Shrimp and pike

[jungleboy]

I spend a fair bit of time at one particular lake fishing for pike. It’s a small lake but has been ok in past yrs and even earlier this spring we caught fairly good fish. Not long but nice and fat and with attitude so I like that.

They seem to have shut right down lately though the last few times out it has been one or none.The ones we do get seem to be lip hooked like they are biting short ,we will get short strikes but not committed takes like you would normally see from pike.

There are tons of freshwater shrimp in this lake and I wonder if that is a factor, there are supposed to be perch as well but I have never really targeted them. Also the boat traffic can be heavy, this past weekend was a zoo but that isn’t normal although it might become that. I hope not.

We mostly troll spoons because that is what has been most successful, have tried casting jigs and rattles etc the whole tackle box except have never tried bait dead or alive .

I don’t expect monsters of this lake and that’s not why I go there , for the most part it’s peaceful and an enjoyable evening putting around the shoreline .I know the fish are there but can’t seem to get them to react .

[WayneChristie]

I had the same problem at a local lake one year, the pike were all hitting just short and I saw a few up close that looked like they were just shoulderchecking the spoons. I had some bright orange grub tails with me, put one on the treble and they started hammering the spoon like madmen.

[jungleboy]

I’ll give that a try. Thanks:)

[aulrich]

I have had short strike problems with bigger swimbaits but adding a stinger helps. Trolling with plugs can help, personally I don't like trolling spoons if I can help, I don't like the line twist.

[Bushleague]

I don't think that Pike actively eat shrimp, they do swim around with their mouths open though, and if there's lots of shrimp you will find their stomachs full of them. I find that the pike meat is often bright orange during a shrimp bloom, and doesn't taste quite as good.

Personally, if I'm having followers that wont take, I prefer a spoon. There are just so many ways to twitch and flutter and shake a spoon to entice a strike, some models will actually reverse their direction and fall in a backwards direction when allowed to fall on a slack line... the following pike often simply opens his jaws and takes the spoon without even thinking about it.

Another thing I'll try is playing with size, sometimes going up in size will get more fish to commit, more often going down in size will work in my experience. Tipping spoons with twister tails like Wayne said is another good trick, I usually have the best luck with white tails. Tipping spoons can be a bit tricky, some spoons it works well with, others it changes the action and can often make the lure less effective. Its a good trick, but IMO it can take a fair bit of experimenting to perfect.

[aulrich]

I expect that they must eat some shrimp or go after the other things focusing on the shrimp, I always found that it odd that shrimp bloom and the ever vague "pike lose their teeth" season seem to line up.

I have found that early summer when the weeds have not fully grown in pike seem to get a better look at lures and are much harder to trigger. I tend to increase the retrieve speed this time of year. plugs that can handle speed and keep their depth are key. Crank like a mad man, pause, crank, pause try not to leave a lure in the strike zone long, make the fish commit.

I had good luck with a fast sinking stick bait this past week up at Dore

The other extreme can work too, something super natural and run very slow so it stays in the strike zone so long it annoys the pike to strike.

[klow]

I know of a small lake that has big pike. We looked at that whole lake to find out how they were getting that big. We thought it might have been perch, but none were found. All we found was shrimp and smaller pike.

[Bushleague]

Forgot to mention, trolling is not always your best option when pike are in this sort of mood. Today I was out for a few hours, I did a little trolling from spot to spot, I caught a few fish trolling but only right after I cast out or when I stopped the boat and started to work the lure back in.

More fish were caught casting, usually I'd just count the spoon down a bit and give it a steady retrieve. When I felt a pike nudge my spoon I'd give it some jerks and twitches, let it fall on a slack line, switch my rod from side to side... that usually got a more committed take.

Trolling, I think that sometimes the pike just follow the lure until they get bored. Giving your lure the odd rip or letting fall back can help, but often casting will be a better bet.

[pikergolf]

I don't think that Pike actively eat shrimp, they do swim around with their mouths open though, and if there's lots of shrimp you will find their stomachs full of them. I find that the pike meat is often bright orange during a shrimp bloom, and doesn't taste quite as good.

Personally, if I'm having followers that wont take, I prefer a spoon. There are just so many ways to twitch and flutter and shake a spoon to entice a strike, some models will actually reverse their direction and fall in a backwards direction when allowed to fall on a slack line... the following pike often simply opens his jaws and takes the spoon without even thinking about it.

Another thing I'll try is playing with size, sometimes going up in size will get more fish to commit, more often going down in size will work in my experience. Tipping spoons with twister tails like Wayne said is another good trick, I usually have the best luck with white tails. Tipping spoons can be a bit tricky, some spoons it works well with, others it changes the action and can often make the lure less effective. Its a good trick, but IMO it can take a fair bit of experimenting to perfect.

Pike will definitely key on shrimp. Shrimp lakes have nice sized pike, they will eat whatever puts in calories and a good scud lake will have thousands of scud per Cubic metre of water.

[Bushleague]

Pike will definitely key on shrimp. Shrimp lakes have nice sized pike, they will eat whatever puts in calories and a good scud lake will have thousands of scud per Cubic metre of water.

