pike rigs

[WayneChristie]

Ive seen lots posted here, and posted some myself, but the pike have also seen them all. Im looking for a very stealthy rig, the one Im after has seen everything under the sun and Im determined to make this fat girl mine. trying to come up with a couple new ideas but any suggestions are most welcome. going to be using medium to small bait since thats what she seems to be most interested in right now.

[gor]

Just got my first order of kamooki smart fish. Six different colors. Looks so good I want a taste. Good luck with mamma and have a merry christmas

[gor]

A small smelt on end of kamooki and she is yours

[WayneChristie]

Merry to you too. I had her kissing a smelt last time, but she can spot a hook a mile away. this is gonna take some finesse. my finesse is using a smaller club :angry3:, but Im stubborn

[pinelakeperch]

I'm having the same problem with a beauty Rainbow in Blood Indian. Running out of new things to try!

[rafhone]

find some small herring if you can, 4"-5" , hard to find, or some small suckers. thread a single treble 80-100lb flouro rig through the centre of the herring. might have to upsize the hook if the herring/sucker is too wide. one hook should be inline with the bait and the other two on its sides. cant really get more stealthy than that.

[Mudslide]

Merry Christmas Wayne
Are you using any added scent on your bait? I've found that using brined baits with added scent and dye can turn lookers into eaters. I use Brine n Brite from Pro-Cure in combination with their chartreuse Bad Azz Bait Dye that I get in the States and then add scent (usually Herring Oil) on top of that. As for stealth, go with smaller hooks and floro quickstrike leaders.

http://pro-cure.com/store/bait-scent-products/bait-brines-and-cures/brine-n-bite.html

[WayneChristie]

tried that, and other things too. I think I may have a winner but I will find out tomorrow. problem with a treble in the middle like that is the force you need to get the hook out into the fishes mouth, you have to tear right through the bait. even if it costs you a big bait the hooks should be able to come out quite easily. amazing how fast a pike can eject a bait if it doesnt feel right or if you are reefing on the bait to tear the hook out. plus if your drag isnt just the right tension you can break your leader like I found out already this winter :angry3: pike dont near near the drag a sturgeon does :sign0161:

[Crankbait]

super long shanked single hooks is my next try, I'm really liking bass hooks as of late. here's a harness style with hooks I'm going to try and you can vary the hook type and where your swivel might grab, i.e., closer to the tail, head. I'm also finding that fillet of herring, or herring cut lengthwise down the spine from head to tail is producing better that whole herring.

[trainerdave]

There was a company out of Steamboat Springs Colorado called flourohook LLC. Don't know what ever came of them. They were supposed to do some demo work in 2011. Too bad as an invisible hook would be unreal. Obviously never worked it out as they would own the market. Check in to it. They were supposed to start out with the fly-fishing crowd, but a hook is a hook.

Have you tried burying the hook in lard or shortening...sounds funny, but unless you can think of an oil based gelatin (like vaseline) or a water based gelatin which only dissolves at say +25 - it may do the trick. MMM smelty lard. Perhaps a single hook or a double instead of a treble.

Does your long green lady friend from under the waves like shrimp or some other curved bait where a hook could follow the contours of the bait. She probably likes Crayfish and likely has had one or two hundred..

Have you tried a herring strip lure where the single hook is buried in the strip until she pops it out by biting it and the hook punches through the herring skin. These are deadly on salmon. I think rhys davis makes these.

There's a few ideas......
Sounds like fun.

Dave

[fish gunner]

Very small high quality hooks , perhaps sent injections , pilchard oil or cod liver have worked in the past. Dyed baits have on occasion produced bites from spookie fish ime.

[WayneChristie]

same to you Greg :) Ive just done some rigs up with much smaller hooks, have been using 40 pound flouro but like I said these fish have seen everything and that size theyve been seeing it for years. going to need a lot of luck and maybe just a momentary lapse of judgement on the fishes part. :bad_boys_20: probably jinxed myself now but at least I know where she lives and Im stubborn if nothing else

[Crankbait]

I'm having the same problem with a beauty Rainbow in Blood Indian. Running out of new things to try!

go buy a foam grass hopper with big gangly foam legs and a bit of sparkly on it and tip it with a big fat mealworm. instead of using a spreader to get it to float away from your mainline, use a length of precut wire for weight between the mainline and the line you have with your hopper/mealworm combo so it should lay like this, red is wire



