Alright, I know a bunch of you are wrinkling your brows at me right now, but pike get big and have COOL sharp teeth too, right?? Besides the fact that they eat musky fry because they spawn sooner, pike in a non-musky lake can be just what I need sometimes after a few skunkings. I fished Pickerel Lake Chain in Newago a few times last year when the water was pretty warm. In 6 hrs, I landed 17 pike ranging from 20-30". Then I headed south to Payne Lake in Barry County and got 5 more from 24-29" in about 4 hrs. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my 48.5" Musky for 1000 pike. Not in a million years. But to me, it's the next best thing.
I agree with ya. The only problem here is there's no organizations like this one for pike to make it so that pike in non-muskie lakes can grow to trophy size. I would love to have the problem of deciding whether to fish for quality muskies or quality pike. If things were that way I could see myself getting into a lot of trouble 😈
Got one last Thursday while hoping for walleye out by the north light/breakwater in Muskegon. Jigging with a bare bones 3/8 oz tipped with a minnow. 28 inches. Fought very hard. They are fun to catch. Will try for walleye tongiht again….hope esox will leave the offerings alone tonight, pike anyway. I'll take the other anytime.
Hi Jim,
No one in MMA would (or should) try and stifle your enthusiasm for fishing whether it be for pike or some other species. Some may feel it would be a non productive use of their fishing time, however, and I understand that. Especially, if the "Fever" is burning. Personally, if I were on a NON muskie outing I would rather go for LMB or SMB. But that's my opinion. As a kid I caught all the hammer handle pike for a lifetime on Houghton Lake and other waters. On light tackle the size pike you described could be fun. My problem is finding the time for any fishing…period. So, when I do I typically will go to a muskie lake.
As for good size Michigan pike, I've never caught any to rival what I've seen and landed in Minnesota. A 38-40 inch pike is a savage fighter, even on muskie equipment, and are pretty common on good Minnesota waters. That can certainly fill the "down time" when muskie fishing there. Back here, you may want to hit the Bay De Nocs, Portage Lake, and Keweenaw Bay for some trophy UP pike action if you get the chance. Good Luck!!
Nothing wrong with pike at all Jim, I love fishing period. Pike, gar, bass, panfish, but Scott just really happens to love musky fishing. We go every year to Portage in the Keewenaw for a week or so away from it all to fish mainly for pike. Lots of folks forget that in our fishing reports/diaries, etc. it can help to know what else is biting (or not).
I've caught a fair number of pike over the years (no huge monsters, though), and many of them have fought about as much as a wad of wet laundry. If I were to generalize, I would say pike like to head for the bottom/weeds and try to sit tight, while muskies tend to run/pull/fight. Perhaps the big-uns are different…
But what do I know? 
Pike rule!! They'll always be my favorite, but yes, because of how they are managed and treated by many (as in killed) their sizes are usually limited in our area, so like many I've also fallen for muskie. I've managed a fair number of pike over 36" over the years in my area, and a handful over 40", but if the same time had been applied to muskie, I likely would've tangled with many more larger Esocids (I like to think so anyway).
We had the Pikemasters group in the past that did lead to some improvements, including the two pike limit, after about 7 years of effort. More needs to be done for sure though. I ran it and should've stuck with it longer, but with everything else going on including kids sports and coaching them etc. etc., something had to give. Even though he can make us crazy at times, I sure salute Will for working his bass off to keep this group going strong, and all the others who help out too.
There are still gaps in the state without local muskie fishing opportunities. The pike have been providing a decent fishery in the drowned-river mouth lakes loaded with shad and sheepshead. That fishery has some large fish and plenty of eating size fish. I have been in favor a slot size regulation for pike to provide more large fish.
