Pike

[swifty22]

Hi all- Up NE Wa. St. in the Pend Oreille River there are a lot of Northern Pike now and the fish&game want them caught before they get in the Columbia River (no limit/size ect.) and eat all of the salmon smolts. I have never fished for them and wonder how to do it. I have read up on it a bit and it seams fairly simple. The water is really cold right now with it snowing there this aft. The river goes way up during runoff so I/m guessing I need to wait a bit after that. I'll probably be fishing from the bank tossing plugs/spoons/spinners so a little help would be more than appreciated with one thing in particular. Do I really need to use a short wire leader or can I use heavy mono ( I have most all sizes up to 300#)? Thanks-Muddy   

[Uncle Howie]

I'm in MN, and grew up fishing pike. Here are a few thoughts:
-Northerns are primarily sight feeders- they like flash. Rattles/vibration often sweeten the deal.
-Northerns bite best at dusk/dawn, but will bite all day. Northerns aren't known to be great night feeders (probably related to sight feeding?).
-Northerns tend to be aggressive, so large lures are often OK- especially if they have a slim profile. They're not known to be terribly line shy, and will often follow right up to the boat/shore. If you're having lots of "follows" without strikes, learn to "figure 8" at the end of your cast.
-Steel leaders are recommended, since northerns can "cut off" mono pretty easy. Little "snakes" or "hammer handles" are sometimes worse for this than the big ones.
-9" steel leader is usually long enough for casting, you might want 12-18" for trolling.
-I prefer the black finish leaders. Ball bearing swivels are great for spoons or spinners that tend to twist.
-Some anglers now use heavy fluorocarbon for leaders to prevent "bite offs," but I've never experimented with this.
-For lures, think "minnow" imitating lures- flash, long/slim profile
-"Classic" pike lures in MN would include the Eppinger Dardevle (red/white or yellow/red diamonds are staples); Rapala Floating, Countdown, or Shad Rap; and Mepps spinners with a bucktail dressing
-Don't overlook topwater lures in warm weather. Arbogast Jitterbug is my all-time favorite (frog pattern in daylight, black later into evening).
-KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THEIR MOUTH!!!
-Northerns are slimy and they stink pretty good, but don't let that fool you- they're great table fare! There are plenty of articles or online videos that show how to fillet out the "Y-bones." Fried, steamed, grilled, boiled, baked- northerns are great any way you want to prepare them.
-The little ones also pickle well (think pickled herring). The Y-bones soften when pickled, so you can leave them in. FREEZE before pickling, there are some parasitic worms that apparently can survive the vinegar used in pickling. Tons of online recipes.
-I normally release northerns, to help keep the smaller panfish in check. If your Fish & Game want them removed, have at it. Great eating, and a clear consciense! 
Good luck, and have a blast!
 

[spruce]

The above just about covers it all.
 
In my opinion steel leaders are a must.  I prefer black (or green) too.  The "factory" leaders with swivels on them are the best for using with spoons, but for any lure (like Rapalas) where line twist isn't a porblem I tie my own.  Steel leader material is available from fishing supply catalogs.  I tie a loop in one end to fasten my line to and on the lure end I tie in a small wire snap (no swivel) to clip to the lure.  This setup is lighter than the factory leaders with swivels and won't affect the action of your lure so much.  I usually make them about 7-9".
 
Pike love weeds.  They'll hover just inside a weed line facing out and attack anything that swims by!  They'll do the same around openings inside the weedline too.
 
Lot of people fish them with a BIG minnow under a big round bobber, up to about baseball size.  Just throw it out and let it sit.
 
Get yourself a pair of spring wire jaw spreaders to hold their mouth open while you take the hooks out!  They'll save you a lot of frustration - and maybe a finger or two!
 
Great table fare once you fillet out the Y bones.  Hard to beat rolled in Drake's mix and fried.  Good smoked.  Some people boil them and dip in melted butter - known as "poor man's lobster".

[Cheesehead]

Howie and Spruce have it covered. The only hardware I would add is a small club. One strike on the top of the head make unhooking much safer. I avoid Rapala type lures since three sets of trebles can cause more problems than they are worth, like a hook in the hand and difficulty releasing a smaller fish intact. I like spoons with one treble or a single hook or  "safety pin" spinner baits, since these lures are semi weedless, a big plus.

Cheese

[spruce]

I either bend down or file off the barbs on my treble hooks.  Makes it much easier to get them out of the fish, or your hand (!), and as long as you keep a tight line you'll not lose many fish.
 
Also usually replace the rear treble with a single hook on Rapala type lures.
 
Cheeseheads tip about the club is a good one.  Pike go ballistic when you get them in the boat!
Don't ever leave your tacklebox open when you're pike fishing!