Maybe, so. I'm not arguing that they end up in pike's stomachs, but having never actually witnessed a pike intentionally eating one I wont claim to know exactly how they get there. I've always imagined it being more like a whale eating crill, just swimming around with its mouth wide open.

In short, I cant see baiting a hook with a shrimp being a very effective way to catch pike in any lake.

[SamSteele]

I think pike will eat anything that’s available. Like this pike that was full of dragonfly nymphs.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200623/30bf2cdb4cd8464450984cb9573bbfbe.jpg

[Osky]

I had the same problem at a local lake one year, the pike were all hitting just short and I saw a few up close that looked like they were just shoulderchecking the spoons. I had some bright orange grub tails with me, put one on the treble and they started hammering the spoon like madmen.

Agreed with this Jungleboy. I change out nearly all trebles to single hooks on lures. The pike lures get a 4.0 hook and I take a three sided file and use one of the sharp edges to rasp up the hook shaft. That scuffing really helps hold the rubber in place.
Some sort of rubber or tail on any lure really gets the pike going.

Osky

[EZM]

I guess there's lot of good info here already, but the general rule if fish are being picky for me is to downsize it. I generally use larger lures, so this helps many days.

The other thing I do if I'm getting quite a few "head butts" (pike will absolutely run at a bait, hit it and turn back onto it) sometimes after a "hit" (even when trolling) I quickly dip the rod and give some slack - pick up quite a few return customers that way.

As far as pike eating Shrimp ..... I'm pretty much convinced pike will eat anything they can ans as much of it as they can. The picky ones only come around during ice fishing season sometimes :)

[jungleboy]

Lots of great info here ,thanks guys. I have been fishing all my life and while I don’t consider myself a great fisherman , I do have a great time doing it. It’s always good to get other ideas on what works.

[WayneChristie]

Maybe, so. I'm not arguing that they end up in pike's stomachs, but having never actually witnessed a pike intentionally eating one I wont claim to know exactly how they get there. I've always imagined it being more like a whale eating crill, just swimming around with its mouth wide open.

In short, I cant see baiting a hook with a shrimp being a very effective way to catch pike in any lake.

when I was tagging I tried for sturgeon at a new spot, I caught more pike that day on worms than anything else, a real pain because they kept biting off my big sturgeon hooks since I dont use a leader for sturgeon. I was ice fishing one local lake with a pike limit, only fish I caught all day was an 18 pound pike that came in so fast it inhaled my herring and ripped a gill so I kept it as it was going to die anyways. when I cleaned it all that was in its stomach was a huge gooey green mass of shrimp. no wonder it wanted the bait so bad! Any hole I cut was pretty much instantly full of shrimp.

[Brandonkop]

Pump the rod when you troll, forward and drop back. Pike notoriously follow in summer and this sometimes triggers and aggressive bite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUXdhg8gCL0

[mlee]

Pike eat everything period....especially post spawn. This spring we caught dozens of pike at one lake in 2-4ft of water off beaver houses that literally had leeches beetles nymphs and shrimp oozing out their gills because their mouth was so full. Actually amazes me sometimes that they still hit a lure like that.

[Smoky buck]

I would not be surprised pike eat shrimp and I bet it would be great feed for small pike

As for pike on slow days or light bite days trolling is the last thing I want to do or even a static steady retrieve. They will often just follow and loose interest or take half hearted strikes. If you feel you must troll bumps to the throttle and S turns can entice a few more strikes. Personally I prefer casting with a slow moving twitchy presentation and a lure I can let free fall

One of my go to presentations is a 4-5inch thin profile paddle tail on a 1/4oz freedom hydra jig head. It’s weedless so you can toss it anywhere, not too heavy, I can work it really slow with good action, not too bulky and pike love it

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200623/296d185fb92bdb435f85c23723a6287d.jpg


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[WayneChristie]

I would not be surprised pike eat shrimp and I bet it would be great feed for small pike

As for pike on slow days or light bite days trolling is the last thing I want to do or even a static steady retrieve. They will often just follow and loose interest or take half hearted strikes. If you feel you must troll bumps to the throttle and S turns can entice a few more strikes. Personally I prefer casting with a slow moving twitchy presentation and a lure I can let free fall

One of my go to presentations is a 4-5inch thin profile paddle tail on a 1/4oz freedom hydra jig head. It’s weedless so you can toss it anywhere, not too heavy, I can work it really slow with good action, not too bulky and pike love it

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200623/296d185fb92bdb435f85c23723a6287d.jpg


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nice. I had so many follow my spoon one spring before the weeds were too high that there was eventually 5 pike hanging out under my canoe in about 6 feet of water. they wouldnt touch the spoon so eventually I put on a Storm Walleye soft lure and just slowly jigged it straight up and down and caught 2 or 3 of them. I bet the baitrix anchovies I have would work just as well too.

[Smoky buck]

nice. I had so many follow my spoon one spring before the weeds were too high that there was eventually 5 pike hanging out under my canoe in about 6 feet of water. they wouldnt touch the spoon so eventually I put on a Storm Walleye soft lure and just slowly jigged it straight up and down and caught 2 or 3 of them. I bet the baitrix anchovies I have would work just as well too.

