Pike Fishing!

Let me tell you a story. The second time I've ever gone fishing was in a lake very close to the beach. Yeah, I was on a holiday with my parents at the beach. Before we left, the guy who taught me everything about fishing had come up with the idea to take a spinning rod (which I didn't know what it was) with me. I agreed and he showed me all the instructions about the use of it and much more. He gave me as bait, 2 small spoons, and one soft micro-lure. Long story short, I've reached the lake and started asking around for maggots or worms. Everybody was looking strangely at me, seeing that I was fishing with artificial lures. At that time I didn't even know that you don't need to add anything to the hook when spoon or soft lure fishing, but what can I say? Dumb little boy. I cast the first time and once my lure got in the water I let the lure sink to the bottom and started waiting. This is what I have to do (I told myself). 10 minutes later a guy with almost the same setup as me (spinning rod + soft lure)  just stood beside me and started retrieving the lure back to him, and then cast and so on. It was his second cast and he already caught a fish. So I got up on my feet, confident, and I started retrieving my lure. Nothing happened but I kept going, and after 20 minutes of perfectionating my cast performance, I had a bite. A powerful one. I didn't know what fish it was but it was for sure a fish. My adrenaline pumped up, and I started looking like a professional angler. I got the fish out of the water. It was the biggest fish I would ever thought to catch. I rapidly took my phone out, took a bunch of photos, and called my dad who was at the beach. I even now remember that I said to him,, Dad, Dad, I got a huge one, come fast to see it'', Not even I could believe that catching so fast a fish with 0 experience could be possible. My dad came and he really was surprised (by the way the fish wasn't big at all, measuring around 30 cm). He looked at the fish and then he asked me,, Do you know what's this?'' Because I didn't know what the fish was I started with ummm and ahh but I had to guess at least so I said the first thing that came into my mind. A PIKE.

THE PIKE

    That's why you're here, to learn about pikes and how to fish them, not to hear my boring stories. So let's start!

    Habitat

     Pikes tend to stay around vegetation, and structures like submerged trees, and weed beds in clear, slow-moving, or still waters like lakes, rivers, and ponds. They are very adaptable to their surrounding, being able to survive in bigger and smaller areas, and they are also tolerant to more water temperatures and oxygen levels.

    Aggressiveness

    The Pike is known for its aggressiveness and for its thief behavior. They like to stay motionless, hidden among vegetation and logs waiting for prey. They're very patient until accelerate rapidly attacking with a sudden burst of speed.

    Pikes are solitary fish, the bigger they grow the more territorial they come to be. When they are smaller they accept surrounding themself with other fish but as they grow larger they become more aggressive and territorial.

    Hunting

    Pikes have excellent vision and tend to strike prey that moves in the water. They're smart, analyzing the prey before capture, so most of the time they won't be fooled. You'll be surprised by their capacity to speed up from a stationary position, due to their streamlined body and strong tail fin.

    Diet

    Most of their diet is composed of fish like trout, touch, perch, bluegill, minnows, and small bass. In general, they consume abundant species in their habitat. Pikes are known too for their cannibalistic behavior, especially larger individuals, who feed on smaller ones.

    Amphibians like frogs and toads are a great source of food in springs, fish being less available. They love too rats and mice when adventuring in the water.

    Birds aren't missing from their menu. Feeding on smaller waterfowl and other birds.

    Invertebrates are a rare source of food for pikes, but in need of feeding, they can be an option.

    Pike feeding can vary from one season to another, so that's how they feed during the seasons.

    Spring: After spawning they consume a lot of food, feeding on smaller fish and amphibians.

    Summer: In warmer months they consume larger prey, and their metabolism is higher.

    Winter: They remain active under the ice feeding less frequently, smaller fish remaining the primary part of their diet.

    OK! That's all about pike, now let's see what you need in terms of equipment.

     You really need a stainless steel header so the pike doesn't bite through the line. They came in different colors and sizes.

    Lures

    The most awaited chapter in this pike fishing post.

    Old is gold, so we'll start with the unmistakable spoons. They are extremely good for pike due to their big appearance in the water and for their smooth motion. You can find them in a bunch of colors, patterns, shapes, sizes, and weights.

    

Spoon imitating a trout

Irish Spoon imitating a bleeding fish

    

    Wobblers

    I don't think that they need an introduction. They're just exceptionally for pike fishing because of their topwater explosions. They came in a million types, colors, sizes, weights, and shapes. They tend to be a lot more expensive than for example the soft lure which is our next guest.

Water Plopper

    

Jerkbait

    And the last on our list is the soft lure. Classic and good they're very cheap and productive. Coming in a bunch of sizes you'll need the right hooks and the right technique adding the lure to the jig. I've talked about this in the tackle box post.

A bunch of soft lures

    Alright! You've made it till the end. I hope you enjoyed it and if you want to know more about fishing in general our blog is there for you.