Pike Fishing
Better Piking?
5/21/13 @ 3:41 PM
Okay so we all know how everyone loves bass fishing and it has the biggest following as far as fishing in North America. They spend all this money and time/effort for bass fishing. What can be done to increase the amount of time and money the DNR and others spend on bettering our pike fishing? Is there something that determines this such as amount of interest in a certain species, etc.?
I love pike fishing more then any other kind. Nothing like they're aggressiveness and sheer explosiveness! But I've seen Pike put in corner and Bass and Musky take the front seat. The past summer certainly didn't help the Pike either. Major die offs on a lot of lakes under 30' around me, which includes quite a few of them. I just want the same respect for my favorite species as people who give Bass and other species but it seems Pike might need help.
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Hey, n.pike, I used to have a thread on this site that is long gone, detailing my season long experiment with hot dogs. I kept a log of how many fish and what size were caught on large flatheads, large shiners, dead smelt and hot dogs. Hot dogs finished third behind shiners and smelt, but some big fish were caught. I also lost a few before switching to a tandem rig, so they might have been right up there in 2nd place with smelt if I had gone tandem all winter. The cheapest dogs you can find are best. Greasy, oily things that 'ud kill ya if U ate em. I trimmed the "head" and "tail" into a wedge to release more scent. Fished them 1-2 ft off the bottom the same way I do with smelt. Caught 3 pike 29 inches and over on them, with 34 the biggest. Not too shabby since I never had more than one tippy out with a dog on it. People can laugh all they want, but they do catch pike!
I cant imagine a reason why a lake couldn't take a slot or how it could get messed up by one with regards pike. A slot allows for the more abundant smaller pike to be harvested and protects the breeding populations from being overharvested, which are naturally less dense in numbers.
What lake has been messed up by having a slot on pike and why is the slot the culprit? Knowing all I have studied about the species, I would be very interested to know.
Too few little snakes? Too many big pike...lol. This harvest of smaller fish is a positive for the bigger fish, which would be protected from ever being overharvested by limiting anglers to only 1 fish over the slot (as would be the norm for pike slots). And less small pike can equate to fatter, healthier big pike (and other species) as there is simply more forage to go around.
Wardens, while often privy to good situational info, are schooled in law enforcement, not biology or fisheries. People often put too much stock in warden information that's not related to enforcement. A better bet would be to contact a local biologist. 
crappie, I agree, small pike are my favorite eating fish, too.
crappie, I agree, small pike are my favorite eating fish, too.
Bar none pike aewsome eating fish any way you do it. Not ever lake can take a slot you will see one messed up fishery a few yes, I can see where they could use it but on other Im finding the best pike fishing in Wisconsin i,ve ever seen and the pike show everyone there amazed im still getting many fish days with pike over 40 research even when you find a warden sit down and talk to them you be suprised what the DNR dont tell aot of people thouth internet and stocking and thats what I do. I've found a few spots where the DNR come by me and say you have found are prime lake and then tell you more about the lake and the onces around it I been told of a lake I fish that the DNR call a canadian experience in Wisconsin as I get older I been getting more into looking and not just fishing where everyone else is and now I spend many hours a year on line talking to other calling other guides and talking to the DNR and a year of research is really sure some thing when you find that one lake and get get kids fish over 40 inch and fish like that all day long mant days on the water and ice. Goodluck to all if your looking for help PM me im glad to help anyone fish a better day out on the water. Just letting all u pikers out there there are lakes around the state that are and have slots on them I go to lakes that you can have one fish over 32 and thats all. so I'm not all about pileing them all up every time I head out really lots of my fish go back just becuase I have one photo of a days worth of pike for 4 guys dont mean I'm out to kill ever fish and dont you think that few fish is fine for 4 guys and there familys I sure do that day we got over 100 fish and we kept like a dozen. Good fishing to all.
The stubborn "I'll never change my ways" attitude is a big issue with regards to many of the conservation issues we face. Nobody ever thinks what they do could ever be part of the problem, ever. They're only one person, and they ONLY keep_____. Even the worst poachers have their rationalizations and all too frequently fail to realize they are causing near the damage they do. Now, I'm not directly comparing anyone keeping legal fish to a poacher (far from it), just showing that no one generally thinks what they did could possibly effect a fishery, even when it's obvious to others.
