottom structure, and run a deep diving plug or spoon along each corridor. For instance, if you located an underwater shelf on your graph recorder at 20 feet, position your boat over the 20 foot depth and down from the rocky point. Work the lure in a slow, tantalizing manner along bottom. If pike are hugging bottom that's too deep for a floating/diving lure, tie a floating, jointed plug to a 36-inch leader and attach it to a Bait Walker or similar trolling sinker. Fish the lure slowly down the lengths of the structure, rather than from shallow to deep. In large deep lakes, where large pike must roam great distances for their food, dead bait is very effective. lack of structure, especially in Alaska's oligotrophic lakes, forces pike to use their sense of smell to a higher degree in locating forage food. In one study, biologists tracked a pike for over 49 miles in a relatively structure-free lake. This action is akin to a man walking from Anchorage to Juneau for a dinner date! Freshly caught and dispatched whitefish and ciscoes make excellent big pike baits, especially when fished directly above bottom with a slip- sinker/floating rig. Some anglers swear that salmon belly strips are extremely effective in taking big pike. Whatever type of bait you use, remember: it must be dead--any live, forage fish is illegal to use as bait in Alaska waters. Fishing bait for pike is simple. Impale the bait on two treble hooks rigged in tandem on the same leader. Insert one treble into the mid- section of the bait, and the other in the head section. When the pike ingests the bait, it usually grabs it across the mid-section. swims off with it for a short distance, then expels the bait and reingests it head first. Thus, it's always best to wait until the bait or line moves out a second time before reeling in the slack and setting the hook. Whether you fish bait or lures, weather plays a major factor in catching large pike. I prefer windy days for big pike because the wind is apt to cause confusion to the pike's dual senses of vision and hearing. My records show that my largest pike caught during periods of time other than spring, were caught during periods of tempestuous weather. The pike were prompted to feed fearlessly, thus making themselves more susceptible to a properly presented lure. Sunny days were recorded as least productive. Speed of retrieve is also very important, and should be made as slowly as possible. Don't be afraid of hanging up occasionally on bottom snags. If you're the type of angler who leaves home with six lures and comes back with the same number, you'll never make consistent catches of big pike. You know you are fishing the spoon, spinner or plug properly if its catching weeds and debris from bottom. Simply clean off the hooks and recast the lure. Remember, the longer a bait stays within the strike zone, the longer it has to trigger a big pike into striking. This holds true especially in shallow water, weedy bays and in water deeper than 10 feet. After you've hooked that pike, don't allow it to deceive you. They may appear to be sluggish after setting the hook, but it won't take long for them to wake up. Lunker pike have a habit of using every snag, rock and weedbed to their advantage. So keep that line tight, and watch where the fish is headed every second. I have two several tackle tips to keep in mind for pike. Epoxy the screw eyes into your pike plugs. The normal cement used in construction just doesn't hold up. And make sure those hooks are sharp. If hooks become bent or broken, replace with the same weight or type. Larger or smaller hooks will often throw a plug off balance, making the plug ineffective. Use a rod with plenty of backbone to set the hooks into a lunker pike's maw. I prefer a six-foot, medium-heavy action graphite rod with a level-wind reel capable of holding 200 yards of 12-to 20-pound test monofilament. Use a heavier line or Spiderwire when pike are in the weeds. And of course, wire leaders are a must. I prefer the plastic- coated, black wire type from 12 to 20-pound test. Add a gaff or a net, along with a tube of antibiotic cream for any cuts from the pike's mouthful of sharp teeth and you're set. Alaska pike may not excite anglers with thoughts of tail-dancing acrobatics or forty-minute battles, but they are sure guaranteed to offer you fine sportfishing when other species are in the slump. It is a sport with a special aura of savagery that will keep you coming back for more. Where to Go for Big Pike The waters of the Interior offer the best fishing for northern pike that are accessible by road. Pike up to 20 pounds can be caught in the tributaries and sloughs of the Chatanika River outside of Fairbanks and near Manley Hot Springs on the Tanana River. Other excellent waters include lower beaver Creek, lower Dall Creek, lower Hess Creek, and the lower Chena. Minto Flats, accessible by highway, river, or air, is one of the top pike producers in the Interior.
Chris Batin is editor of the Alaska Angler, and author of the award-winning books, "How to catch Alaska's Trophy Sportfish, Fishing Alaska on Dollars a Day, 20 Great Alaska Fishing Adventures," and others. Copies of his Alaska fishing and hunting guides are available by visiting www.alaskaangler.com.
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However, like any other
gamefish, pike have their preferences and will often reject standard or perfectly good
looking plugs. My years of research on pike have prompted me to formulate the following
guideline for choosing plugs.
Pike finish spawning around mid-June and can be
found feeding aggressively throughout interior waters. Other prime Interior pike lakes
include George, East Twin, Volkmar, Wien, Minchumina, Wolf and Tetlin lakes.