I
I
I___I

[WayneChristie]

Ive done up 5 different rigs, with extra long flouro traces, if they dont work I will think up 5 more I guess, last time she was very interested but not committal, eventually I barely twitched my smelt and she turned away. or more likely it was me shaking so hard that twitched it, this time I will remember a change of underwear in case I meet her again! :bad_boys_20::shark:

[rafhone]

tried that, and other things too. I think I may have a winner but I will find out tomorrow. problem with a treble in the middle like that is the force you need to get the hook out into the fishes mouth, you have to tear right through the bait. even if it costs you a big bait the hooks should be able to come out quite easily. amazing how fast a pike can eject a bait if it doesnt feel right or if you are reefing on the bait to tear the hook out. plus if your drag isnt just the right tension you can break your leader like I found out already this winter :angry3: pike dont near near the drag a sturgeon does :sign0161:

ideally a quick strike rig is the best, but if your going ninja thread that bitch and just make sure there is clearance on each side of the bait. up size hooks if necessary

[Crankbait]

There was a company out of Steamboat Springs Colorado called flourohook LLC. Don't know what ever came of them. They were supposed to do some demo work in 2011. Too bad as an invisible hook would be unreal. Obviously never worked it out as they would own the market. Check in to it. They were supposed to start out with the fly-fishing crowd, but a hook is a hook.

Have you tried burying the hook in lard or shortening...sounds funny, but unless you can think of an oil based gelatin (like vaseline) or a water based gelatin which only dissolves at say +25 - it may do the trick. MMM smelty lard. Perhaps a single hook or a double instead of a treble.

Does your long green lady friend from under the waves like shrimp or some other curved bait where a hook could follow the contours of the bait. She probably likes Crayfish and likely has had one or two hundred..

Have you tried a herring strip lure where the single hook is buried in the strip until she pops it out by biting it and the hook punches through the herring skin. These are deadly on salmon. I think rhys davis makes these.

There's a few ideas......
Sounds like fun.

Dave

beeswax, I was thinking of this the other day. it's harmless and during hook set would just crumble away. mind you, heating up something on a spoon while ice fishing might give us guys a bad look.

[rafhone]

ideally a quick strike rig is the best, but if your going ninja thread that bitch and just make sure there is clearance on each side of the bait. up size hooks if necessary

and DONT push the bait to the bottom of the hook. leave a little room there :^)

[EZM]

I use 40lb fluoro leaders to make up a rig (from the top to bottom) like this ....

Swivel
Egg sinker
bead (to act as a stop so the egg sinker doesn't slide down)
Then about 30" of line to 2 single hooks tied in tandem

On a tip up - a single hook seems to give me better hook up ratios and better penetration

You can use two minnows or one herring

Here a picture of the rig and a picture of Ed's pike last year taken on the rig .... it was his PB and a pretty decent snot monster.

The weight on top lets the bait hang a little more naturally and does not have as much resistance when finicky pike pick at it before inhaling it (unlike a weight on the bottom putting tension on the line.

[rafhone]

nice 15lber for sure

[Fishslayer99]

Wayne,

Hunted the big ones for weeks at a time before, biggest was 19lb tried everything under the sun. She ended up taking a grasshopper from the surface 2 feet in front of me while reeling it in to call it a day (summer fishing).

I have found sometimes the biggest fish will comit to small presentations. Have you tried a dew worm and use a worm threader? Likely this big girl has seen plenty of minnows/herring and jig heads. A worm with a good strong mustard circle hook might be worth a try.

Patience and your determination will pay off, I wish you all the best with that fine pike Wayne!

[rafhone]

have you tried a red wire worm with a gold bead?

[WayneChristie]

have you tried a red wire worm with a gold bead?

would probably work, only time I tried them for whites the frikkin pike kept biting them off. :angry3:

[rafhone]

would probably work, only time I tried them for whites the frikkin pike kept biting them off. :angry3:

i'd leave the gold bead off then

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Fancy advice given out for different rigs.

Maybe she is an old fashioned girl and would take to an old standby jigged in front of her.

Not every girl needs to be pampered.

[walleyenwhitetails]

my advice for picky pike is small hooks and flouro... as said before. but when they are extra finicky I actually lay the bait on the bottom. If i have multiple tip-ups out 1 is always "dead bait" laying on the bottom. worth a shot.... they are used to picking up dead minnows off bottom.... suspended dead minnows sometimes doesnt work on the big girls.

