We hav sum yung pike fisheries where liv. I was wondering without electronics, where is tha best places to search for early spring Pike. We just had ice out. I hav caught Pike, but I would like to get better seeing these fisheries r starting to become heavily fished now.

Thanks

djflyrod, alot depends on the time of the year.like right know after the ice is off the lakes and rivers, they are looking for shallow weedy bays to prepare for the spawn, which starts in the low 50's--water tempt--. then after that they are mostly found along the 1st weed edge or drop off or between the 1st weed edge and the 2nd weed edge. here they cruise the inside or the outside edge of the weed beds or over the top of flats and as the water warms they just move a bit deeper. i have caught pike in as deep as 50' down in 100' of water.

there was a very good artical on pike movement throu out the year in the last or was it the one just before--infishermen mag.--it showed how the hold under different pressure changes and different times of the day.

as an example--my folks live on a lake where there is a bay and the ice just left the lake a week ago and in about 2/3 weeks i will start getting a few pike. then about the last week of april or the first week of may--after the spawn --i'll start getting 40 to 50 pike a day in this bay. all of them will be from 18" to 38". then about the 3rd week of may the are holding in about 10 to 16 ft of water just off the fisrt break out of the bay. then as jusne rolls around they are found in 18-40ft of water.

I sure wish that people looking for advice would post at least the state they live in! It is very hard to give relavant advice when you don't know where someone is fishing! In some areas, pike will spawn in the shallows before ice out, and in other locations, they wait for the ice to leave, but the spawn is almost always shallow and the pike tend to relate to weedlines.I still say that the best way to catch a Northern is to fish for something else, I can't remember catching a Northern intentionally!

Tom

Yes it would help if we knew where they are,but generally speaking just after ice out,you need to be fishing the shallows or flats and weed lines. Lou