Cabin fever.. thinking about big pike

[LacLaBicheNS]

I'm new to northern AB. Moved here from Nova Scota/southern ont. No big pig in either place but even as a kid I used to dream and try so hard to get a monster pike. Fast forward to now... I'm in northern AB and buying a boat soon. Already picked out a new rod at the bass pro shops on line catalouge. Rod is specifically being bought for monster pike..

I will be hunting big pike most the summer. I'm a teacher so I'll have my July and August off with the hopes of fishing 5 days a week.

anywho.. I know no one likes to give up secret lures or lakes haha.. but anyone have any suggestions on lures and lakes?

Back in Ont, people used to say just use the tried and tested true lures used for musky. The big suicks pluggs, musky killer spinners etc..

[gpguy7]

Musky plugs and spinners do work great. As well as big spoons in the 5 of diamonds patterns. I assume your in lac la biche so i cant help you out as far as lakes, but spoons are usually my go to for big pike. Croc pattern,and williams wobblers work well too. Johnson silver minnow tipped with a longer jig body/twister tail also does well for me.

[LacLaBicheNS]

Musky plugs and spinners do work great. As well as big spoons in the 5 of diamonds patterns. I assume your in lac la biche so i cant help you out as far as lakes, but spoons are usually my go to for big pike. Croc pattern,and williams wobblers work well too. Johnson silver minnow tipped with a longer jig body/twister tail also does well for me.

Ya the 5 of diamonds NEVER worked in southern ont. Red and white daredevil's did though. but man, southern ontario is so over fished. You norhtern AB guys have no idea how lucky you are that the fishing is so protected here. My grandfather used to tell stories of the pike that used to be in southern ont. Crazy stories.. not anymore though.

How big of spoons do you guy's use for the big ones? Are we talking like the 8 inch spoons!?!?

[AlbertaOutdoorsmen19]

I cant tell you any lakes to fish in Alberta because I rarely fish here as I have a cottage in northern Manitoba but I can tell you what to use to catch those monsters!
You cannot go wrong with a Len Thompson Red Devil any pike would bite that.

Mepps Silver Syclops is a very good spoon , I caught a 42 inch Pike this
summer with the syclops.

Also another good lure is Rapala's Jointed Shad rap in Firetiger color!

Hope this helps and good luck!

[gpguy7]

try a variety of sizes, but remember a big pike likes a big spoons. i personally use a 6' spoon or lure for going after pike most of the time , and even the smaller ones will hit it. Bright colors drive em crazy,

[mulecrazy]

red/white, 5 of diamond, and the orange/white spoons are very reliable. the ones about 4-5 inches long seem to work great. Another of my faves is the rapala husky jerk suspending lure. The best seems to be the blue with orange belly. They work great for trolling aggressive pike or can be casted and VERY slowly reeled in with frequent stops and twitches. sometimes the guys that arent very active can be coaxed into biting. quite often I would actually stop reeling about 6 feet from shore where I can see it and just twitch it a few times and wait 10-20 seconds. often you will see the pike come in and grab it. tons of fun. For big pike set up no need for anything more than a medium action rod spooled with 10lb test spiderwire. Set your drag up right and it is a blast. in fact. most times I am fishing with a med-light action rod with either 8-10lb line. The lighter the rod the more fun in my opinion. Nothing like the big arch of a straining rod....... man I miss fishing those big guys down south. I am getting all excited typing this.

[happy perch fisher]

Ya the 5 of diamonds NEVER worked in southern ont. Red and white daredevil's did though. but man, southern ontario is so over fished. You norhtern AB guys have no idea how lucky you are that the fishing is so protected here. My grandfather used to tell stories of the pike that used to be in southern ont. Crazy stories.. not anymore though.

How big of spoons do you guy's use for the big ones? Are we talking like the 8 inch spoons!?!?

lol u have'nt been in alberta long have u? Alberta is probably the most overfished province in all of canada 10x. Get use to crowds and small to medium size fish. Fishing isn't protected here at all by the time they shut everything down the damage was done. The pike arn't protected. Everyone keeps the big girls. So there few and far bewteen. Most are 50-70cm range. The perch fishing has gone to **** by overfishing and booming population of walleye. I can assure you that your going to be very disspointed.

[Albertadiver]

lol u have'nt been in alberta long have u? Alberta is probably the most overfished province in all of canada 10x. Get use to crowds and small to medium size fish. Fishing isn't protected here at all by the time they shut everything down the damage was done. The pike arn't protected. Everyone keeps the big girls. So there few and far bewteen. Most are 50-70cm range. The perch fishing has gone to **** by overfishing and booming population of walleye. I can assure you that your going to be very disspointed.

aww come on HPF. Just give it a rest. For once. Please. We get it, and some people agree with you to an extent, but all you do is alienate yourself sir.

