# Pike Baits - Cold Water



## PIKEMAN (Apr 14, 2004)

First off I'll say THANKS to the Fishing Marshall for the guidance on the smithwick rogue. I've had good success with this lure as the water has cooled down.

My spoons and spinners seem to stop producing as the water temp is cooling; all of my hits are now coming on jerk baits.

What other baits do you guys recommend for fishing pike in water under 40F? I've read a lot about using chubs under a bobber. I've had success doing this in Canadian weed beds, but no luck when trying it in the Tusc. I'm sure If I floated a nice 8" chub in front of a pike, she would grab it, but I can work a ton more water when casting than when using bait. I tried fising two rods from my canoe; the chub on a bobber got no action, while the casting rod caught several fish and missed several more. Granted, I was placing casts tight to cover, while the bait was generally just floating downstream 10 yds from the canoe.

Quick report: Fished the Tusc twice over Thanksgiving. My brother caught a nice 32" fish the 1st day, and a my son and I caught a couple of smaller pike the 2nd day. Here is a shot of the smaller one (just stringered for the picture, then released).


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## fishing_marshall (Jun 12, 2004)

HJ14 Husky Jerks work just as good as rogues and are a little bigger. I do really well on the blue/silver color. I fish chubs and shiners a lot in winter when I'm at a spot that always holds a fish from the bank.


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## NewbreedFishing (Apr 15, 2004)

In early spring and late fall you cant beat a pig & jig or a chatterbait.
You can cover as much water as a spinnerbait/spoon if you swim and pump the bait and also have the option of dropping it down/hopping which can drive nuetral pike mad.

Fishing Marshall knows the Tusc. pretty good and the jerkbaits are a traditional standby. Fish tend to follow and eat the jerk more then any other lure IMO.

I think these VIB 'E' blade baits would be good on pike in the right area.


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## PIKEMAN (Apr 14, 2004)

Thanks for the tips. I've never fished the chatterbait, but a friend of mine has won a number of bass tournaments and this is his "go-to" bait. I'm going to pick one up and see if the pike like it as well as the bass. 

Good call on the blue/silver Rapala! My brother caught the 32" pike on a silver/blue X-Rap. I'm going to take your advise and triy the HJ14. I am a believer that bigger is better when in comes to pike and musky. I've have very good luck throwing a 7" jerk musky jerk bait for river pike. The only problem is that the hooking ratio is very poor; I seem to only land about 1/3 strikes on this lure, whereas the rogue runs more like 3/4 successful strikes.

- Dave


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## vc1111 (Apr 13, 2004)

You might also try Rattletraps and retrieve them slowly.

I sometimes modify them by replacing the belly hook with a slightly larger hook and replacing the tail hook with a swivel and small Colorado or willow leaf blade.

Pike love them.


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## bubba k (Mar 29, 2006)

Chatterbaits are awesome for pike in both cold and warm water.....I also catch them on spinnerbaits.


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## fishing_marshall (Jun 12, 2004)

I think Rapala needs to make a HJ16. Something a little bigger than the 14. With the husky jerks, I often have to add suspendots during the winter when they want the bait paused for up to 8 seconds.


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