Bottom bouncing for “bigger “ pike??
 

Heading to Tobin in a couple weeks. Does anyone know of larger size rigs to pull behind bottom bouncers? Or somewhere that sells larger Colorado blades to make some? TIA

https://www.cabelas.com/product/LIND...UY/1958735.uts

Retie with 80lb fluoro and larger circle hooks.....thread on an 8" hearing and Bob's your uncle. Easy enough to make your own too just need something that floats in front of the bait.

Tobin Lake is full of snags with all that sunken timber in many productive areas of the lake - be prepared to loose some gear if you are bouncing.

I bought a bunch of blades and made up a fair amount of larger blades (thinking the exact same thing as you are) ...... needless to say, plan was abandoned pretty quickly after snagging hard enough to loose gear every 50 feet.

I'm sure there are a few areas that aren't this bad, but all three areas we tried this in were full of timber.

Pike don’t really hang out right on the bottom like Walleye do, lots of other techniques I would use before bottom bouncing.

If you say so....
The 3 biggest pike I've caught this summer (2 over 40") were in 18+fow a foot off bottom....or there abouts. I've really changed how I summer fish for pike the last couple years and the quality of fish has gone way up imo.

And you probably would have caught said fish if your lure was 3-4 maybe even 6 feet off bottom. They are suspended as often as they are on bottom and they are ambush predators and will attack baits above them. One of big pikes primary meals are whitefish which are often suspended, I have caught lots near bottom but also caught a fair share of big pike mid water column in random parts of a lake, you will miss those fish if your ore is dragging on bottom. If in 18 fow I would use a 15 foot deep lure, avoid snagging bottom and still catch most of the fish down there. If fish were being super finicky and lazy I might mix it up and twitch lures on bottom if I am pretty sure I know they are there.

Bingo, i also couldn’t imagine trying to bottom bounce a cabbage patch either. Every lake is different I guess.

Bottom Pike
 

That's about right, pike will suspend in cooler water but in the hot days of summer they find the cool water in the lower depths, hangin out on the bottom.

Getting bit off by pike is my single biggest grip about walleye fishing usually for me I try it for a while get bit off a bunch of times then switch to pulling pike baits.

I would think the big issue is building a spinner rig that can actually reliably stand up to a pike.

One rig I have tried with some success is build from a 3 way swivel ,

Basically a large sinker on a light test dropper , a long heavy floro leader to a plug or swimbait . But deep divers are alot easier to fish

One thing I learned about fishing years ago that is every fishermen thinks they know the best way to target a species or body of water but the fish don’t always agree :lol:

I have had way more success fishing ignoring fishermen’s opinions and focusing on what I observe the fish doing when I am on the water. Those who are versatile and adapt to the conditions will catch more fish than those who follow.

To the original poster go out and try what you feel is right but make sure you have the gear available to adapt as needed. With the the plan you have in mind I recommend building your own rig

Good luck

There are places in Tobin where you can bottom bounce such as the bay past Pemican Point but if you try in front of the resort on the flats or past Prudens or north of Tobin Lake resort towards Jackfish Point, you will be spending most of your time unhooking (hopefully) from snags. I haven't fished it this late but wouldn't think the pike were still deep as the lake must have cooled by now.

I fish Tobin a fair amount and if it were me I would be focused on the shallow side of the big structure this time of year (8 - 12ish ft of water). Consider trying a dead bait! That’s just my opinion.

Good luck!

My actual opinion is screw the pike and target the walleye lol.

^ x2

1 40" pike is worth 100 dink walleyes <25" ,

Boring.

Thanks for all the replies. We have only been there twice so still learning. We have a chance at both species if bottom bouncing was our thinking. last time we pulled on shore near Nipawin and thru out dead baits and after eating buddy reeled his in and the hook was mangled and straitened out. Lucky he didn't lose his rod and all. It must have been a big one.

You saying he hooked a fish big enough to straighten it and never noticed there was a bite?? Ive had a few straightened out and it took 15 mins of fighting it before that happened

yes we were busy making lunch!! never heard the rod move or anything. Can't believe the rod was not gone. Must have been a doozy. Do they have enough jaw clamping force to bend treble hooks? Later that day a boat near us erupted with whooping and hollering because they landed a monster pike near the eagles nest spot.

I was just at Tobin a couple weeks ago. If you want to fish for pike, the bite is hot right now and you should receive lots of action. Dont bother bouncing for pike, just hit the shallow edge of the same structure you'd fish for walleye 8-15 feet is pike territory. Just cast spoons or cranks and you should have no problem hooking up. Walleye on the other hand are much harder to catch this time of year. Make no mistake, they are in there and the probability of hooking up with a big fish is much increased over the spring/summer months but the bite overall is verrrry slow. Lots of guys have a tough time filling their cards fishing the vanity because all they catch are big fish and no red zone slot size to fill their cards. Patience is a virtue if you're walleye fishing this time of year...So is a good trolling motor lol. Good luck

Jaw clamp does not straighten a hook, pulling does

Cause Tobin is full of dink walleyes???

Tobin is one of the best fisheries in Canada to catch 30+ inch, 10+ lb walleye.

My only 30" walleye this year along with a 29 7/8" came from Tobin. I also have caught my personal best 20 lb pike (weighed the fish in the net and subtracted the net weight but didn't handle it to measure length) in Tobin. The biggest walleye I have ever seen was a 31.5" caught in my boat last year from Crawling Valley.

X2

You might want to look up Facts of Fishing when Dave goes to Tobin lake in the fall. You can find a small bit of it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeLSaU8buTI.

You can also look up the fall Fishn' Canada episode at Tobin Lake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpvDtML9p3g

Both shows do dead baits with bobbers and have very good success. Though both shows had very calm water.

If you have new technology where you can map out the bottom for your self you might be able to find area's where you can get away with the techniques you suggested. I certainly would not use supper heavy leaders though. When you snag up on a thousand pound log something is going to give and it might as well be as close to the end as possible.