[mulecrazy]

lol u have'nt been in alberta long have u? Alberta is probably the most overfished province in all of canada 10x. Get use to crowds and small to medium size fish. Fishing isn't protected here at all by the time they shut everything down the damage was done. The pike arn't protected. Everyone keeps the big girls. So there few and far bewteen. Most are 50-70cm range. The perch fishing has gone to **** by overfishing and booming population of walleye. I can assure you that your going to be very disspointed.

your cornflakes taste like urine this morning?

[FishinFreak]

Winifred Lake has some big 'uns as do alot of northern Sask lakes; Cold Lake has the odd monster but lots of 12 - 15 pounds so lots of fun whenthe bite is on :) I've had tons of success with 5 diamonds yellow with black and for some reason I don't get but enjoy the laugh of I've also had more success with the spoons painted with the CDN flag than I have old Lens red devils :huh: My experiance has been the bigger the spoon, lure, or grub the bigger the Pike.
Where were ya in NS? I lived in Coldbrook, Truro, Kentville, and Port La Tour growing up.

[FishinFreak]

HPF have you ever fished Kehewin or Stoney Lakes by Elk Point ? I've had some pretty good luck with perch in both over the last couple years.

[LacLaBicheNS]

Winifred Lake has some big 'uns as do alot of northern Sask lakes; Cold Lake has the odd monster but lots of 12 - 15 pounds so lots of fun whenthe bite is on :) I've had tons of success with 5 diamonds yellow with black and for some reason I don't get but enjoy the laugh of I've also had more success with the spoons painted with the CDN flag than I have old Lens red devils :huh: My experiance has been the bigger the spoon, lure, or grub the bigger the Pike.
Where were ya in NS? I lived in Coldbrook, Truro, Kentville, and Port La Tour growing up.

lived in Antigonish.



To the guy who says AB is more over fished.
Honestly, I spent 19 years in kingston ontario and fished every lake within 2 hour drive. Including lake ontario. A big pike in ont is ANYTHING over 4 or 5 pounds. I've seen maybe 15 pike over 10 lbs in ontario. I saw more 10lbs+ pike ice fishing this past winter in lake la biche. Southern ontario is over fished and poluted. Have you ever fished southern ontario??

In the past summer I would fish for pike/bass for 8 hours a day at least 5 days a week. I did not see or catch one pike over 5lbs all summer.

[tbosch]

lol u have'nt been in alberta long have u? Alberta is probably the most overfished province in all of canada 10x. Get use to crowds and small to medium size fish. Fishing isn't protected here at all by the time they shut everything down the damage was done. The pike arn't protected. Everyone keeps the big girls. So there few and far bewteen. Most are 50-70cm range. The perch fishing has gone to **** by overfishing and booming population of walleye. I can assure you that your going to be very disspointed.

Debbie Downer.

[fish-man]

Good pike lures:

6" five of diamonds or similar spoon. It's a good size to cast without too much hassle, you can definitely go bigger if you're trophy hunting though.

Spinnerbaits are an excellent pike lure as well, not necessarily for the monsters but I always catch lots on them. The only problem is the hooking percentage isn't great.

Big baits (herrings, smelts, etc) are what I've caught the most big pike on. Rig it under a bobber, or bottom-fish.

[happy perch fisher]

lived in Antigonish.



To the guy who says AB is more over fished.
Honestly, I spent 19 years in kingston ontario and fished every lake within 2 hour drive. Including lake ontario. A big pike in ont is ANYTHING over 4 or 5 pounds. I've seen maybe 15 pike over 10 lbs in ontario. I saw more 10lbs+ pike ice fishing this past winter in lake la biche. Southern ontario is over fished and poluted. Have you ever fished southern ontario??

In the past summer I would fish for pike/bass for 8 hours a day at least 5 days a week. I did not see or catch one pike over 5lbs all summer.

Lol your fishing mid summer big pike slow down big time and go deep during that time. Your see what i'am talking about. I'm not going into this anymore the fishing is ****ed either way. You gotta go long and far now and even those lakes are getting wrecked by blabber mouths but who cares. Aslong as people get to fish them a couple times its all good. Then they wait for the next rush. Every year you have to go further away. Right now its around 3.5 hours. I'm sure it will be 4 soon and so on. There are a couple lakes left under that range but the *******es will start posting them and there will get destroyed.But thats the alberta way apparently. Also i'm going to point this out catching 17-20 walleye all day and undersize pike is what i classified as over fished. Thats a easy example to find out which lakes are. For pike and perch lakes its 6 and under inch perch and small to barely legal pike. The guy who commented on winifred lake. Why do you think those regulation where put in place a couple years ago. Why do you think they shut down the walleye in that lake. It was getting overfished. Now considering that the road going in there is hard to travel in the best of conditions. Yet the lake got overfished and had to have speacil regulations put on it. But who really gives a **** keep everything you can possible keep and make sure you get the big ones. Its the alberta way.