My wife’s favorite pike lure is the storm wildeye perch and she catches lots of pike on them. I think she got 10 packs for Christmas lol. She has been bugging me to start making swimbaits. I really should with how often we use different soft plastics

I have never tried the baitrix anchovies but I bet if a guy moves them right they will get bit

[58thecat]

nice. I had so many follow my spoon one spring before the weeds were too high that there was eventually 5 pike hanging out under my canoe in about 6 feet of water. they wouldnt touch the spoon so eventually I put on a Storm Walleye soft lure and just slowly jigged it straight up and down and caught 2 or 3 of them. I bet the baitrix anchovies I have would work just as well too.

I then downsize my soon and put a twister tail on....reel slow...stop let it kinda sink and then reel again....followers will usually hit on the stop or just as you start....I think we all know to change it up...good points.

[Smoky buck]

I then downsize my soon and put a twister tail on....reel slow...stop let it kinda sink and then reel again....followers will usually hit on the stop or just as you start....I think we all know to change it up...good points.

Lots of different ways to get the job done and every fishermen has their methods they have confidence in. Myself I rarely throw spoons for pike even though they are very popular and work. What I have found is every good fishermen has a variety of ways they fish with the same principles covering the different depths, different speeds of presentation, cover water, pin point spots and different sizes. You can have completely different lures in your box to get the job done but the basic principles are the same

The biggest thing is knowing how to apply different techniques and like you mentioned knowing when to switch it up

[WayneChristie]

My wife’s favorite pike lure is the storm wildeye perch and she catches lots of pike on them. I think she got 10 packs for Christmas lol. She has been bugging me to start making swimbaits. I really should with how often we use different soft plastics

I have never tried the baitrix anchovies but I bet if a guy moves them right they will get bit

the best lure I ever found for walter is one of the Storms, but Im not saying which one it works too well :bad_boys_20: its actually the reason I decided to try fly fishing for walleye after the one night I caught 45 walleye, one was under 5 the rest mostly 7 to 12 and my arms actually hurt by the end of the night. you come up with the same one I will be hitting you up for a bunch :bad_boys_20: also caught a ton of pike on them and even some very nice sized sauger too

[Bushleague]

Lots of different ways to get the job done and every fishermen has their methods they have confidence in. Myself I rarely throw spoons for pike even though they are very popular and work. What I have found is every good fishermen has a variety of ways they fish with the same principles covering the different depths, different speeds of presentation, cover water, pin point spots and different sizes. You can have completely different lures in your box to get the job done but the basic principles are the same

The biggest thing is knowing how to apply different techniques and like you mentioned knowing when to switch it up

I agree... and having tried pretty much everything I've come back around to spoons. There was a period of almost a decade where I rarely used them, but eventually I started using them again... and being a smarter and more versatile fisherman they work better for me now than they did 20 years ago. Personally, my feeling is that if pike will hit a spoon I may as well be tossing one, because it is literally the only lure that they cant destroy. They can fish an extremely wide range of depths and cast like bullets, which makes them the ultimate lure for most shore fishing scenario, and they can be worked in all sorts of ways to entice strikes.

On the fairly rare occasion when I cant get pike to hit a spoon, then I have to dig deeper into my bag of tricks. But as far as a go-to pike lure, they have a lot more going for them than a lot of experienced fishermen give them credit for.

[Smoky buck]

the best lure I ever found for walter is one of the Storms, but Im not saying which one it works too well :bad_boys_20: its actually the reason I decided to try fly fishing for walleye after the one night I caught 45 walleye, one was under 5 the rest mostly 7 to 12 and my arms actually hurt by the end of the night. you come up with the same one I will be hitting you up for a bunch :bad_boys_20: also caught a ton of pike on them and even some very nice sized sauger too

I don’t know what I will come up with yet but I have a thin profile swimbait in mind. Odds are it will be something of my own design. But that fact that it will be new lure building technique it may be some time before I learn how to make something of quality lol

Been a fan of soft plastics for a long time and have caught a lot of different species on them.

[Smoky buck]

I agree... and having tried pretty much everything I've come back around to spoons. There was a period of almost a decade where I rarely used them, but eventually I started using them again... and being a smarter and more versatile fisherman they work better for me now than they did 20 years ago. Personally, my feeling is that if pike will hit a spoon I may as well be tossing one, because it is literally the only lure that they cant destroy. They can fish an extremely wide range of depths and cast like bullets, which makes them the ultimate lure for most shore fishing scenario, and they can be worked in all sorts of ways to entice strikes.

On the fairly rare occasion when I cant get pike to hit a spoon, then I have to dig deeper into my bag of tricks. But as far as a go-to pike lure, they have a lot more going for them than a lot of experienced fishermen give them credit for.

I like my spoons for trout fishing but never been big on them for pike. They are very versatile and own lots just not a top choice for my pike fishing. There is no doubt I can go pike fishing with a handful of different styles of spoons and catch pike 9 times out of 10. I could do the same thing swimbaits. I have just adapted to different lures for different conditions that I prefer

To each their own and as long as we are both enjoying our day that is all that matters