strikes at the boat

I fish on a small 10 acre lake with a fairly large pike population. This fall it seems Ihave had a very large proportion of my action right at the boat. Yesterday I had 5 hits , 1 about1/4 of the way in on my retrieve which I caught, another with about 2 feet of line out at the boat, and 3 more that hit at the boat or followed and flared. I use spoons, spinners and rapalas and it doesn't seem to matter about the lure. I wondered if anyone else is having so many just follows or is it me or the nature of the lake's popution?

I have another aspect that is frequently overlooked when solving last second pike hits. In addition to changing lure speeds (already mentioned), I have noticed at times that the pike were higher in the water column than the depth I was running my lure. The cause of the at the boat strikes was due to the lure was comming up through the water column into their feeding range. The pike are seeing it near the boat and trying to make a quick decision. In addition to changin your retival speed change hold the rod higher to keep the lure higher or change to a higher running lure. If this is the case it will increase the number of strikes you will be getting away from the boat.

The reason they are hitting at the boat is because of the change of speed at boat side.You will do better if you change the speed farther from the boat, you will spook far fewer fish at boat side,and in the end catch more.

A post script to my own post. I just got in from fishing and I caught 2 pike. 1 was on about 2 feet of line at the boat and the other literally Jumped out of the water and grabbed the spoon in the air. I am managing to catch most of the fish,so I was curious if others were seeing most of their action at the very end of the cast.

Try a little more stop and go on your retrieve.Other then small pike have not had good luck with figure eights or ovals at the boat with pike.I just got back from Fort Peck in Montana maybe one of the best pike fisheries in the US,and had Lot's of problems with big pike just following to the boat.Slowed my retrieve and added short jerks,that and a larger lure solved most of the problem with pike following and spooking at the boat.

WSG, for what it's worth when that's happening to me while fishing in a kayak I slow my retrieve (this time of year, speed it up in summer-early fall) or do a modified figure - 8 or big oval next to my kayak at the end of each cast just like I would for muskies. It doesn't completely solve the problem but my hook-up percentage goes way up.