Going Ultra-lite for Pike

[knowsam]

Hi all,
I'm a west coaster heading out to Northern(ish) Alberta to do some pike fishing for the first time. I'm taking along a medium spinning rod and a standard suite of tackle, but I also like to fish light when I can - and ultra-lite if possible. Anyone have any suggestions/rigs they like to use? I'm thinking about running 6 lb line to a leader with a fly lure on the end and a split shot or two? What are the ultra-lites out there using?

Thanks in advance!

[Dust1n]

have alot of extra line. and good drag.
i use ultra light on the 4-12lb pike in blindman just make sure they dont swallow it,

[Pike'n'walleye]

Hi all,
I'm a west coaster heading out to Northern(ish) Alberta to do some pike fishing for the first time. I'm taking along a medium spinning rod and a standard suite of tackle, but I also like to fish light when I can - and ultra-lite if possible. Anyone have any suggestions/rigs they like to use? I'm thinking about running 6 lb line to a leader with a fly lure on the end and a split shot or two? What are the ultra-lites out there using?

Thanks in advance!

Fenwick makles decent ultrlight rods. Hmx are nice. I have the eagle gt. Just letting you know that if you hook a 20 pounder you can get spooled or bye bye fishing rod

make sure you use a metal leader on the end or tie your own from 30 pound fluorocarbon

[Lefty-Canuck]

Personally I wouldn't go too ultra-lite for pike. It is going to be a long fight and it may play the fish out to death....literally. Unless you are planning on keeping a big fish like that, it might die anyhow...This also assumes that it doesn't get away or break you off before you land it. Have fun!

LC

[Geezle]

X2 to what Lefty said.

Nobody likes to see a floater...

[Scott N]

Personally I wouldn't go too ultra-lite for pike. It is going to be a long fight and it may play the fish out to death....literally. Unless you are planning on keeping a big fish like that, it might die anyhow...This also assumes that it doesn't get away or break you off before you land it. Have fun!

LC


Yeah.... what he said.

[0liver]

I wouldn't be using flys with spinning gear personally. especially in a river.Also, your gonna have alot of break off's with 6lb test, especially if your going up north. The pike up there are massive. Your going to do fine with a medium weight rod with a spinning reel though, I would use 8lb test at the least and try using small spinners or some spoons if you dislike tossing massive hardware. this is all in my own opinion. If you like fighting a 8lb pike for 25 mins while wasting the time unhooking all the goldeye and non-target fish you will undoubtedly catch with a fly and bobber.. then giver hard...

oliver

[JohnnyD]

I have never UL or L fished for pike before. However, this spring I saw a seminar on ultra light fishing for big fish at bass pro. The angler who was speaking said the key was not to use super lines (i.e braids) on your spool but rather quality monos and flours to provide some relief when fighting large fish. Good luck, and post a report on your adventure!

[Cal]

I fish the lake for walleye with six lb mono and have taken some decent pike on it. I wouldnt throw around realy huge stuff with it but plugs like the Rapala original, which are made out of balsa wood, are not overly heavy even in larger sizes and can be fished on 6lb line. Large soft plastic jerk baits work well on light tackle with no added weight. In general I mostly use 10 lb mono and sometimes 15, you dont need to go ultralight to get a good fight out of a large pike. My largest which I estemated to be around 20lb was caught on 12 lb line and took 45 minuits to land. In the Yukon I fought one for 20 minuits on 15lb line without even getting it close enough to have a look at it befor it escaped. You would have needed an awfull lot of 6lb line and a big chunk of lake with no logs and weeds to have any chance of boating either of those fish and they would have been mostly dead by that point.

[Kokanee9]

I have used 6lb mono quite a bit for pike. 4lb. was just too small and the line would break every so often. Casting with the 6lb. was okay, but the line would stretch and 2 or 3x during the day, I would have to cut off maybe 15-20' to get to line that wasn't stretched

[Dust1n]

oh ya make sure the river isnt big cause you dont want a 45min fight in 25 c
small rivers are great for it