Passive/aggressive winter pike
Passive/aggressive winter pike
By: Gord Ellis, Fish Ontario Psychologists tell us that passive/aggressive people see others as intrusive, demanding, interfering, and controlling, yet like to have things their own way. This is bad news if it describes your fishing partner. But, a passive/aggressive approach to winter pike fishing is the best way I know of consistently scoring on big snakes. The technique plays into the pike's two biggest weaknesses: it likes a large meal that doesn't take too much work to get, and it's hard pressed to turn down something that triggers its killer instinct. The passive part of the equation means using a set line with large bait. Traditional tip-ups are still the best way to present oversized baits such as suckers, herring, and smelt to pike. At one time, only one style of tip-up was available -- the classic wooden trap that had a spool of line hanging in the hole and a flag that popped up when a fish grabbed the bait. These days, there are countless designs that do everything from jig the bait to set off an alarm in your ice hut. All pretty much do the same thing, however, and that's hang big bait. Pick a sturdy tip-up that has a spool that holds a fair bit of line and has a tension adjustment, to keep it from over-running if a large fish hits. Your tip-up line is crucial. My choice is 15- to 30-pound-test black Dacron. It's tough stuff and highly visible on snow and ice. Line visibility is important. Many large pike have been lost over the years due to someone stepping on looped line when a hooked fish makes a run. If you do use white line, keep track of it as you pile it on the ice. There are new braided lines that have low-stretch, limp properties similar to Dacron, but I find myself going back to the old stuff every season. I prefer the thicker feel of Dacron. Avoid using monofilament on tip-ups for pike. It comes off in tight coils and is more difficult to use by hand. My bait choice for winter pike, in most of Ontario's lakes, is a 4-inch frozen herring. Herring smell, look, and taste yummy to pike. Frozen smelt are also excellent bait, but are not legal in every area of the province. Check local regulations. Live bait, in my experience, is less effective on trophy pike than dead bait, but a fat sucker, anchored in place by a 1/2-ounce sinker, will catch a lot of pike. When fishing with these baits, nothing beats wire quick-strike rigs, generally made up of a small treble hook and a single hook, or two treble hooks. Ontario law, however, forbids more than four hook points on a line, except on artificial lures, so I make double-treble quick-strike rigs into "lures" by adding a small spinner above the top hook. Other people use jigs or beads and a dressed hook to comply. Keep in mind that many commercial quick-strike rigs are made elsewhere and do not comply with Ontario law. With that said, rest assured the quick-strike rig is deadly on pike and worth the hassle. Place one hook near the head of the bait and one about halfway down the body. When a pike grabs the bait, let the fish run until it stops. This is when a pike will try to turn and swallow the bait. Set the hook. Since pike grab baits sideways and near the head about 90 per cent of the time, you should have a solid hook set. By the way, if you're fishing in really shallow water or if there are downed trees nearby, set the hook quickly. Pike will do everything they can to break off, including diving into a bunch of submerged branches. The aggressive side of the approach requires you to fish a lot of water as quickly as possible. This means cutting a pile of holes and fishing around your passive still line. You'll be jigging with a bait that will trigger the part of a pike that doesn't know when to stop. I've had good success using a 3/8-ounce jig and a 3-inch live minnow. Drop the jig to the bottom, lift, drop it a few more times, and then hold it still. Pike often hit as the bait stops moving. Use a steel leader when jigging for pike, because they tend to inhale a jig and slice through fishing line. I use a medium-action jigging rod and 12-pound-test line. Hook a big pike on anything lighter, and you'll have your work cut out for you. It can be done, though. My fishing partner, Gene Balec, landed a 25-pound (11-kg) pike a couple seasons back on a jigging rod and 10-pound test. Other lures and presentations that work when fishing aggressively for pike include large white tube jigs, Rapala jigging minnows, 1/2-ounce Hopkins spoons, and Airplane Jigs sweetened with sucker meat. Aggressively working lures around a set bait will double the number of hits you get on any given day on the ice, and the strike of a big pike will shake you up. Winter pike fishing is an exciting, challenging, and highly productive way to catch Ontario's most active winter predator. A psychologist might even consider the activity therapeutic. What more could a passive/aggressive pike angler ask for? This article is printed with permission by Fish Ontario. Visit their website, http://www.fishontario.com, for more Ontario fishing information.
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