How bout if 50 other people do the same on the same lake? Everyone has the right to, afterall. And actually, 50 may be a crazy low number on many if not most lakes. Wouldn't likely be good, and there's no way for anyone to know exactly how often that occurs on any particular body of water, but the number of times it could happen are almost endless.
And it happens on all lakes regularly, unless of course there's special regs preventing it. People see fish on the ice (especially big ones)and you can bet they will be back with friends in an attempt to duplicate, or maybe the wintering hole on a particular lake just isn't that difficult to locate. Or maybe there's a dozen other guys thinking they have that secret hole to themselves as well. I see that a lot. Not an attack here, so don't take this personally, i'm just showing how lakes can EASILY and quickly be effected, even when playing by the rules. Even wonder why limits NEVER get increased, only decreased? Protection is evermore important with time as more and more enter or greatly improve their knowledge within the sport. Not to mention all the extra tools we have at our disposal nowadays to ensure success our forefathers never dreamed of.
Nowadays most are thankfully willing to embrace a little change for the good of the fish and to insure quality fishing continues for future generations, and just as importantly, try to do their part to ensure damage NEVER occurs in the first place. This should be everyone's goal for every lake in existence.....to never have major damage occur in the first place....its totally possible with selective harvest and a bit of personal restraint, but only really if just about everyone is on board.
Just like so many things in life, it only takes a small few to undo what many work to accomplish.
Most of us recognize that we don't want to continually (or even once) have to re-build lake after lake when educated preventative measures can EASILY be made. We shouldn't only react AFTER damage has been done, we have enough biological evidence and history to know damage can, in fact, be done and react properly in the present BEFORE damage is ever done. Slots would better provide for this than the current system.
I personally think pike season should close with musky for the winter. Not realistic, I know, but pike get absolutely decimated through the ice in most places they exist. They're the easiest fish to catch through the ice, as they are the most active warmwater gamefish during winter months (big pike have cold water preferences). And when you are finding wintering holes used by bigger pike (or any species), you're not likely to see resulting damage until its way too late. Even if numbers are low lake wide, they will still congregate in these holes, giving the impression that the population may be significantly better than it actually is.
Piles of big pike laid out on the ice are sadly, way too commonplace.
Crappie- those are very impressive fish and you've got an awesome lake to fish. Finding those types of lakes is a lot of the puzzle. It often takes research and trial and error to find the right lake and it looks like you've struck gold. Good catches!
I'm guessing there can't be too much fishing pressure. On under fished lakes, like perhaps the one that you have the nice pike from, taking out some pike won't hurt it too bad. And it looks like you've taken all sizes, which is better for the overall balance instead of just the large ones.
But, for the lakes that get a lot of pressure, I really think a 23 to 30 inch slot would be a great thing for short and long term pike growth. For example, let's say there are 80 people on a Saturday fishing Little Saint Germain Lake up here. And, every other guy takes home 1 pike between 23-30 inches, which is entirely realistic. That's 40 pike in the 23-30 inch range that could be still swimming every Saturday. The odds of a fish surviving all those tip ups and minnows over a few winters is pretty low I would think. It's just a matter of time before a pike hits a minnow under a tip up. Thus, the slot can help some of those good "still growing" sized pike stay in the system.
Puckaway was a prime example in the early 2000s of a lake where special regs helped. I can't tell you the number of pike that I caught between 28-31.5 inches. And the regs? 32 inch fish size limit, one fish. And a ton of guys were out there fishing, lots of pressure, yet there were a lot of nice fish around 30 inches. It was not that hard to catch a really nice fish on an ice fishing trip and I think more and more guys are interested in bigger fish vs. harvest. It's a balance. Harvest is a right and it's healthy to a point, but I'd personally love to see some "big fish" management on some lakes. Start with just a few per county-see what happens. The nice thing about the slot is that it still allows for harvest too.
