Thousand Island Mission

[kpkot]

Well first day in not one fish.  Not even a bass when brother tried for bass. Trying g man's technique now

[Lawdwaz]

4 minutes ago, kpkot said:

Well first day in not one fish.  Not even a bass when brother tried for bass. Trying g man's technique now

Patience little grasshopper...........

[9jNYstarkOH]

I am not much of a fisherman but everyone I know that does better fishing pike with live bait and bobber setup lets them take the bait longer. I get too excited and seem to pull it out of their mouth. 

Edited June 21, 2022 by 9jNYstarkOH

[The_Real_TCIII]

I am not much of a fisherman but everyone I know that does better fishing pike with live bait and bobber setup lets them take the bait longer. I get too excited and seem to pull it out of their mouth. 

They grab it gingerly and swim a ways, then stop and turn it and eat it


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[kpkot]

Had to catch something to build my confidence.  

[BizCT]

17 minutes ago, kpkot said:

Had to catch something to build my confidence.  

Hook him in the back for pike bait?

[Pygmy]

3 hours ago, BizCT said:

Hook him in the back for pike bait?

My sentiments exactly.....Suspend that perch about three feet under a bobber and fish him near a weedline...

At a camp I used to fish in Quebec, we would fish a small piece of worm in shallow weeds to catch a few small perch, and then we would hang them under a  big bobber  for the pike...

[Moho81]

19 hours ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

They grab it gingerly and swim a ways, then stop and turn it and eat it


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Hardest part about fishing pike with live bait. Never ever set the hook on the gentle strike always wait for that second one. 

[Otto]

A bobber with live bait on a circle hook is a great setup.  Don’t set the hook, just reel in the slack and lift your rod.

[wolc123]

I always liked a big jig, tipped with a small minnow for pike.  I could usually catch more pike that way, using cheap “by the scoop” perch minnows, than I could with big expensive golden shiners.  For the jig, I like a 3/8 oz black back, white belly bucktail with painted eyes.

My hooking percentage was never stellar with a big shiner below a bobber.  By contrast, very few pike are lost after they strike a jig.  They are way easier to hook that up at than bass are.  You can’t miss the strike.  They will rip the rod right out of your hand if you are not holding on tight.   
 

One sip of beer costs me the ability to feel the strike of a bass on a jig, while  pike jigging while impaired is quite doable.  
 

If you don’t want to mess with the minnows, those little rubber shad tail baits work almost as good for tipping the buck tails.  

Edited June 21, 2022 by wolc123

[Untwisted Pretzel logic]

It's a numbers game - the more you throw your lure in the right places, the higher your odds of hooking up.

If you're fishing just outside the weed line in coves/bays, and throwing a flashy spinner type of lure: for example a #3 or #4 Mepps red& white anglia or a blue fox vibrax with a silver blade and bright red barrel, you will find success eventually.

Live bait does work, however, it's a more passive approach.  Find the pike by chucking your lures and covering water where they are most likely to be.  Most often that will be in less than 10 feet of water.

Keep at it and you will prevail.  Good luck.

[Pygmy]

3 hours ago, wolc123 said:

I always liked a big jig, tipped with a small minnow for pike.  I could usually catch more pike that way, using cheap “by the scoop” perch minnows, than I could with big expensive golden shiners.  For the jig, I like a 3/8 oz black back, white belly bucktail with painted eyes.

My hooking percentage was never stellar with a big shiner below a bobber.  By contrast, very few pike are lost after they strike a jig.  They are way easier to hook that up at than bass are.  You can’t miss the strike.  They will rip the rod right out of your hand if you are not holding on tight.   
 

One sip of beer costs me the ability to feel the strike of a bass on a jig, while  pike jigging while impaired is quite doable.  
 

If you don’t want to mess with the minnows, those little rubber shad tail baits work almost as good for tipping the buck tails.  

On Seneca Lake  years ago there were  distinct weed lines in about 15 feet of water... There were also lots of sculpins...

My buddies and I caught lots of pike fishing the deep edge of the weedlines with black or dark brown  3/8  oz hair jigs tipped with a black ripple rind, which I think suggested a sculpin...We caught far more pike that way than we ever caught on bait..

[Daveboone]

This time of year, get out early. The boat traffic spooks them deeper. I love fishing the St. L., but have never caught a northern on a Dardevil. I usually put a Mepps#5 spinner (gold or silver ) on and cast it all day, and if they are biting...they will bite. Work the deeper edges of weeds near deep water. As has been mentioned, hook a big minnow or small perch through the back and suspend just above the bottome in a weed pocket  with a bobber on top. When the bobber travels, let it go. When the pike stops, he his turning the bait to swallow. When he moves the 2nd time, set the hook. The lake of the isles can be good in the deeper sections. If you arent catching weeds, you wont catch a pike.

[wolc123]

7 hours ago, Pygmy said:

On Seneca Lake  years ago there were  distinct weed lines in about 15 feet of water... There were also lots of sculpins...

My buddies and I caught lots of pike fishing the deep edge of the weedlines with black or dark brown  3/8  oz hair jigs tipped with a black ripple rind, which I think suggested a sculpin...We caught far more pike that way than we ever caught on bait..

We use to have a pike tournament every year on Silver lake in wny.  I won a few of those using mostly a big jig & minnow while most of the other folks were running big shiners and bobbers.  
 

Up in the St Lawrence, nothing works better on pike than a big willow leaf chartreuse spinnerbait, slow rolled over the deep weedbeds and a big rubber bass jig with a rubber shad tail trailer, cast along the deep weed edges. You’ll outcatch live chubs on bobbers at least 2:1 with that combo.

Edited June 22, 2022 by wolc123

[kpkot]

Caught a few bass from shore messing around at campground. Going to try evening to get back on water. 

[Lucky118]

Use to kill the pike on silver spoons retrieved  slowly.

[kpkot]

Well the trip was fun although I didn't catch any northern. Definitely learned quite a bit and it was relaxing. Thanks for all the tips... to be continued

[wolc123]

We used to go up there at this time of year and always did best on smallmouth.  That’s definitely my favorite fish, so I didn’t mind, but it is nice to get into some largemouth and northern every so often, for a change of pace.  Largemouth are a little easier to clean, and pike have a much more aggressive strike.

 

The last few years, we have been going up the end of July and done a lot better on largemouth.  It does seem like the northern pike action has been best very early in the morning, or on overcast and rainy days.  

Edited June 25, 2022 by wolc123