Life of a Northern Pike and How to Fish for Pike
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Northern pike are a top-level predator of fresh waters, and a popular species to fish for. This video discusses the biology of the northern pike, spawning activity, and how to catch a pike with fishing tackle.
#fishing
#howtofish
#learntofish
This format of video is what I've always been looking for and constantly failing to find with other fishing channels. A comprehensive guide on the life cycle of a fish is, in my opinion, the absolute best way to figure out how to catch it. Other channels seem to just go out in their expensive boats, go over 1 or 2 fishing methods they like to use, and then hock whatever lures they're being paid to advertise. This is a truly valuable resource, well done.
You've summed up many of my frustrations with other channels as well. Understanding the biology of your target species is so important. Much more important than the price tag on your boat or your rod/reel.
great job !!
@@rzambory2938 Thank you - I appreciate the comment
I agree. I get so tired of listening to other channels rave about their sponsors' products.
everyone I know including myself try to avoid cacthing thoze slimey things they look cool but you can have em ...
Yeah they're not everyone's favorite!
not sayin they are not fun to catch just saying I try and avoid them I caught an 11 pound 6 oz pike on my browning ultra light with 4 pound trilene XL it took a LONG time to get it in the pike was under the boat staring at the fish basket full of sunfish n crappies when it grabbed my bait Fun day there great video thanx @@FishingwithNat
@@scoop-pm7lk Sounds like a blast. But yeah, they are slimy, and they are good at stealing lures, so they can be pain too.
Hope we don’t overfish these guys.. it might be the land of 10,000 lakes but I’ve noticed a decrease. My grandpa used to tell me that they used to gather fisherman to fish certain lakes near brainard and fish as many as they could within a weekend to stop them from eating all smaller walleye. They would catch so many they would use them to make fertilizer for their farms. After pickling a choice few of course.
The pike and walleyes got along fine before humans became so abundant around them. They know how to find their own balance.
Pike are seriously the coolest fish. You haven't lived until you've witnessed a pike inhale a lure.
They are awesome fish
@@ML-ks2lj I have snorkeled with pike and have also successfully fished for them while snorkeling! Being underwater with them while they fly around like a bullet is pretty crazy.
@@ML-ks2lj Me too. It's great to be in the fish's world.
You haven't lived until you've witnessed a torpedo coming behind your top-water lure. Fills you with adrenaline.
@@sky1army423 I know that feeling! 🙂
Can this become a series? Like a video similar to this for each gamefish? Largemouth and smallmouth, salmon, Muskie, etc.
That sounds like fun to me. I appreciate the suggestion.
@@FishingwithNat no problem. Something like that would make inexperienced anglers (like myself) better informed on what time of year to fish each gamefish and where
Nice video though I gotta say, personally not a huge fan of the AI thumbnail. Overall good vid though
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate all of it.
short, sweet and to the point. well done
Thanks - I appreciate the feedback!
How to distinguish which fish is female and which is male??
During the pre-spawn period, females will have very large bellies, which can be a pretty good indicator. The surefire way to distinguish them requires a really close look and that is by examining the size, shape, and color of the fish's vent. These traits are different between the vents of males and females.
A couple buddies of mine want to get me into fishing, and all these recent how to videos have been amazing.
Excellent - thanks for sharing. Good luck fishing!
Unhook them boat side if possible. Nets and handling them removes their protective slime coating. I use a long needle nose and generally fish barbless.
That's a good plan. I do a lot of unhooking boatside too.
Absolutely love your videos. Not a fan of the weird ai art you use sometimes though lol 😅 not that it’s bad (which it is) it is also just unethical lol I’d ask that you don’t keep using them but you do you and I will keep watching either way :)
Thanks for the feedback. This is the only video where any AI art was used just to illustrate the tenacity of the northern pike.
Pike are my favorite to catch, so aggressive. When you bring in a big one up close it sorta looks like a gator. I noticed something interesting about them. The small and medium size ones will fight like a normal fish. But all the monster pike I've caught have swam towards the boat to cause slack in the line. They've learned in a sense so avoid that feeling of tension on them felt then swimming away. Could just be a small sample size but I was really cool to experience it. Reminded me of how the shark swam under the boat in Jaws when Quint first hooked it. "He's a smart big fish".
Interesting observation. I haven't noticed that trend with big pike here. Maybe they haven't learned that yet! 🙂
For anyone asking titanium leader is what you want
Titanium or steel is definitely helpful when fishing for pike
Never heard of small pike being called 'snakes' or 'hammer handles' ... if they are really really small. We call them pencils. Otherwise we call the Jack's - e.g Jack pike for the ones bigger than pencils.
