my pike game is off..

[yeahright]

so ive been fishing wab on the weekends. had lots of action.
im using those quick strike rigs. the one with the 2 little red trebles and a herring for bait.

ive lost like 6 fish, theyve taken the bait and line starts running.
but i cant hook em! im frustrated enough to vent!
i watched a big-girl take my bait, Chomp it. and still didnt hook the fish and got my bait back!

:angry3:

[WayneChristie]

let them run with the bait, after they stop and start running again then its time to set the hook. or if you are sightfishing, when you see the hook or hooks in their mouth give it a good yank to set it. might miss half the time but its better than you are doing now

[yeahright]

sweet thanks!
ive been learning from my mistakes and letting them run... but still no fishy!
i think im jinxed by the big boy i caught beginning of the year..
ill stick to the perch.. haha

[WayneChristie]

I miss quite a few too, sometimes especially if you can see a big fish eating your bait you get buckfever and take it away from them, its cost me several nice fish. but then if it was easy it wouldnt be as much fun either :sHa_shakeshout:

[pikergolf]

With those little hooks you don't have to set the hook, just wait till she starts to move off and just tighten the line. The hooks will release the bait and if the fish is moving away from you, slide into the corner of the mouth. Make sure the hooks are sharp.

[whitetailman]

My uncle taught me the sane the Wayne! Letem run until
They stop!!! The odd occasion when they sit and chomp u have to set the hook. Happened at coal today.! We caught a 17 and a 10 pounder and they did the same thing each time!!

[Gust]

try this for hooking up yor bait,, use a long needle for pulling your line with clip through the herring for the front and try to keep your hooks facing back not up. this rig will have the bait hanging at a 45 degree angle with the head touching bottom and the tail pointing upwards. the rig does not impede the inhaling of the bait by the pike.

[Eddy62]

try this for hooking up yor bait,, use a long needle for pulling your line with clip through the herring for the front and try to keep your hooks facing back not up. this rig will have the bait hanging at a 45 degree angle with the head touching bottom and the tail pointing upwards. the rig does not impede the inhaling of the bait by the pike.

awesome txs for the pic now hopefully i can rig this up right txs:)

[Kokanee9]

When I was a kid, I remember going ice fishing with 3 vehicles of adults. I constantly kept out-fishing everyone by 1 large treble pushed up through the middle of the smelt to keep it level and I would suspend it about 3-4 inches off the bottom. In the real world under the ice, pike are used to grabbing ahold of their meal and it will struggle to get away. This is the time that you have to wait for before you set the hook. Once the pike is satisfied that your bait will not struggle, they will start to actually swallow it. With smelts, the waiting time is small, compared to a larger bait such as herring or similar fish.

[calgarygringo]

I posted a while back the same issue. Partner uses tipup and I use a rod and my hook percentage was half of his. Changed my approach and now a different game. I do 2 thongs and my hooking has been almost perfect the last several trips. As mentioned them the fish run. Not once but wait for ghe second run. I notice they run a little stop and then go again. then set your hook. If you like rod and reel fishing as I do set the drag reel light so it is just holding the bait and if he grabs he can still take it. When you pickup the reel release the line and tighten your drag back up. I use baitcast reels so I hold my thumb gently on the spool while he runs. Set the hook and no miss. Since I have been doing this I am almost a perfect catch set ratio. Probably only have missed one in the last 15 or so bites.

[madatter]

I'm a bit rusty myself....
Short notice trip to CVR Friday morning,no bites in the north so I moved to the SE end by the islands and got into some fish.
Lost several on the tip up with smelt....to eager
Lost several on the slip bobber and minnow...eager and line broken
Before I knew it I was 0 for 6.....
In a little over 2 hrs I had over 15 hits....landed 3 pike,all keepers.
Some of the hits were bumps but realistically should have landed double what I did....:(
Not waiting long enough on the tip up #1 problem....
Slip bobber % usually great but besides some broken line I'm not sure what I was doing!
That's fishing!