[Brandonkop]

Wayne there is one hook the big girls can't resist!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/Brandonkop3/dark-house-spearing.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/Brandonkop3/media/dark-house-spearing.jpg.html)

Chain saw may be required, sold separately. May require legal infractions, fines and confiscation of fishing gear. Not recommended for catch and release fisherman.

Good luck!

[rafhone]

Wayne there is one hook the big girls can't resist!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/Brandonkop3/dark-house-spearing.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/Brandonkop3/media/dark-house-spearing.jpg.html)

Chain saw may be required, sold separately. May require legal infractions, fines and confiscation of fishing gear. Not recommended for catch and release fisherman.

Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoEYpsb--Ws

now thats fishin

[waterninja]

Ha-Ha.. Merry Christmas Wayne and good luck with that big girl. At least we know what your new years resoloution will be.

[Wild&Free]

Have you tried garlic oil or extract?

[huntsfurfish]

Wayne try large spot tail shiner with 40-50 fluoro leader and size 1 Gamakatsu hook. If in shallow water I wouldnt use any weight.(or very little)

Or small herring or sucker 5-6" with 3 small trebles size 6 or even 4 with 40 or 50 fluoro. Set hooks in belly in line points facing back. Belly is softer and with hook weight will let the bait ride right side up. Can rig slip sinker or no weight at all.

Make sure baits are thawed out and set hook hard.

Good luck Wayne. Hope you get her!

And Merry Xmas

[WayneChristie]

well, I tried all my new rigs today, didnt catch Moby but I did see several over 20 pound and 4 or 5 30 pound plus hogs, but all with lockjaw. oddly enough had some fat perch hanging around too and pulled a couple of them out. no sign of my record pig but Im stubborn Im going to keep after her. the smaller 3 or 4 pound pike were quite aggressive but I managed to keep my bait away from them today. damn Im spoiled! :sHa_shakeshout:
Merry Christmas everyone, stay safe on the ice and catch some fish!:shark:

[huntsfurfish]

well, I tried all my new rigs today, didnt catch Moby but I did see several over 20 pound and 4 or 5 30 pound plus hogs, but all with lockjaw. oddly enough had some fat perch hanging around too and pulled a couple of them out. no sign of my record pig but Im stubborn Im going to keep after her. the smaller 3 or 4 pound pike were quite aggressive but I managed to keep my bait away from them today. damn Im spoiled! :sHa_shakeshout:
Merry Christmas everyone, stay safe on the ice and catch some fish!:shark:

PM the gps coordinates and I'll help you catch em.:);)

[Warmbreeze]

This thread gets me thinking. Try threading the fluorocarbon through the bait so it is not on outside and use #8 size sing hooks. I will not lie, I have not done it but it is an idea. Look up how those Europeans rig some of their bait for pike.

What I am really curious about is, is it the same fish you see each time or just a random big girl?

[fish gunner]

This thread gets me thinking. Try threading the fluorocarbon through the bait so it is not on outside and use #8 size sing hooks. I will not lie, I have not done it but it is an idea. Look up how those Europeans rig some of their bait for pike.

What I am really curious about is, is it the same fish you see each time or just a random big girl?

I use a bait needle on occasion it can be tricky to get bait to sit right unless head down . Have you tried rattlers W/C.

[WayneChristie]

This thread gets me thinking. Try threading the fluorocarbon through the bait so it is not on outside and use #8 size sing hooks. I will not lie, I have not done it but it is an idea. Look up how those Europeans rig some of their bait for pike.

What I am really curious about is, is it the same fish you see each time or just a random big girl?

the one I believe is record sized has a white scar on her back, I will know her when we meet again! the rest are just random, they actually do vary some in their patterning, easy to see when they are 3 or 4 feet under your feet!!! my nerves are shot! :sign0176:

[Warmbreeze]

the one I believe is record sized has a white scar on her back, I will know her when we meet again! the rest are just random, they actually do vary some in their patterning, easy to see when they are 3 or 4 feet under your feet!!! my nerves are shot! :sign0176:

So I take it you fish in a shack/tent to see that good? You ever use a camera? Never fished with either, I am also not used to one spot, I always try and hole for 5-10 minutes then on to the next in my line of holes.
I have only got bigger pike on tip-ups through the ice, I take it your just using a rod? I am interested in other styles of hunting big jack!

It sounds exciting! I wish you luck and hope you get her!