[pdfish]

try a variety of sizes, but remember a big pike likes a big spoons. i personally use a 6' spoon or lure for going after pike most of the time , and even the smaller ones will hit it. Bright colors drive em crazy,

Wow! Exactly what kind of rod do you use to cast a 6' (foot) spoon. You must have arms like Hogan!! :evilgrin: Sorry feeling smart-*****ed tonight, couldn't resist.

[gpguy7]

well i was a hulkimaniac when i was a kid, so i like to think i learned some tips from him,if ya feel me brother!:lol:

[pdfish]

well i was a hulkimaniac when i was a kid, so i like to think i learned some tips from him,if ya feel me brother!:lol:

LMAO :lol::lol: Awesome!!

[seahawkfisher]

while some lakes here do recieve a lot of pressure (a few of which consistently produce big pike, even in the dead of summer) at least you don't have to worry about HPF crowding your space on the water; it's quite clear that he doesnt know where to find good fishing in Alberta

[happy perch fisher]

while some lakes here do recieve a lot of pressure (a few of which consistently produce big pike, even in the dead of summer) at least you don't have to worry about HPF crowding your space on the water; it's quite clear that he doesnt know where to find good fishing in Alberta

Lol which ones around here. Are u talking about the ones 4hours away. Theres are a couple of lakes left that arn't 4hours away but there few and far bewteen. Sure there always a chance that a couple of the bigger closer lakes may still have a couple big pike left in them. But they are so few and far bewteen that its extremly rare to catch one. Also 98percent of the time when they are caught they are kept. I know of a good handful of lakes that arn't that far that are amazing lakes. The only reason they are is because very few people know about them and the ones that do didn't tell anyone about it. But i'm sure some ******* is going to find out one day and decide to tell the world. Its the alberta way.

[pdfish]

Lol which ones around here. Are u talking about the ones 4hours away. Theres are a couple of lakes left that arn't 4hours away but there few and far bewteen. Sure there always a chance that a couple of the bigger closer lakes may still have a couple big pike left in them. But they are so few and far bewteen that its extremly rare to catch one. Also 98percent of the time when they are caught they are kept. I know of a good handful of lakes that arn't that far that are amazing lakes. The only reason they are is because very few people know about them and the ones that do didn't tell anyone about it. But i'm sure some ******* is going to find out one day and decide to tell the world. Its the alberta way.

I was done writing my response to this but then deleted it all, its just not worth my time anymore HPF. Do you really think any "amazing" lake is a secret anymore? By the way, that was a rhetorical question.

[Team Corn]

I'm new to northern AB. Moved here from Nova Scota/southern ont. No big pig in either place but even as a kid I used to dream and try so hard to get a monster pike. Fast forward to now... I'm in northern AB and buying a boat soon. Already picked out a new rod at the bass pro shops on line catalouge. Rod is specifically being bought for monster pike..

I will be hunting big pike most the summer. I'm a teacher so I'll have my July and August off with the hopes of fishing 5 days a week.

anywho.. I know no one likes to give up secret lures or lakes haha.. but anyone have any suggestions on lures and lakes?

Back in Ont, people used to say just use the tried and tested true lures used for musky. The big suicks pluggs, musky killer spinners etc..

I've had some decent sized pike at Baptiste Lake, just outside of Athabasca.
The trick to landing larger ones from what I've seen is just to use the biggest damn lure you can find. It's not uncommon for a large pike to eat another slightly smaller pike (or even a duck, so I'm told).

Also, if you plan on posting any other threads or responses in this forum...please ignore Happy Paranoid Fisher. Apparently, everyone is ruining the sport for him. He needs to get laid...bigtime.

[Walleyes]

I'm new to northern AB. Moved here from Nova Scota/southern ont. No big pig in either place but even as a kid I used to dream and try so hard to get a monster pike. Fast forward to now... I'm in northern AB and buying a boat soon. Already picked out a new rod at the bass pro shops on line catalouge. Rod is specifically being bought for monster pike..

I will be hunting big pike most the summer. I'm a teacher so I'll have my July and August off with the hopes of fishing 5 days a week.

anywho.. I know no one likes to give up secret lures or lakes haha.. but anyone have any suggestions on lures and lakes?

Back in Ont, people used to say just use the tried and tested true lures used for musky. The big suicks pluggs, musky killer spinners etc..


LLBNS,, I wish I still lived up in Labiche I would take you out this summer for some fun.. There are still quite a few lakes in the area that produce very nice summer Pike. Touchwood lake for one still produces some hog pike. Seibert is another, its a little out of the way but is easily accessed but Pike the size of your leg are not uncommon. Square lake will produce some crazy nice fish. Heart lake is another one unfortunately the natives have closed access to it but there is a way in the back on crown land that is accessible during dry weather. The big lake (LLB) still has many huge Pike in it fish the north end and on the Plamondon end in some of the deeper bays,, lots of Pike...