[Geezle]

Lots of great advice here :)

The only thing I'll add is when you're hooking your bait, make sure it's only hooked lightly - don't bury your hooks. When you set your hook you want it to come free of the bait so the pike gets the pointy part...if your hook's stuck in too deep it makes it a lot harder to hook the fish.

[horsetrader]

Hook placement is a big factor in pike fishing but knowing how a pike strikes is also a good think to think about. The majority of the time specially with big bait the pike will strike sideways it instinctively uses its teeth to immobilize and hold its prey swimming away then stopping to turn its prey headfirst to swallow. Thats why the importance as Wayne pointed out to strike after the run and stop. Quite often a pike will hit the bait a few times before it will take it.
Have not fished for big pike for a few years but i'm sure they still feed the same .... lol

[slough shark]

I'm a bit rusty myself....
Short notice trip to CVR Friday morning,no bites in the north so I moved to the SE end by the islands and got into some fish.
Lost several on the tip up with smelt....to eager
Lost several on the slip bobber and minnow...eager and line broken
Before I knew it I was 0 for 6.....
In a little over 2 hrs I had over 15 hits....landed 3 pike,all keepers.
Some of the hits were bumps but realistically should have landed double what I did....:(
Not waiting long enough on the tip up #1 problem....
Slip bobber % usually great but besides some broken line I'm not sure what I was doing!
That's fishing!

I've seen this out at cvr numerous times, many bites but generally a poor catch ratio, I suspect walleye set the tipups and then drop it. I often times pull up my bait and it is unscathed.

[Monster Pike Man]

so ive been fishing wab on the weekends. had lots of action.
im using those quick strike rigs. the one with the 2 little red trebles and a herring for bait.

ive lost like 6 fish, theyve taken the bait and line starts running.
but i cant hook em! im frustrated enough to vent!
i watched a big-girl take my bait, Chomp it. and still didnt hook the fish and got my bait back!

:angry3:

Try using a pike rig instead of a quick strike rig. And i agree with everyone else, don't rush over to your tip up and yank the line to fast. If the spindel is spinning that means the pike is swimming with the bait and hasnt had a chance to completely inhale the bait.

[Monster Pike Man]

Ps. When using a tip up if u manage to go 50 percent catch ratio to tip ups going off... Thats really good. Your going to lose alot of fish on a tip up, thats normal. If your your tip up goes off 20 times and u get 10.... Then thats pretty good. Some days u can go 20/20 but very rare unless the feed is on and there inhaling everything( very rare)....

[calgarygringo]

That is all good advice to set land more fish especially the pike. Up to the last 3 or 4 times out I would have been happy with 50% land rate. I must be up to about 90% the last few trips and all because of a bit of a change in plan. Let them run a bit and stop and run again then set your hooks and you will be surpised how many more you will land. I believe it is correct that they steal it then stop and inhale it more than just inhaling on the first bite. My partner is letting his tipups do the same and his 50% or so land rate is also up to probably 90%. Even yesterday being a real quiet day for us we only had 5 hits between us and landed 4 fish. The one miss was on the tip up and the feeling was he didn't let him run enough and grab the bait. Last week we caught 8 pike and only missed one hit as well so there must be some truth to the logic.

[gulfman]

What a great thread!!!!!!! nice to see some of the seasoned vets giving freely some of their wealth of knowledge as what works for them. I'm sure some of the more novice fisherman will change their approach with this info, myself included.
Heck.......... some day i might even be able to contribute. Thanks.............


got to go...........FISH ON..............:fishing:

[catnthehat]

Hook placement is a big factor in pike fishing but knowing how a pike strikes is also a good think to think about. The majority of the time specially with big bait the pike will strike sideways it instinctively uses its teeth to immobilize and hold its prey swimming away then stopping to turn its prey headfirst to swallow. Thats why the importance as Wayne pointed out to strike after the run and stop. Quite often a pike will hit the bait a few times before it will take it.
Have not fished for big pike for a few years but i'm sure they still feed the same .... lol

