If you keep those fish on those 4 -5 fish days you will continue to have problems....and this goes for lake hot spots as well as river spots, as once a fish is removed...and especially if it's a "prime" area..it will still take a few days for replacement fish to come in.

On the other hand....even if you release them...river fish can and WILL move up and down areas....looking for food...even as much as 5 - 10 miles within a couple of days.

Pike and walleyes will generally move more than bass and trout will...but there are many factors involved.

I grew up on a small / medium river in central Minnesota...and can't count the number of times I caught pike one day....then none the next. Back then....I pretty much kept everything.

NOT any more.

Pike are almost as schitzo as steelhead. I have found the best way to catch a Northern is to fish for something else! In all honesty, I have never caught a northern intentionally! And yes I do fish for them.

I have been told(and my catching bears this out) that you should work drop offs and weed edges. Northern will hit almost anything, but seem to prefer long slim baits. (Husky Jerk?) I have also had luck with swim baits (expensive, they tend to tear them up) and spinners. Wire leaders are a must, with the titanium ones working the best, even though they are the most expensive. Tieable wire like AFW Sevenstrand is also a good option.

Tom

    Look for those dropoffs that are next to flats, weedy flats are better. I use Northland Tackles Swim Shad in Perch pattern with the spinner. I also use plastic lisards rigged Texas style. My friends tell me the Red & White and 5 Diamond Daredevils work well too. I use doubled 20LB test for a leader tied directly to the hook with a swivel to attach main line. If you feel you need something stronger use the tieable leader material (used for Fly Fishing). Wire leaders will not let plastics work the way they are intended too.

The Pike are there for a reason. Be it food, habitat, spawning grounds, or water temp. If these are missing so are the pike. I fish a lake where you can't catch a pike all season then come mid to late september look out its like one after another. Large schools of perch start gathering off the weed beds and presto the pike are putting on the feed bag. Also in the St. Lawrence River in the spring the pike move into swallow bays to prepare for spawning you can see them like logs in the swallows. The right presentation and bam you'll catch your limit. The bottom line is find where the pike are and why they are there and you should be able to catch them. Remember the pike are most likely not to be in the same part of the river all year.

Good Luck and kept us posted.

hey there lovethosebrownbass, welcome to the bb. coming looking for an answer to a question, give an answer if ya have one. but most of all come in and enjoy the fun and friendship we share on here.

i have a question for you, what river mouth are you fishing, is it in the southern part of the state or further north?????

i have fished the kalamazoo river off and on for years and have taken my share of pike off it. also i fish the thornapple river in the hasting's area and taken a few pike there too. i get mostly smallies, but get pike too.

It's the Milwaukee River right in the heart of the city. Better fishing than it looks like. I catch tons of smallies but Im looking for some bigger game. By the way Davesett2000, I fish catch and release.

AAAAAAHHHHHHhhhhh, across the pond from me then. i think we might have someone over on that side that just might help ya out. go under the wisconsin threads and look for pappa-d or muskeygirl. send them a PM or post on there also. they will get back at ya. pappa-d is more of a panfisherman, but he fished a river most of his life on this side of the big pond. muskygirl lives in milwaukee and loves fishing anything.

good luck brownbass

ps....let us know how ya do

Hopefully you didn't take my comments personally....as I was just trying to relate my personal experiences.

Now that we know some more about where you're fishing...it doesn't surprise me one bit that pike can be there sometimes and not another. With the BIG pond accessable to them....they are going to follow the pods of baitfish, and that means either up the river OR out into the lake.

On another note...there are plenty of other predators (brown trout, maybe catfish, steelhead and occassional salmon) in that general area that pike will probably have to spend more time searching for food than most others types of aquatic environments....since there is so much competition for forage,

Write down when you have those several fish days...with as much detail as possible. The pattern will emerge sooner than later

Thanks Bill...good to see you on more too

Something else I'll point out in this situation is that even though there are smallies out in the middle of the BIG pond, there will still be some that call that section of river "home"...which is probably why you continue to catch them. Bass are more homebodies than pike are, and so are more likely to be in an area consistently.

That being said, chances are a FEW pike are still there on days that you aren't catching them...but are being a LOT more finicky....whether it's because they recently ate....or are off searching for better water temps (ESPECIALLY true of bigger ones) or just not happen to be in the area when you fish there.

As stated before....I don't know if this makes any sense to ya...just relating knowledge and experiences.

panooch, nice fish there. i haven't got one like that in a couple of years now, but i'm due......oh ya welcome to the bb were the truth and lies are the same and wadders are required......lol

but really come in often and leave yer mark....share a story or 2 and enjoy a few from us too.

Hey Mr bill thanks glad to be here and nice to meet you i will keep ya posted as often as I fish  you should check out my trips at ct fishfinder .com I have alot of trips posted and alot of pics honestly this pike was the highlight of my season

take care and Tight lines

Paul

Welcome to the BB Paul, nice fish.

Hi guys,

Pike are new to me and reading what you all have been saying has helped, Thanks.

 Any idea of how far a Pike will travel in a year?