You betcha, northerns are cool- just not as cool, or as big, as a muskie! I can think of one instance last year where I really hated them though- when a small one jumped in front a GIANT muskie that was charging my brother's lure, and ate it right in front of it!… The muskie followed, but did not destroy that pike like I wished it would have. But yes, pike do just fine by themselves too:
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I LOVE PIKE TOO !!! GIVE ME A SPINNING ROD AND A STICKBAIT FOR A BLAST.0-3 IN LAST MUSKY TRIPS MAKES ME THINK ABOUT THE LITTLE GREEN SLIMERS…LOTS OF LAKES AROUND WITH 20-30"SNAKES.FINDING A GOOD TROHY PIKE LIKE IN SW MICH IS POSSIBLE….FIND SOMETHING DEEP WITH SOME GREASY FORAGE BASE..
DU [smilie=2c.gif]
Nah- the little snatcher didn't come home for dinner, although I don't know why not?… This duck eater just came across in an email, not sure where it was actually caught. But we have pulled a chipmunk out of the belly of a pike once, just like the picture of the little tiger eating the chipmunk I showed before. Lots of chipmunks in the UP- surface baits work good! They have a death wish like lemmings, and try to swim from one bank to another from time to time for some stupid reason!!
More pike stories- I did land a muskie ON a pike last year- the pike hit the spinnerbait, the muskie t-boned the pike and would NOT let go of it until they were both in the net! It was way cool. And my buddy Ron who netted that fish for me also caught a muskie that drilled a pike that ate his bait (I don't know why she swallowed the fly…) a couple years ago, but hes going to have to tell that story though because it was quite a show he got to see!
Michelle and I have been doing our part to thin the pike herd out on Muskegons Big Blue lake. It is working!! Average size is starting to climb back into the 20's. Last weekend while Crappie fishing we caught 4 pike with the biggest being a skinny 25 incher. Two years ago there were no pike in that lake over 20" so the no size limit is working as is the 5 fish per man limit. This lake was totally packed with stunted hammer handles for years but the steady attack by fishermen has proven that (MAN) is the best predator when it comes to driving down any fishes numbers. It may be time to now slot limit pike In big Blue lake and start protecting the bigger ones say from 24 to 30 inches. With the Pike numbers getting lower and under control they will get bigger and the other sport fish like Walleye and panfish will do better as well. This lake like many other lakes in Michigan need slot protection on fish to at least 30 inches. Most can do with just raising size limits but lakes like Big Blue need harvest under 24 inches to keep them from exploding in numbers again. Once that lake gets a managable population of larger Pike they will police themselves by cropping off some of those smaller pike. Good managment could put that lake back into being a great pike lake. Transplanting a dozen or more Muskie into Big Blue would also help out the top end of the eco system. Right now millions of baby Blue gills are flourishing along the weed lines . I hant see this in years. It looks like the Gill fishing may be coming back as well. Crappie fishing was great last weekend . All in all I am watching one of my childhood favorite lakes on the rebound. I think the D.N.R. has a good game plan for the lake and soon should be able to remove the unlimited size and 5 pike limit. I hope they replace it with an aggressive new managment plan involving a slot for pike that allows the harvest of 16 to 24 inchers and protects them from 24 to 30. I believe this type of plan would grow some nice fish into the 36 inch range. and that could lead to removing the slot in time. A rebuild of the Alpha predator top of food chain so to speak. Mike
I agree with what Kingfisher says. There needs to be a more agressive plan for pike in this state. There's no reason why Michigan can't become a tropht pike destination. As much as I'd like to, I probably won't ever make it to Canada to fish for giant pike so all I can hope is that things change for the better here.
Pike are worthy when they're allowed to get big and are low density. A bunch of us just fished a chain of lakes last weekend that needs some fish harvested but I'll bet not one person kept a pike.
A slot limit is something that will never happen in Michigan unless there's a severe change of heart in the Law Enforcement division. Instead of a slot a maximum limit would be easier to manage and enforce.
(sorry in advance Joe)
IMO the current pike regs were not the best solution statewide. I'm not going to say it was a mistake (out loud) because it might help some waters but other waters are going to suffer because of the reduced harvest. There's a fine line between protecting a fish to create better fisheries and simply reducing the bag limit.
