Northern Pikes Vs Bass 2025
sean55337 reply :
I have this favorite spot on a 1000 acre lake that gets up to 60 feet deep at mulitple locations. This spot always have consistenly produce 2-4 lbs for me, flat area 5-10 feet the gradual drop offs up to 30-60 feet. Lately, I have been catching more northerns at this spot from 16" to 36" in size than bass. Now all I catch is northern. I typically use black/blue 1/2 oz football jig. My question is since there seem to be an increase in northern population at this spot, do they chase the bass away? Because I have not catch a single bass in 3 outings at this spot.
fishballer06 reply :
Yes, pike can take over a spot. More than likely, those bass are still somewhere close by. They could be suspended out in that deep water, following bait.
Choporoz reply :
I LOVE fishing for bass....but 36" northerns....those might make me forget about bass for a while.....
A-Jay reply :
If you're getting 36 inch pike on a spot - chances are decent that the school of bass that fed there previously may have stopped using it.
Competition for food is hard enough in any environment and there's no need to battle big pike for food.
That body of water has plenty of room to roam and the bass are well equipped to do so.
I'd be looking else where.
A-Jay
sean55337 reply :
Any thing over 20" is fun but if you keep loosing $3 jigs every other bite then it is no fun.
senile1 reply :
Yep, if you're a 15 - 20 inch bass and a bunch of 36 inch fish with razor sharp teeth start hanging around, you're going to find a different hangout.
Choporoz reply :
Agreed, Sean. Amazing how much anguish hammer handles cause compared to how much joy the monsters bring.
bassr95 reply :
Pike don't really get fun until the low 30" range...but i'd take a 36" over a 4 lb bass any day
Dwight Hottle reply :
On 9/17/2015 at 11:17 PM, bassr95 said:Pike don't really get fun until the low 40" range...but i'd take a 46" over a 9 lb bass any day
I fixed it for you.
the reel ess reply :
Curious...do you guys up there eat northern pike? The closest thing we have are chain and redfin pickerel and they rarely reach eating size. I've never caught one.
bassr95 reply :
On 9/17/2015 at 11:23 PM, Dwight Hottle said:I fixed it for you.
Haha agreed, but I was just being realistic for the lakes I fish in southern WI
Hurricane reply :
Love catching pike. ..I wouldn't complain in that situation. .
Raul reply :
On 9/17/2015 at 10:15 PM, sean55337 said:Any thing over 20" is fun but if you keep loosing $3 jigs every other bite then it is no fun.
You either play or not, to play you have to be willing to sacrifice, I´ve lost more than $3 jigs in the first cast; actually a jig in my hands seldomly lasts more than a couple of hours and in a fishing day I may loose 5 or 6 jigs.
einscodek reply :
If I lost a $3 lure every other bite I'd have to do somethin about that
Fishing equipment and all else included is expensive enuf
sean55337 reply :
I, personally like the taste of pike. I think they taste better than walleye. Just more bones in them.
MidwestF1sh reply :
X2On 9/18/2015 at 5:30 AM, sean55337 said:I, personally like the taste of pike. I think they taste better than walleye. Just more bones in them.
They're harder to clean but I think they taste better and a 25" pike is easy to catch and has a ton of meat on it.
lmbfisherman reply :
Yes 25" pike are tasty. But it is bitz to clean and filet.
MIbassyaker reply :
yeah, pike are quite edible, but annoying to clean. I never keep them though.
Choporoz reply :
Since dad taught me the 5 fillet method years ago, I've had no problems w them.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.burnettcounty.com/DocumentView.asp%3FDID%3D59&ved=0CE8QFjAMahUKEwj6xq-XsP_HAhXF1B4KHShxCqs&usg=AFQjCNHAb2B2EcNeI9GMRJ1M2jGZy5lTEQ&sig2=nRDRMAZbLZYrWnC0OlXflg
bigbill reply :
Three of my spots have produced 29" to 32" chain pickerel. You can't get two hands around them because there so fat.
I'm mainly after bass but the fight of these pickerel are fun too.
I caught one smaller feisty pickerel that tried to bite me three times while I tried to remove my CRANKBAIT he inhaled.
He was mad and slamming his mouth shut hard.
Pike, pickerel are too boney. I met a guy who removes all the meat and makes fish cakes
mnbassman23 reply :
If I'm catching big pike I'll look elsewhere. I have caught plenty of bass mixed in with small pike though. Just a month ago my father-in-law and I caught 90 bass in an afternoon and nothing short of 40 pike in the same areas on the same baits. Bass ranged from 1lb to 4lbs. None of the pike were over 3lbs. Sometimes you have to sort through them and other times you need to make a change in location.
bigbill reply :
I'm moving to Minnesota land of 1,000 lakes.
BassThumb reply :
On 9/21/2015 at 12:19 PM, bigbill said:I'm moving to Minnesota land of 1,000 lakes.
10,000 Lakes with 10,000,000 dinky pike that can't wait to bite your lure off.
Brnnoser6983 reply :
Never have a problem with that up here. I run 30lb braid no leader and have pulled in 32" Northerns with no problem.On 9/21/2015 at 3:39 PM, BassThumb said:10,000 Lakes with 10,000,000 dinky pike that can't wait to bite your lure off.
Only time I lose one is when I birds nest.
sean55337 reply :
Is it me or the way pikes hit jigs? I caught plenty of them on z-man chatter baits and single blade spinners and rarely loose a lure. However, I tend to loose my jigs when they bite.
bigbill reply :
Braided line with a 18" steel leader.
BassThumb reply :
On 9/21/2015 at 10:17 PM, Brnnoser6983 said:Never have a problem with that up here. I run 30lb braid no leader and have pulled in 32" Northerns with no problem.
Only time I lose one is when I birds nest.
Yep that works well. I toss my swim jigs on 30# braid and lose very few of them. 20# Tatsu fluorocarbon also resists northern teeth very well, so that's what I toss my jigs and worms on. These lines get nicked and need to be re-tied sometimes, but rarely do they get bit off. I used to toss swim jigs on 12-15# copolymer and it would get bit off routinely.
BassThumb reply :
On 9/22/2015 at 11:07 AM, bigbill said:Braided line with a 18" steel leader.
The waters are clear up here, for the most part. That bass would spot that giant leader from a mile away and it'll cost you bites.
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