# Finesse Fishing for Pike



## mas5588 (Apr 15, 2012)

OK, so I've never been much of a Pike fisherman, but over the past couple years I keep running into them and they are a lot of fun. But here's the deal: I'm fishing a flow mostly for smallmouth with a Ned Rig or a Rebel Wee Craw, and in certain sections of the river I consistently catch decent Pike on these tiny baits. 

I throw big spinnerbaits and such on heavier tackle in an attempt to really target them and not a bite. Pick up my 6' lite spinning rod with a 1/15oz Ned and boom! Fish on.

Anybody else stumble on this "finesse fishing for pike"? I wonder if the fish get used to seeing big flashy baits and are more easily coaxed into biting something that most anglers wouldn't consider throwing in Pikey areas. Or maybe it's simply a better match of the hatch.

Here's one from Monday afternoon. Deadly Nedly on a 6' lite St. Croix. 30lb Power Pro with a 12lb fluro leader.


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## SConner (Mar 3, 2007)

Caught this 2 weeks ago on soft plastic craw bounced along the bottom. I would not say it is a trend for me, but yes they will hit it.


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## meisjedog (Oct 4, 2010)

Every species must kill the TRD! It triggers something primordial as they see it fall slowly through the water column. It's like Clint Eastwood, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robert De Niro just bumped into Jack Nicholson in the wrong way at the pool party, and somebody is just a little frustrated!


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## trekker (Feb 18, 2013)

By the looks of that first pike, I would forget about the smallies.


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## ristorap (Mar 6, 2013)

Match the hatch is what I think it could be. The stretch you are catching them in are the bait fish and crawdads the size of the lures you are using?


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## Whopper (Apr 28, 2006)

Every spring on my annual trip to Canada I catch big pike on small baits while fishing for walleye.
The fish in my avatar was fatty over 40 inches and was caught on a 1/4 ounce jig and twister tail


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