That right there is the first step in understanding how to hook a good pike!
We have seen them hit spoons sideways, then run a bit, and turn them in their mouths.
Try and set the hook on a big pike when he has a #4 Len Thompson clenched between his jaws, and the spoon will likely not budge a bit!!
Cat

[horsetrader]

That right there is the first step in understanding how to hook a good pike!
We have seen them hit spoons sideways, then run a bit, and turn them in their mouths.
Try and set the hook on a big pike when he has a #4 Len Thompson clenched between his jaws, and the spoon will likely not budge a bit!!
Cat

Ya with the jaw pressure and the backward angled teeth it is almost impossible to move that lure. Have seen pike be fought right up to the boat or top of the ice and then just let go having just been holding the lure or bait in their mouth.
Another reason for the GATOR ...lol

[Gust]

i don't use trebles anymore, just very good quality long shank single hooks and like geezle says, don't bury the hook or rather do a test,,, if you have a spare herring see what happens when you pull your line as if setting the hook in the pike,, does your hookset bury deeper in the herring. i use a very firm bait and have a technique that gets the hook at the front of the mouth but there is that moment in haste, that i bait the hook where the fish is holding onto only the bait as the hook has become embedded, or like the boys above are talking about pike hitting spoons.

for fun,, set another rig with squid,,, i painted a whole squid with food dye to look like a perch. whole squid is really cheap too and can be cut into prefered shapes and such.

[yeahright]

Holy cow! tonnes of great info here! just read for half an hour!
Good Sheet!

:sHa_shakeshout:

[WayneChristie]

i don't use trebles anymore, just very good quality long shank single hooks and like geezle says, don't bury the hook or rather do a test,,, if you have a spare herring see what happens when you pull your line as if setting the hook in the pike,, does your hookset bury deeper in the herring. i use a very firm bait and have a technique that gets the hook at the front of the mouth but there is that moment in haste, that i bait the hook where the fish is holding onto only the bait as the hook has become embedded, or like the boys above are talking about pike hitting spoons.

for fun,, set another rig with squid,,, i painted a whole squid with food dye to look like a perch. whole squid is really cheap too and can be cut into prefered shapes and such.

I tried a baby octopus, they look so good when you jig them I wanted to stick my head down the hole and bite it myself. only had one pike come up to it, and Im sure it had a puzzled expression on its face! might ba great for walleye tho, put hooks in 3 legs and get a tripleheader!

[Geezle]

I tried a baby octopus, they look so good when you jig them I wanted to stick my head down the hole and bite it myself. only had one pike come up to it, and Im sure it had a puzzled expression on its face! might ba great for walleye tho, put hooks in 3 legs and get a tripleheader!

Try using a squid or octopus leg on a jighead like you'd use a twister tail. It gives you some nice action and a ridiculous amount of scent :)

[Rumtan]

Usually when a pike hits a smelt its from the side, then they take the fish and run a bit and have to turn it around length-wise to consume it. If you yank the bait too soon it wont have had a chance to turn the bait and swallow the hooks.

[Coiloil37]

Thanks for the tips and tricks guys. I wish I had read this yesterday before we went fishing, not only was it fairly slow but we missed every hit we got. Reading this I can see we were to quick with the hook set and would've had the hooks way to deep in the bait.

[Jwood 456]

Last year when I was fishing large herring at Wab, I would miss 80% of the strikes. Thanks to the tips from the other forum members teaching me about letting the fish run with the bait until they pause, I can land over 2 thirds of the strikes now. Also, with using large trouble hooks, be careful to guide the fish through the ice fishing hole as I have lost lots of fish from the treble catching the corner of the ice fishing hole. Cutting one of the treble shanks helps alot for me when it comes to stopping the hook from catching on the ice.