The key for you is going to be patients, give yourself time to learn some of the lakes and spots and trust me Pike and even big Pike are not hard to find in that country. I never even considered Pike a game fish until I moved south, we just never had to try for them they come way to easy.

Use any of the lures mentioned they are all good. As far as the spoons go don't get to carried away on the size stick to the double 00 size or smaller as well get a few Rapala's and shallow to medium minnow lures all good stuff. concentrate on the large weed bays with long sand reefs off of them.

Trust me there are more big Pike in that country then you will want to catch once you get onto them you will be sick of them and move onto real fish,,, like monster eyes lolol..

I have a brother inlaw that is starting up a guide outfit out of Labiche this summer it may be worth your while to go out with him once or twice, tell him your game plan and trust me he will put you onto the fish he is a good fisherman this I know cause I taught him lololo.. He doesn't have his web site up and running yet but I do have his number if you are interested.

[fish-man]

Wabamun = lots of fishing pressure + lots of big pike, though so far I've only caught the big ones (10+ lbs) in winter and spring.

[bobbypetrolia]

I agree and disagree with some of you. I agree that for the big boys (actually girls) you need to go big. Real big. My disagreement is with the lure choices. Yes, big spinners and spoons produce a ton of big pike every year, but on pressured waters (Alberta, for example...lol) I like soft plastics. Ridiculously large rubber. I mean the largest rubber worms/worm-looking-thingzits you can find. The biggest I have found to buy are 14", and I wish I had bigger. Irresistable to BIG pike that have seen all the hardware out there. The downfall to spoons/spinners is that they can't be slowed down. If you stop cranking, they sink like a rock. Soft plastics will suspend, sink, raise, twitch, shimmy.....etc and can be reeled in as slow as you choose. You can even add a treble stinger on most of them w/o affecting the action and increasing hook-up percentage............I love big pike, just for the record.

[LacLaBicheNS]

LLBNS,, I wish I still lived up in Labiche I would take you out this summer for some fun.. There are still quite a few lakes in the area that produce very nice summer Pike. Touchwood lake for one still produces some hog pike. Seibert is another, its a little out of the way but is easily accessed but Pike the size of your leg are not uncommon. Square lake will produce some crazy nice fish. Heart lake is another one unfortunately the natives have closed access to it but there is a way in the back on crown land that is accessible during dry weather. The big lake (LLB) still has many huge Pike in it fish the north end and on the Plamondon end in some of the deeper bays,, lots of Pike...

The key for you is going to be patients, give yourself time to learn some of the lakes and spots and trust me Pike and even big Pike are not hard to find in that country. I never even considered Pike a game fish until I moved south, we just never had to try for them they come way to easy.

Use any of the lures mentioned they are all good. As far as the spoons go don't get to carried away on the size stick to the double 00 size or smaller as well get a few Rapala's and shallow to medium minnow lures all good stuff. concentrate on the large weed bays with long sand reefs off of them.

Trust me there are more big Pike in that country then you will want to catch once you get onto them you will be sick of them and move onto real fish,,, like monster eyes lolol..

I have a brother inlaw that is starting up a guide outfit out of Labiche this summer it may be worth your while to go out with him once or twice, tell him your game plan and trust me he will put you onto the fish he is a good fisherman this I know cause I taught him lololo.. He doesn't have his web site up and running yet but I do have his number if you are interested.

sent you a PM.


HPF- talk to anyone who has lived in southern ont and has also been up here in northern AB. northern AB is far better fishing fish.

[kreator]

LacLaBicheNS, I'll message you when the season gets a little closer. We're both teachers so that works out pretty good! I can take you to several spots on LLB where the average size Pike is around 8-10 pounds. Because of the size of the lake, you could spent a whole weekend trying to find them and if you don't know where to go, you likely won't find them at all.

Of course, there's Touchwood, Seibert, Pinehurst and Wolf too. All of these lakes (and a few others) have the potential to produce some big Pike.

[happy perch fisher]

sent you a PM.


HPF- talk to anyone who has lived in southern ont and has also been up here in northern AB. northern AB is far better fishing fish.

While northern Ontario is way better then northern alberta and 100 times better then central alberta.

[Walleyes]

sent you a PM.


HPF- talk to anyone who has lived in southern ont and has also been up here in northern AB. northern AB is far better fishing fish.



P.M returned..

And pay HPF no regard,, he's just p!ssed cause he is a poor fishermen and can't catch fish so he has to blame it on something other than the obvious...

[seahawkfisher]

bigger is better ... absolutely

bomber long A is a great lure for heavy pike