Tips for mid summer Pike and Laker in Northern Sask

[alpineguy]

Heading up to our fishing camp and wondered if any of you are willing to share your tips and/or secrets on catching big Pike and Lakers mid summer in N Sask.
We are heading in Saturday and have had decent luck over the years but I'm always looking for new ideas.
Location is approximately 45 miles NW of Missinipe.

Thanks

[dmcbride]

Try trolling a big top water bait at night. Don't know if legal is Sask. to be fishing at night, but worked good in Ontario when I was Kid for big pike and Muskie.

[RACKER]

I have found with walleye at this time of year jigging with a white jig head with a red eye 3/8 ounce tipped with a minnow works great. On bright sunny days look for rock ledges that follow out into the lake and drop down 12-20 ft. The dark pools at the end of the drop offs usually always produce fish. Trolling with bottom bouncers with a 3 ft line and a rig with red beads and a Colorado spinner tipped with worms or leeches works well also. As far as Northerns go you can't go wrong with fishing calm waters in a bay in late afternoon with big crankbaits or the usual spoons. Or off the dock right at sunset with a top water spinner or buzzbait. We had good luck this year using the new suicide duck as well. Best of luck to ya and hope you have a ton of fun. I'm not sure the info I gave helps any but it works for us.

[Fishwhere]

Lakers im not sure but i fish for sask pike in the summer every year... normally closer to mid august. Heres what ill normally do;

The bays are mostly a no go especially if they are closer to, or led into by shallow water. I religiously fish as close to the main lake as i can for a few reasons. One of which being water temperature, watch your finder and if youre near 68-70 degrees on your fish finder surface temp do not waste your time. The only thing that can maybe go around that rule is if you have wind pushing water through a pinch point or islands, or if youve managed to get on top of a spring(which is super rare), or possible super early or later in the evening. The next reason i fish near the main lake is back in the shallower bays is where the weeds started to grow and are most likely to now be dead or dying out and turning the yellowy brown color. At that point they are taking oxygen out of the water instead of putting it in....

Now if you are near the main lake(depending on how big/deep the lake is) you should be closer to the 64-67 degree mark at the surface. Now you are looking for your typical pike spots : weeds with deep water near by, and concentrate on the deep side of them. Bring your hooks up and down the contour of your drop off or weed edge the best you can and you should be good to go. Again even with the temperature range i would stay in 10+ feet of water up until lets say 16 feet approx. As for the weeds that another topic. I refer to it as pike cabbage but i dont know the real name for them(im sure someone else on here does), but they have a super long skinny stalk with tree like leafs off of the side sparsly scattered and the weeds should at minimum extend up to within 2 feet of the surface, or better even up to the surface. And should be very close to green or they are starting to die.

After that you could try the typical spots - humps, reefs, points, river/stream entrances. My fav is between the islands when wind is blowing between them when you can find depths from 6 feet - 12 feet.

I always try finding the weeds and temperature/depth i like because its how i like to fish... others may have better luck on the points/rocks etc that the wind is blowing into or whatever. You have to run and gun a little to find what is working and then replicate it in other spots through the lake. Hard to change from what you like.

You will also be probably fishing deeper then you are normally used to on these structures, up to maybe 30 feet... but for me i dont like going deeper then maybe 16 feet because its just what i like. But realistically sometimes thats where you need to be.

Put some time in, and good luck!! Hope that helps a little

[Fishwhere]

Also try a silver hammered williams wabler size 70... its a killer.

[aulrich]

Mid summer I like the mepps cyclops spoons (biggest) they run a bit deeper than your typical Len T's

But I would agree to the deep side of the cabbage as well.

[dantheman93]

go deep, find a shelf, troll along it with a bottom bouncer. had good luck in north sask trollin with a rapala too but they only caught walleye and perch for me.

[alpineguy]

Thanks guys. Flying in this afternoon around 3:30. Just driving now

[35 whelen]

If you find any cabbage beds fish close to deeper end and try topwater:)