Northwest Fishing Magazine September 2025 Volume 5 Issue 1 - Flipbook - Page 20
PIKE MIKE
The sun was dipping low
on the horizon as I cast
my #3 Mepps spinner into
my favorite country pond.
As soon as it hit the water,
I gave the rod tip a jerk,
activating the spinner
blade, and began a steady
retrieve. Suddenly, my rod
pulled away from me with
the strike of a hammerhead
pike. I excitedly reel in
the small pike, landing
the 15” fish after a brief
battle. Carefully removing
the hook, I released the
fierce-looking pike back
to the pond, taking in the
evening's quiet, golden
red and yellow sunset
illuminating the shoreline
trees and fields. Having
moved the past year
from the city of Madison
to the small country
town of Waunakee, this
had become my solace
as I struggled with the
challenges of trying to fit
into a farming community,
having little in common
with my freshman high
school classmates. This
pond became my solace
on many an evening and
quenched my inner need
for solitude.
Pike hold a special
place in my heart for
angling adventures. They
remind me of freshwater
barracudas, with fierce
features and vise-like jaws
with a full set of razor-sharp
teeth. Pike are the kings of
their abode, and if I were a
perch swimming around, I
would be looking over my
shoulder! Knowing your
adversary’s tendencies is an
important key to successful
angling. When it comes to
pike, there is a keyword you
should always remember –
ambush. Pike are masters
at ambush hunting skills,
using their fins to stay
suspended and motionless,
waiting for a feeding
opportunity to go by. They
love cover. In rivers, look
for downed trees and logs
along the shoreline or cast
to undercut banks. Slow
backwaters and eddies are
ideal locations to explore.
If you see weeds under
the surface, be sure to
target those as well, using
weedless baits like buzz
baits or surface lures – frogs
and poppers can be deadly
effective, and hooking a
pike on a surface lure is a
blast – literally – as the pike
comes up and slams your
presentation.
Lake fishing presents a few
more challenges, but again,
target shoreline cover or
find shallow bays with
weed growth. In deeper
lakes, pike will likely drop
into cooler waters on hot
days, making a deep diving
crank bait a good option,
casting along weedy dropoffs. More than one angler
has been surprised by
Montana’s Ft. Peck, jigging
deeper waters for lakers
and hooking into a pike!
