Late Season Northern Pike Fishing
Feeling the sweet brisk fall breeze being out in the open waters is what every man dreams of. The first cast, the first fish, the first smell of landing that gigantic northern pike. Feeling the line torpedo off like a cannon shooting a cannonball while your hanging on for dear life, as you get the first glimpse of the monster Northern Pike that inhaled your bait. Have you ever felt these extravagant feelings or if you have and you would like to know and understand more, than this is for you.
You need to search for a lake that has the reputation for giant pike fishing. There is nothing quite like the glacial shield lakes of Northern and central Manitoba because they are loaded with trophy pike. Once you arrive at the lake, the next question should be, where do you start to fish? I’m quite certain you’ve heard of the rule, eighty percent of the fish are located in twenty percent of the lake, and this rule is especially applies here. In the late fall season the cabbage weeds have reached full maturity and as the cold water seasons approach the Northern pike are seeking a large meal that will sustain them for the hard winters that this portion of the world has.When you spot a good cabbage weed bed, work the outer edges of the weeds. Approach the weeds slowly so you don’t scare off the large pike. After you have fished the outer weed edges, start working the center and then the backside of the weed bed.
It is usually not a good sign if you start catching smaller norther pike there. If the small fish are around, that means they are in no immediate danger of being eaten by bigger fish, therefore the likelihood of a large pike being there is not real good. Trophy Northern Pike are very territorial and usually estabolish themselves in the “prime real estate” of the weedbeds. Prime cabbage real estate can be best described as transitional edges of the weed beds such as drop offs or rocks adjacent to the weeds, which sometimes can be inside void areas as well.
As we get later into the fishing season, the key for catching larger northern pike is to use bigger fishing lures. No lure is too large. I have had numerous twelve inch fishing lures inhaled all the way down. Large buck tails or jerk baits usually work the best.
One of the most exciting things is to see a monster northern swimming right after your fishing lure, but seeing the fish bite also can be one of the biggest pitfalls. The worst thing a fisherman could do is to set the hook before you feel the fish hit. Most of the time if you set the hook and you didn’t feel the bite; you’ll not catch the fish. Feel the fish bit before you set will eliminate many heartbreaks.
The greatest sign of a good cabbage weed bed is when you have set the hook on a giant northern pike and you see numerous weeds getting cut off with your line. This is when you know that you probably have hooked a trophy northern pike of a lifetime.
No tag for this post.Stephen Long. Catching a trophy northern pike can be a fishing experience of a lifetime. Learn how to find the proper location and fishing lures to catch a monster northern pike. You can get a unique content version of this article.
