I just started pike fishing.  I live in northeast Ct and there are 2 good lakes for pike near me.  Mansfeild hollow resovoir and Quaddick Resovoir.  What do i need to find these big fish.  I havent caught any and i really want to.  Please tell me all your tactice of catchin em.

John: I have caught many Northern in my life but not a one intentionally! All of my Northern have come fishing for something else, usually walleye. CW says that pike like a long, slim bait, I can't dispute that. Fish the edges of any weedbeds you can find, especially if you find a weedbed that ends near the transition to deep water. At times medium size spinners (hairpin not inline) work. Give it a try and let me know what works, I'd love to catch one intentionally! Tom
Fishin' fool in NE Illinois

John: Try Spinners(Both kinds)Rattle Traps and dare Devil spoons,I have also caught them on Bass jigs. Hope this helps. Lou

 

Retired-psg /Infantry,Purple Heart and a Few others, VietNam Vet, Ex Deputy Sheriff SCCSD, and all around good Guy! Living in Wisconsin

sucker chubs, emerald shiners, and 6-8 inch perch are good live baits. mepps and blue fox have great inline spinners for pike (think big) i normally go with a size 4,5, or 6 when it comes to shallow pike fishing. for deeper waters go with the Rapala Husky Jerk (sizes HJ12 + HJ14) and big swimbaits work great too.find them in areas that hold large boulders or weedbeds and just cast right outside of them. the pike should be suspended around 4-8 feet right now but as it gets a little warmer they'll come closer to shore before the summer heat hits.
Good Luck!

Sean Yeates

Good advice Sean. I usually find them amongst the big boulders or along the edges of weed beds where the depth drops to about 15 feet. Johnson Silver Spoons and red/white daredevels are killer lures for pike. Dont forget to use a steel or titanium 12" leader.

 

 

Be Fishers of Men, You catch, He Cleans Trophy Life Member and Proud of it. You got a problem with that?

John, i too live in Northeast CT and have fished Mansfield many times.  I usually go for bass and we were running  Rebel Wee-R minnows strait across from the boat launch and my father landed a 39" pike.  I have seen many come through the ice on big minnows but i have not targeted them as of yet.  We plan on going up there Saturday with some minnows and seeing if we can't hook into one. 

I also heard that Hopeville Pond has some nice pike, right off of I-395.

Tight Lines, Mark

95 % of all the northerns I have caught have been with live minnows.  I use a 2" or 2 1/2" diameter bobber about 4 feet up the line and hook the minnow with an English Hook and steel leader. I use the needle, which comes with the hooks,  just get under the skin just behind the head and come out about a half inch past the top fin. Cast it out and just wait. DO NOT just pull when you see your bobber go under. You need to wait for it to come back up and then go back down again. This is because the northern likes to take its food some place where no other fish can get it from him and then he turns it and eats it head first. Once the bobber goes down again reel in the slack slowly and when your line is somewhat tight. HOOK'em. Make sure your drag is set properly. GOOD LUCK JOHN .......... If you try this method plz let me know how it went. Have a great fishing summer.

here is a bit of info to get you started http://www.takemefishing.org/fishin...thern-pike
Take a kid fishing

That was an excellent article to give him Rod Tosser. That should pretty much tell him what he wants to know. He should always remember one thing though. "Never get your fingers around their mouth and never try to lift them out of the water by the gill covers". Darn good way to loose some fingers.
Reverend for the NAFC... Lifetime Club Member Since (10/22/2007) --- NAHC Member --- May you always have a tight line, full stringer, and the Lord to thank. Jim. N.M.

John what other fish are in this lake. Perch are my favorite bait put a 4/0 livebait hook through the lower jaw, next on a 6" steel leader on the same snap swivel the hook is on you put a 3/0 treble threw above the tail. Then put it under a bobber. Leave the bail open or loosen drag. If on a bait caster put clicker on. When the pike takes the perch put the rod tip up snap the bail closed and set the hook. Hang on and enjoy the fight. Weed bed edges, points, around islands, and on the edge of drop offs are all good places to start to look for them. Good luck.
Lifemember and Bushwacker SMF upstate NY

pretty much everything was covered in this thread. just remember to think bass fishing and then make the bait bigger.

I have found that the Mepps inline spinners for pike work just about any where there are pike.  I like to start with them when I am in a body of water for the very first time.

 

 

LM since 2005 Bushwacker Deputy Sherif from S.E. Pa.

Take a kid fishing

the first pike i cought was on a spoon fishing for bass