[calgarygringo]

Here is a link to a website I came across in regards to hooking pike. This pretty much sums up everything above.
Check out the videos as well.
http://pikeonline.co.uk/baits/the-swallowed-bait

[WayneChristie]

Here is a link to a website I came across in regards to hooking pike. This pretty much sums up everything above.
Check out the videos as well.
http://pikeonline.co.uk/baits/the-swallowed-bait

awesome link, thanks for posting it Ken

[horsetrader]

great link and video

[hunter49]

When a pike hits, walk over to the tipup and set the hook. That is the whole point of using a quickstrike rig (hence the name). Some of you guys must have a LOT of gut hooked described from the above methods. Pretty tough to properly let go a big spawner with a big treble in its gut.

[Stewie]

When a pike hits, walk over to the tipup and set the hook. That is the whole point of using a quickstrike rig (hence the name). Some of you guys must have a LOT of gut hooked described from the above methods. Pretty tough to properly let go a big spawner with a big treble in its gut.

When a Pike first takes a bait it runs… if you set the hook to quickly you will lose her… when she starts to slow down or stop they are moving the bait in their mouth to get ready to eat... I always set it when I start to feel them slow down… so the bait won’t be in the belly...

[hunter49]

When a Pike first takes a bait it runs… if you set the hook to quickly you will lose her… when she starts to slow down or stop they are moving the bait in their mouth to get ready to eat... I always set it when I start to feel them slow down… so the bait won’t be in the belly...

The fish is taking your bait..where do you think he has it if its not in his mouth? Is the pike swimming away with it in his fins?:sHa_sarcasticlol:

[Stewie]

The fish is taking your bait..where do you think he has it if its not in his mouth? Is the pike swimming away with it in his fins?:sHa_sarcasticlol:

he doesnt have it properly in his mouth... the main reason they the OP is losing fish...

[horsetrader]

When a pike hits, walk over to the tipup and set the hook. That is the whole point of using a quickstrike rig (hence the name). Some of you guys must have a LOT of gut hooked described from the above methods. Pretty tough to properly let go a big spawner with a big treble in its gut.

A quick strike rig is still to be set after the pike has turned the bait head first to swallow it that way the single hook is set into the side of the jaw. If you are aware of what you are doing there is very little chance of gut hooking a pike all can be released unharmed.

[rammer]

The fish is taking your bait..where do you think he has it if its not in his mouth? Is the pike swimming away with it in his fins?:sHa_sarcasticlol:

Looks like you are pretty new to ice fishing guy. As stated above you will lose a lot of fish if you get impatient to set the hook on a running fish. If you wait until the spool slows down you will lose far lesh fish. Give it a try, its never too late to learn to ice fish :sHa_sarcasticlol:

[hunter49]

Trust me this ain't my first rodeo...I've probably caught more big pike this season alone than you have in your life. :sHa_sarcasticlol:

[horsetrader]

Trust me this ain't my first rodeo...I've probably caught more big pike this season alone than you have in your life. :sHa_sarcasticlol:

If there"s no pics it didn't happen......:thinking-006:

[YeeHaw]

Great thread guy's. I had the same problem for years catching pike with a mackrell or a herring, and one of the biggest things for me was quality hooks. I use to use the quick strike rigs, but the quality of the hooks they use, worries me. I have started making my own, with dual treble hooks, attached with 60lb leader wire to a barrel swivle. Just my $0.02:character0175:

[hunter49]

If there"s no pics it didn't happen......:thinking-006:

I don't post pictures on here, but if your ever down in Calgary I'll show you a photo album full of big fish to drool on.

[falroy]

I don't post pictures on here, but if your ever down in Calgary I'll show you a photo album full of big fish to drool on.

This was a great thread with guys sharing info in a respectful manner until you chimed in buddy.

[horsetrader]

I don't post pictures on here, but if your ever down in Calgary I'll show you a photo album full of big fish to drool on.

This was a great thread with guys sharing info in a respectful manner until you chimed in buddy.

I don't think he was trying to be disrespectful just posting his opinion and getting a couple of zingers in with it no harm done. And will take you up on the offer if I get to Calgary with some spare time. A lot of people don't care to post pics any more. Sharing info in this thread is going good.

[falroy]

Fair enough