The land predator won this time....
As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
As it is about that time of year that ice is moving out, northern pike are on the prowl and Canada is gaining open water, it is a venture to discuss poor man's fishing in how to catch the members of that snake like pike family headed by the northern.
The most proficient way is shore fishing, preferably at a small creek or stream flowing into a lake, as it is there the northern lurks like a vulture waiting to eat what has died and is laying at the bottom of the lake. This works wonders actually all through the year to pick up pike, but in spring it is a matter of purchasing some 6 to 10 inch smelt, hooking up a quick strike rig, casting it out and waiting for the northern to attack.
There are variations in this rig, but it basically is hooking a front hook into the head of the smelt, and a back hook treble into the tail of the fish.
I will not fish pike with the new wonder lines which are supposed to be steel tough, but instead prefer wire or cable leaders as pike teeth cut anything to shreds and that includes fishing line. I do not have time to tie there wonder trolling rigs or other nonsense as if I could afford a fishing license and gas, it would be to catch fish to eat and not have it saw off the line in being modern line clever.
This is tail hook rig version of the quick strike, but the basis of this is always the same, in a pike picks up the dead smelt and carries it off. You should wait until the predator stops, as that is when it is positioning it to swallow it, and that is when you set the hook for your supper.
Most people do not have to worry about the setting too soon as they have their rods with baits strung out in 2 to 4 rods, depending on the state and when you see the line going out, you run over to the rod, and the line has usually stopped going out, you pick up the rod, set the bail, take up the slack carefully and then set the hook hard and enjoy the pike fight.
The set up below is more for a bobber fishing a suspended smelt, but there are rules in quick strike fishing. First is you ALWAYS leave the bail open or else a pike is going to swim away with your rod and reel.
Second, I never used a bobber, but instead utilized a piece of Styrofoam about 1 by 2 inches, as that white shows up wonderfully well and it is cheap. It also slips line through when you are fighting the fish, and you do not have to dink around with a bobber.
Third, you really need a net to land the fish and it helps in shore fishing to have those rubber knee boots so you tenner shoes are not soaking wet as it is always cold in this fishing
To rig this, you should have a slip sinker away from this with a swivel to let line through and for further casting. This is the Lindy type rig out of Minnesota for fishing walleyes in the spring too. This is about as close as you can get to what the set up should look like and the presentation as the pike eats from the head to the tail.
I prefer big hooks as pike are big and will bend small hooks. It is less hassle using a pliers to get a big hook out.
Watch out for the pike teeth.
This system will work on a number of fish from bullheads, catfish, walleye to northerns to carp. The baits just change to worms for bullheads, but sometimes you never quite know what you are reeling in.
I used to read a number of old outdoor magazines my Beloved Uncle had, and the eastern sportsman always was in quest of the Muskellunge which is the big pike in this family. The pikes are all pretty from the leopard spotted ones in Europe to the spotted in America, or the silver green of the Muskies.
I read constantly of a fisher hiring a musky guide, getting his bucktail spinner and wasting years for their first pike. I read in Outdoor Life when it was a good magazine about some dolt who was discovered fishing for muskie with a bobber the size of a tennis ball, a big live chub on a hook and the hick was catching them right along. Yes the experts were using bucktail spinners and not catching anything and the local dimwits were catching the fish using methods the purists frowned upon.
Someday, when the big donations come in, I am going to take TL fishing for pike in the spring. We will set up on shore and probably bring things along as the fishing gets slow at times, but it is poor man's fishing in no boat, no motor and no expensive accoutrements, other than the necessity of beer and something to chew on to break up the monotony of it all.
I just do not have the time now to enjoy anything as most days we eat lunch or dinner at 3 pm as that is how far I am running behind. Someday though I will be fishing again just like my Grandpa did in quest of Northern Pike
Pike attacking a hooked Walleye
agtG
