Winter Pike Fishing

As temperatures both in the air and in the water begin to plummet, the season of winter pike fishing begins. Even though lakes’ ecosystems become less active, this is actually a fruitful and stable period of the year for fishing. Pike need nourishment during the winter months just as they do any other time of the year. The key to fishing during this time is knowing how the fish are behaving and where they will most likely be located.

As the winter season commences, Northerns will move away from shallow areas into deeper waters. The females in particular need to remain in very cold water so their eggs will grow properly. A lot of times, these fish will locate themselves in deep flats or steep drop-offs in lakes. Because of this, the concentration of fish in these areas can be rather high. If you know the deeper areas in the lake you are going to fish, you can concentrate on these areas where you will most likely get bites.

Once ice covers a lake, pike will begin to roam more, so they can be found in shallower areas later on in the season. One reason why they start to swim about more is because they need to search for food. The females need to find enough nourishment to keep both themselves and their eggs healthy.

An ice-covered lake creates a stable environment below the water’s surface in which the fishing will be consistent as well. A Northern’s metabolism will have slowed by this point, and your fishing approach will also need to be slow. If you are planning to ice fish a lake, jigs are the best Northern pike lure to use in this scenario since they are meant to be fished slowly. Spoons and minnows hooked to a jig are your best bet. Pike will forage for dead bait during the cold winter months; many times dead baitfish will be resting on the lake bottoms or other locations. You can also use dead bait like smelt on your jig fishing rig. It will be smelly but can attract a hungry pike.