Fishing tips
But do not retrieve your lure too speedily either
However, do not reel in your lure too fast either, because then you could end up fishing it at a completely wrong depth were the fish won’t even notice it. If your lure keeps breaking the surface or staying just below it, you know that you are retrieving it too fast. Simply slow down a bit and try to find that perfect balance of speed.
Keep your lures away from the bottom
You will want to stay away from the bottom somewhat when fishing with lures such as spoons and inline spinners. They have a tendency to get hooked and hence lost. If you are not fishing over a super even and clean lake or river bottom, something that is very difficult to know by the way, then make sure you fish your lures somewhat off the bottom, so that you don’t lose them to a sunken tree, a big stone, roots or other snags. You can easily do so by retrieving your lure evenly and just a little faster than you normally would, so that it’ll keep roughly the same depth while it’s underwater.
Accept the occasional loss of a lure
However careful you are going to cast though, you will most certainly lose the occasional lure to a snag or the bottom. Just accept it and move on, it’s not the end of the world, even though it may feel like that when it happens. With time, you will get much better at aiming and casting and will hence lose fewer lures and money!
Avoid fishing too close to snags
As tip #11 mentioned, fishing near vegetation is always a good idea. However, fishing too close to reeds, weeds, and snags could result in a lure loss! Instead, try to keep a distance of a couple of yards between your lure and any types of snags. A hungry pike will certainly not mind swimming that extra yard or two in order to get to his prey.
Adjust your reel’s drag system
Spinning reels have a front drag and it is arguably the most important feature of your reel. The drag system lets you determine how much or how little line a fish can take and acts as a buffer and protection against line breaks. Use it wisely! Set it before you start fishing so that a fish can take some line if too much pressure is applied to it (test this by pulling your line with your hand). During a fight, adjust it frequently according to the fish’s movements and strength.
Use swivels to avoid line twists
Always use a swivel to connect your mainline with your leader. It will prevent your line from twisting when retrieving your lures. This is especially important when using rotating spinners. The swivel will also give your tackle a much better presentation.
Use braid over monofilament mainline
Braided line actually offers a lot of advantages to beginners. The most prominent of them include:
- braided line stretches less, which gives you more control over your lures and lets you feel a bite much better
- it is more abrasion-resistant than monofilament
- it can cut better through vegetation
- braid is stronger, as it is thinner than monofilament of the same test pound. This also means that you can fit more line on your reel
Start off with basic lures and get a feeling for them
As tip #10 mentioned, you should start off with basic lures that have proven to catch a lot of pike and that can be presented relatively easily. They also have the advantage of not costing too much money. Crankbaits, spoons, and inline spinners have been catching pike for hundreds of years and they continue to do so to this day. And they will enable you to learn a whole lot about lure fishing!
Ice fish during daytime
Ice fishing for pike is best done during the day. For one thing, ice fishing in the dark is really not that good, as the pike tend to be rather inactive when the light’s gone. For another thing, it is much safer to be on the ice during the day; you can scan the ice much better and there are most likely other people around. Security first, always!
If you want to get valuable tips on how to catch pike on the ice, you should also check out this related article: The Best Way to Ice Fish for Northern Pike
Troll over open, deep water (lakes)
In bigger lakes, trolling over a larger depth can be absolutely deadly when it comes to catching big pike. These larger specimens do not need the cover of the shallower water areas. Instead, they confidently hunt in open water and can be found at various depths out there. Try trolling with larger crankbaits that can dive deep or slow-trolling a float with a tasty live bait.
