[PlayDoh]

I’ve fished there a lot and never seen big pike. I don’t go after them and I’m not pretending to know what’s in there. Yet I can tell you if there’s 10+ lbs, there few and far between.
Mc Gregor, Travers, and Newell are where you want to go for size. Get some herring, pink smelts and minnows. Hang a herring or smelt on a quick strike type of rig, slightly head down. Tie it with 40 lbs or more fluorocarbon, yet 30 lbs would do I guess. Hang that on a tip up, and have good gloves by it. Hand fighting a 20 lb pike can be a challenge.
Get even a cheap used camera, but keep it above the lure, looking down. Big pike are picky I find, and easily spooked. Be setup at dawn, and be patient. You have better odds at staying at one spot, then hole hopping. Pike roam and they’ll come around. You can scout with a rod in the area. It pays to have a sturdy rod. An 8 in hole isn’t enough, but you can clover leaf a larger hole if 8 is all you have.
Remember you can’t handle big pike the same way you handle normal pike. You can’t gill them, hang them on a scale by the mouth, or be unprepared. I use a cradle / sling to weigh them, if everything goes good enough to do so. Big pike get big by being cautious, and the food is there. Their rare in part because they can easily die being caught, and especially out of water.
My wife caught a monster pike last summer. Pig wouldn’t fit in my xl net, and while I was lifting it, it flopped out and snapped the brand new hook off. My guess was it was close to 30 pounds. She was so upset because we didn’t get at least a picture. I remember learning the lesson that you need to fish to enjoy the time spent, not the bragging rights of a picture. Cameras are the worst thing that happened to fish, and especially now a days, everyone wants a photo shoot with their catch.
If your after big pike spend time preparing everything you’ll need before you leave. Be prepared for Moby Dick, cause there’s nothing worse than losing one that you only got a glimpse of, because you weren’t ready. Don’t fish for big fish for the pictures, and if your alone, forget about it unless you have a Gopro rolling.
Sorry for the rant, but I once was caught up in fishing for Instagram, rather than myself. It adds pressure, lots of disappointment and worse of all, you’ll end up killing a fish that could have been someone else’s glory.