[Red Bullets]

Most people wouldn't think of trying these for bait but in reality these creatures are in our lakes and pike and other fish eat them. It is so outside of the box it will probably suprise you. Try a giant water beetle. A size 8 or 6 single snelled hook thru either end. Use a 2 to 3 inch twitch. Just collecting a few for bait will be the challenge. Would have to make one that looks like the real thing.

Or a tiny backswimmer with a lead head.

[EZM]

PM the gps coordinates and I'll help you catch em.:);)

In the spirit of the season ...... I, too, will help out if needed.

It's the philanthropist side of me that wants to help the less fortunate.

[huntsfurfish]

In the spirit of the season ...... I, too, will help out if needed.

It's the philanthropist side of me that wants to help the less fortunate.

And I probably wouldnt have offered if I didnt think I could help.:)

[Carson13]

well, I tried all my new rigs today, didnt catch Moby but I did see several over 20 pound and 4 or 5 30 pound plus hogs, but all with lockjaw. oddly enough had some fat perch hanging around too and pulled a couple of them out. no sign of my record pig but Im stubborn Im going to keep after her. the smaller 3 or 4 pound pike were quite aggressive but I managed to keep my bait away from them today. damn Im spoiled! :sHa_shakeshout:
Merry Christmas everyone, stay safe on the ice and catch some fish!:shark:

Pics or it didn't happen. :)

[Wild&Free]

Most people wouldn't think of trying these for bait but in reality these creatures are in our lakes and pike and other fish eat them. It is so outside of the box it will probably suprise you. Try a giant water beetle. A size 8 or 6 single snelled hook thru either end. Use a 2 to 3 inch twitch. Just collecting a few for bait will be the challenge. Would have to make one that looks like the real thing.

Or a tiny backswimmer with a lead head.

They head to wing in June for mating. Best time to find them.

[WayneChristie]

this is one of the hogs from last weekend, 8 feet down. not the big one Im looking for, it made this one look small!!:scared0018: figure this one was high 20s at least. pounds that is:sHa_shakeshout:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeqZ1ksQiuk&feature=youtu.be

[hacman]

That is a thick looking pike on the video. Looked like she was interested but didn't quite commit fully, maybe spooked from touching a hook or leader. You'll get one to take it down eventually. Gonna make it out your way one of these days. Merry Christmas!

[WayneChristie]

Most people wouldn't think of trying these for bait but in reality these creatures are in our lakes and pike and other fish eat them. It is so outside of the box it will probably suprise you. Try a giant water beetle. A size 8 or 6 single snelled hook thru either end. Use a 2 to 3 inch twitch. Just collecting a few for bait will be the challenge. Would have to make one that looks like the real thing.

Or a tiny backswimmer with a lead head.

I was getting lots of beetles of all sizes in my minnow trap. eve found out one of the tiny ones stings as bad as a hornet!

[harrydude]

Do u use your minnow trap under the ice?

[SCHOOCH]

I told you i will bring the good luck charm down with me soon and we will ice that fatty.......keep trying though buddy !!!!!!!

[EZM]

this is one of the hogs from last weekend, 8 feet down. not the big one Im looking for, it made this one look small!!:scared0018: figure this one was high 20s at least. pounds that is:sHa_shakeshout:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeqZ1ksQiuk&feature=youtu.be

She's just messing with you ...........

When Pike are doing that ..... I put on a stand up jig head, rubber double tail and minnow. The rubber tail floats up a little and gently provides some movement even when almost still.

I bounce it on the bottom to make a cloud of dust, then when the get close to stare at it I barely move it just giving it enough movement to keep their attention. Often strike will occur.

Other things I have had success with is slowly and gently lifting it up a few inches then letting it fall into the mud. Sometimes that gets them going.

It's very frustrating watching a big pike stare at your bait ...... often too much movement will spook them.

I'm sure you have tried this before, if not give it a try.

[omega50]

Large Russian C-Hook (about 5" from hook tip straight back to where it arches up to the eyelet)with the eyelet through a large smelt's mouth -threaded though and pushed out top of the back.
Must impale the top lip on the hook point so it looks like the smelt is caught in mid giant yawn.
Dip the whole smelt/hook in beaten egg white in a ziplock
Then snap it back on your swivel.
Something about they gaping mouth makes them ignore all of that exposed metal.
Takes skill to keep the fish on after the hit as any slack and that hook slips out:budo: