Desperately seeking PIKE - H E L P !

[halleb]

Hi Guys.

I would like to catch a pike, actually i am pretty desperate to catch - my very first pike ever. Would someone be kind enough to recommend some place, lake , river (up to 2 hr drive from Toronto) where I can go and have great chance to finally catch pike. I am shore fishermen, have no boat, so the place, spot must be for fishing from the shore.

I never seriously targeted pike - until I tried several times this year, but every time I got bitterly disappointed and skunked. I tried several times just after ice melted - at Ashbridges Bay and nothing. I tried few times at Toronto Island, tight after the opener and again big ZERO, NADA, ZILCH.

I know that for some people pike is no longer a big challenge, but to me, any size pike will be good, will the smallest of the smallest will do .

Your help is much appreciated, Thank YOU in advance!

 

[Bigfisherman]

I would try Island lake, lots of small to decent size pike there and you can rent a boat $50/half day. Live bait from shore casted out as far as you can from roughly 150ft or so west of the dock/launch. Gets a little weedy July/August.

 

[halleb]

I would try Island lake, lots of small to decent size pike there and you can rent a boat $50/half day. Live bait from shore casted out as far as you can from roughly 150ft or so west of the dock/launch. Gets a little weedy July/August.

Thanks for your input Bigfisherman. I went to Island Lake several years ago and had very bad experience, rented a boat but wind was too strong for small electrical motor that they provide and could not even move out to open water. So my $50 went down the drain...
I would rather not depend on rented boats, rather would try to fish from shore

Thanks nevertheless !

 

[frozenfire]

Your chances of catching are a lot higher if you rent a boat!
Just watch the forecast and make sure the conditions are ideal before dropping the money :mrgreen:

 

[frozenfire]

All the pike I've ever caught are from
- lake simcoe
- lake ontario
- west lake
- cordova lake

you can catch them from a lot of places though...stay away from the kawarthas...except for canal... balsam's got a few too but not in the number department.

Large bodies of water like Simcoe and Georgian Bay have lots of pike as well.

you can always head out with david kearney and tangledline to the famous TO islands.... i'm sure they'll get you into some island pike. when timing is right, you can get quite a few and size is very respectable as well!

 

[toronto_angler]

This time of year it's pretty tough to catch a pike from shore. Haven't heard many reports lately from harbourfront but sometimes in the evenings in July you used to be able to catch along there.

 

[frozenfire]

oh yes... and make sure you have the right gear.
USE A LEADER... i prefer flourocarbon myself, but wire will do. don't want to hook into your first pike and lose it due to the teeth slicing your line.
jaw spreaders and pliers are a must... to save your hands and lures that is :mrgreen:

pike will go after anything. bring an assortment of tackle to increase your chances

 

[halleb]

oh yes... and make sure you have the right gear.
USE A LEADER... i prefer flourocarbon myself, but wire will do. don't want to hook into your first pike and lose it due to the teeth slicing your line.
jaw spreaders and pliers are a must... to save your hands and lures that is

pike will go after anything. bring an assortment of tackle to increase your chances :mrgreen:

Thanks for tips. Yeah, I got proper leaders, I got both fluorocarbon leader good for both pike & musky (musky will be my "project" for next year) and wire one too; also got jaw spreader. I got decent (maybe modest depending on personal view) , not huge but decent assortment of lures for pike, I would say , somewhere in neighborhood of around 10 lures.

So I have equipment but have no pike, ..... yet .

 

[reefrunner]

Bring a towel and some eco-friendly handsoap, lol.

Spinnerbait and spoons is all you need. Specifically, trailer hooks on the spinnerbait and for spoons my favs are Mepps Syclops, Williams Wobblers and daredevils.

Get slimed!

 

[halleb]

Your chances of catching are a lot higher if you rent a boat!

I know, I was looking into that, but I have no place where to store boat. I was very tempted by idea of having portable or foldable boat . I saw an aluminum foldable boat at BPS for around $1700 if I remember correctly.

 

[efka]

go to mountsberg, that place is loaded with pike and bass. its not too far either

 

[durham-fisher]

OSHAWA MARINA is a hot spot for for pike and so is frenchmans bay

heres proof my bro lol at frenchmans

 

[halleb]

go to mountsberg, that place is loaded with pike and bass. its not too far either

Where is mountsberg ? Can I fish there from shore there or I need a boat? Any particular spot you can recommend at this place?

 

[halleb]

OSHAWA MARINA is a hot spot for for pike and so is frenchmans bay

heres proof my bro lol at frenchmans

Thank you kindly !

 

[efka]

fish the south side or by the tracks
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=oper ... 15&iwloc=A

 

[halleb]

fish the south side or by the tracks
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=oper ... 15&iwloc=A

Thanks again efka :mrgreen:

 

[halleb]

fish the south side or by the tracks
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=oper ... 15&iwloc=A

I checked out Canal Lake and had no luck, again ! I guess I will now have to check mountsberg . Will let you know how this goes. Any other tips on mountsberg , efka ?

 

[efka]

alot of people fish from cn rails and have good results even though its not allowed, but the guards in the conservation don't care about that. it would help if you had an inflatable since motorized boats are not allowed.
use top water for bass cause spinner baits will attract lots of pike.

 

[Bigfisherman]

I can vouch for Mountsberg, good place for pike/bass, wish I could take the boat there but the launch is the worst one(prolly get stuck even with my 4X4) I've ever seen plus lots of stumps!

 

[PainInTheBass]

I too can vouch for Mountsberg. My brother and I have had 30 pike mornings there. It has been a great place for my brother and I. We used to fish from an inflatable with a trolling motor there.