They do how dose that happen when the spwaning fish so called like you said the large fish are gone I takes quiet a few year before a pike can have a good spawn. Not going to keep going back and forth on this when the DNR changes the rules then you all can talk but until then Im going to enjoy my awesome pike fishing find a better lake that has big fish im not changing my ways for another guy to catch one big when he goes out I get so many big ones over 30 lost go back that was as much as we kept that day with 4 guys got over 100 fish that day average being 25 to 35. Same for muskie its turning into a trophy thing Its just sick when a guy wants to even keep one for on the wall and you get all this crap for doing that or even keeping one to eat just so you all no muskie is a way better eating fish than a walleye or some panfish give it a try. End of my story in this world nothing will be like very one want it to be that inculeds fishing. Not every lakes going to be the same with a few rules changed.
That big pike wasen't a female fish it was a big male with 4 big suckers in its belly. I do this for over 10 years and each year the fishing keep getting better and fish seemed to be getting bigger so there no problem keeping this many. When your with a few guys and nothing goes to waste. Every time I go there I don't keep fish I do this maybe tops of 2 times a year when I make the long trip! Pike get over populated faster than they all grow and ever lakes makes fish differnt and grow in differnt. I think every need to not worry about game fish and look on the panfish more than game fish.
You ate those big pike? Wow dude. This is why we need better regs on pike. So people like you don't keep 35" pike to eat! Throw em back and let them breed. Look how many eggs are in her. And she was yanked just months before spawning and spreading those amazing genes. Keep fishing that same lake bud. Sure dont want you where I fish! Some just don't get it.
Also I'm sure a few of the guys on here don't just go out and set there spread. They're using high quality equipment and the right bait. I know when I go out I'm not going for snakes. And I don't need to fish deep. I catch mine in 3-5 feet. On big giant weed flats and bays. The bigger the better. Have a 34", 35", and a 37" so far this year. All released as should be. I don't eat them and wouldn't keep them if I did.
It's like all these videos I see and guys are catching pike instead of walleye or the targeted species and they immediately gaff the pike and just kill it because it's eating all there precious panfish. Not the case. They would much rather eat minnows, suckers, shiners, or even carp. Lakes where there is only panfish for food are generally small and usually don't produce very large fish thus are a different case.
This slot stuff is just never going to happen maybe you are just on the wrong water. I been fishing for the past 5 years on one body of water with the average being 25. Hearing all you catching the small fish is becuase most people just set them out becuase they can have more lines for more action. But have you ever just went out for a day and looked for them big pike then you may find the big ones your looking for every time I head north all I do is get big pike yes some smaller ones but you need them to make the big ones and they all taste the same. You want big fish look for them I get my biggest fish in deep water when most fish that shallow weeds I get big pike out in 12 to 20 foot mud flats.
Yeah Walleyestalker-Sure would be fun to line that channel or whatever it is in your picture with some tip ups and wait for the flags. Then catch and release a nice pike. Great fish! I hope you hit it during the ice season.
Each county should have at least a few lakes that have special pike regs. Let's experiment a little and see what happens. I don't care for the 5 fish no size limit up north here. But, I do get that walleye, crappie, and muskie are king in these parts and pike are so far behind those fish as far as popularity. I will say this, whether or not one likes the 26 inch limit in the south, there clearly were bigger pike in the south on average. Sure, some big ones exist up here, but the average size is considerably down from what I saw in the southern part of the state. Are the lakes not as fertile? I don't know about that. I think it's the fact that almost everybody the ice fishes keeps almost every pike. Catch and release is very rare. This is their right, and I don't begrudge anyone, but tightening up some regs would help. Or, take a few lakes like Big St, Thunder, LVD, etc...and put a good pike reg on them and watch some really big fish come out with more consistency. I think a number of female pike are being taken out before even spawning, or only spawning once.
Had a thought the other day. It would be nice if they did something similar to MI:
The new rules go in place for the 2013 fish season. They will:
• Reduce the daily limit on pike waters with no size limits to only one over 24 inches as part of a five-fish limit.
• Reduce the muskellunge possession limit from one per day to one fish per season.
• Require anglers to obtain free muskellunge harvest tags.
Except in our case I'd like to see one trophy pike per season. Trophy being 34-35"+?? Use the tags just like with musky. Obviously keep the 2 per day limit in the southern half of the state.
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