One option could be to leave the bag limit the same but change the minimum size back to 20". In theory this should work but I still don't think we would see the the harvest needed on those smaller fish. Which comes back around to increasing the bag limit and placing a maximum size limit.
Plus… with a max size limit I can use 20" QS rigged pike in the fall. [smilie=brows.gif]
What's wrong with pike?
My first true love of fishing was fishing northerns and I still fish them, on purpose, as a matter of fact I stopped and fished exclusively for pike on my way back from the Cedars outing.
As applied to muskie fishing nothing and everything is wrong with them.
Most of the time I chase muskies on very low density lakes, rivers, drowned rivermouths and Great Lake bays, catching pike on some of those days can be fun and much appreciated.
But, when fishing a great piece of structure on a real muskie lake and you catch pike were the top predator should be, then they really suck!
Hadn't checked this thread in a while so I can't whine if no one notices this – but all the talk of increased harvest of smaller pike applies to less waters than most would believe, and far less than it used to. It's only valid on waters with high recruitment, namely with the right habitat for lots of reproduction. More waters, especially in the southern part of the state, have poor habitat and spawning, essentially what is needed here, and as has been proven elsewhere, is total release or a high minimum size, one pike limit. Sadly, the state has been quick to have plenty of no minimum sized, 5-pike limit lakes, when more lakes actually need the opposite approach.
The slots, which I agree aren't likely to get buy-in in our state, only work with excellent angler compliance, even a few law-breakers who fish a lot can negate them on small waters. Success has only happened on a few waters where they've been tried, namely in Minnesota, such as a lake with a single resort that controlled and promoted strict compliance. A maximum size approach, of let's say 24 inches, has shown much more promise. That would seem best for our high numbers lakes, though whatever is tried, if too many small fish are taken there's not enough to make it past the maximum size or upper limit of the slot.
So the two pike limit in my view was a step toward at least reducing the rape of the better fisheries, where boats with two anglers used to legally take up to 10 fish a day, and where I personally witnessed the devastation of several good waters once word got around about their fisheries. Two pike lessens the damage of the pike eaters, and as shown in Wisconsin, it tends to even oftentimes be a one-pike limit since people hold out for a better fish for their second one of the day, releasing others. 24 inches at least lets most fish attempt to reproduce once, vs. 20, where immature fish on decent to fast growth fisheries were legally removed before they could spawn one time. Pike rely totally on natural reproduction, just look at the stocking records – more is spent on putting little brown trout into a single creek that no one fishes than the state's entire pike budget.
So sorry Will, you're not totally correct on this part of the Esox scene but I do respect your opinion. If 5 pike with a 20 inch min worked, we should've had lots of big pike around during all the decades it was in place and failed miserably. Two simple approaches could work in our state if we could ever get it to happen, one for each basic type of water (high vs. low recruitment), with the goal under both being pike fisheries more closely approaching what nature intended, a balance of sizes including bigger pike helping to control the little guys.
"pikerule2" said:
So sorry Will, you're not totally correct on this part of the Esox scene but I do respect your opinion. If 5 pike with a 20 inch min worked, we should've had lots of big pike around during all the decades it was in place and failed miserably.
Wasn't trying to be totally correct, no one can be when stating an opinion… What I was getting at is…
With a prolific spawner maximum size limits make the most sense, to me (my opinion). A maximum size limit on pike of 24" with one over 30" seem to me like it would be best for all waters. Allows harvest of smaller fish, keeps the spawners in the lake for a few years and allows harvest of a "trophy".
The problem, as you an I both know, is we will likely never see regional management of our fisheries as they have in Canada or regulations that are not a simple minimum size limit. Pike regs, as with most regs, can't work for the majority of waters. Regs are set to work for some and so they don't ruin others instead of being set for the best of each region or better yet each fishery.
Fun to dream though…
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