Pike Strikes?

[mikeh]

So I have been fishing the Toronto harbourfront and I have come across a corner that has several large pike. I get good follows( like every other cast) but very few strikes.

Anyone have decent pike experience and a tip for getting them to attack....?

 

[mikeh]

I was walking the edges fishing weed stacks for bass when a pike hit the tube when it was on the surface right in front of me (just as I was about to lift it out and recast,), it scared the bejeezus out of me, LOL, it was totally unexpected! After landing the first one, I got some great close follows and a couple of nudges, but no more agrressive strikes like the first one. They would literally cruise along behind it, or go right up to it and nudge it then turn around and cruise back into the weeds.

Very frustrating.... it's usually finding the fish that's the hard part.....

 

[mikeh]

This was in Toronto harbour, I didn't see any fish rolling or jumping, not even the usual Carp.

 

[Bolcheck]

Hey Mikeh

Yeah those close strikes at the boat or close to shore can scare the S**T out of you !!!! I think the best advice I can give you is change the speed of your retrieve to as fast as you can reel to hardly even moving the lure, of course that's also going to depend on the lure your using.
You said you were using tubes for bass, just give it a more aggressive twitch to aggravate them tooth critters.

Glidin raps
Husky Jerks
Plastic swim baits
of course top water jitterbug/ spinning frog

Good luck

 

[NADO]

try a spinnerbait

 

[Joel52]

Usually if pike are feeding this is a non issue... however, if they're not aggressive. Try changing speeds and direction on the retrieve or even give it a bit of a jerk. Sometimes fish need to be induced. If a pike were following food (stalking) it would try to evade - this is a life or death situation for the prey and it recognizes that. If you can simulate that, you'll get it to attack.

 

[RedSkullz]

1 foot snap, 1 foot snap, 1 foot snap then 3 second pause with a j-13 or hj 14 rapala. If pike are very, very shy, then a fly rod with large streamers will get 'em.

 

[RedSkullz]

Some pike i have seen in different waters are into flash bigtime...a change to a 3.5" spoon, a 1/2oz spinnerbait or a #5 mepps will often follows into strikes. I agree with both joel and esoxtrout on what they said. Change direction and use varied retrieves until you figure out a pattern to get consistant strikes. SOmetimes a speedy retrieve followed by a 2 second pause every 5 feet will crush pike...all depends on the day!

 

[kman]

U find that pike like shiny lures more then any thing else I have ever used I personally love to use a Williams wabbler when I fish for pike I catch them almost every cast with it