Always great to catch them whatever size they are.
Absolutely. Those names are very common in the Midwest U.S. - not as common in other areas of the world.
Snakes, hammer handles, slime rockets, snot rockets, water wolf, slimers.
@@SavageVoyageur A fish of many names!
@@FishingwithNat "Slough shark" is another one to add to the list that I've heard pretty commonly throughout western Canada
@@19DannyBoy65 I haven't heard that one but it makes sense!
My favorite pike lure is a spinner bait. Not the inline ones. The V shaped wire on the front keeps them from biting it off so I can run without a leader safely. It doesn't seem to me that it's big enough to keep them from just swallowing it, but I also have never had one bitten off like other lures, and have fished them ten times as often for those results.
That makes a lot of sense to me. Pike love spinnerbaits!
This video was one of my favorites and very informative! The AI thumbnail represents the traits of a Northern Pike very well.
Awesome, thank you!
hey man if i could take a second of your freetime and ask you if you know if there is pike in Olsbæksøen idk if you can just tell by how it looks on google maps but im planning on going there
I know that pike occur in Denmark but I don't know of specific locations. If they are there, I'd suggest throwing large inline spinners, spinnerbaits, or swimbaits to try to catch one.
@@FishingwithNat thanks for the help man I appreciate it
The pike in the thumbnail is eating a pikalmon
Haha yes it is
Back in the 50s and 60s we would vacation in Little Current Ontario, my dad like to troll for Pike in the North Channel, back then it was lamphery marks that were the bane of pike, I remember the thrill of catching one even at the age of 7 or 8
Sea lampreys are so nasty. I've seen them on pike, carp, salmon, and brown trout. I can't imagine being a fish with one of those attached to my side.
Can't count how many hooks they got from me
They are professional lure stealers
They are very common here in sweden but anoying as they are hard to filet and dont taste as well as perch and trout do
They are definitely harder to fillet than a perch or trout but I still think they taste pretty good
@@FishingwithNat they're more then edible but just harder then perch
What happened with those fish at 1:21? The grass is moving, but all the fish are still?
Their fins are still moving, but maybe they sensed a weird vibration and stopped swimming to look around?
@@FishingwithNat Thanks. That was super cool to see.
I love pike, great fight and good to eat if prepared properly, tough to clean for me. I always use mepps as a lure
A Mepps spinner is killer for pike. I use a #3 or #4 for them all the time. I like eating pike too but yes, they can be a pain to clean.
So you have caught pike while snorkeling...spear gun ? Net ? I'm from the mid west, used to dive in Florida, now I live in Colorado. I want to go out and get some pike on the snorkel. Tips...would be great.
No spear gun. I have a couple of short, homemade "snorkel rods" I use to jig while snorkeling. The first pike I caught while snorkeling was actually with some old line/jig and a Gatorade bottle that I found in a tree.
best fishing content on youtube
Thanks - I appreciate it
Few things make me happier than having a pickerel or pike come off the hook. This family of fish has no chill and unhooking trebles from them is just a sketchy process when they keep struggling.
They definitely like to squirm around and risk hooking you or biting you!
It’s all how you handle them once you learn it’s really easy. We won’t use nets for this reason hand only :)
To day I caught a foot long pike in the Athabasca river in Alberta cause I’m only a hour away from it and I brought it home but the meat was yellow and one fillet had worms so I threw them out I was sad tho but it was healthy on the outside and somehow I caught it without leader and my line never got snapped off I do not know how it never snapped my line off
Sometimes you get lucky and the lure itself is between their teeth. I've caught lots of pike on light line without leaders, and the only reason it didn't cut the line is because the lure was in their teeth.
I hate pike! Many years fishing walleye in northern Quebec and they were a real pain in the ass. Constantly catch them and need to reel them in a toss them back.....they are as annoying as getting constant snags except full of teeth and slime. No point keeping them, full of bones, pain to clean and taste like a wet sock.
Not everybody likes them
Just caught a 40 inch pike on a spinner bait with a trailer on it from shore, best fight EVER
That's a beautiful pike. Awesome.
Come on man, no need to cheapen your video with ai generated images
The thumbmail image and duck image were simply to illustrate the tenacity of the northern pike. I appreciate your feedback though. I've stuck with my own images and clips in the other videos in this series.
Fresh water barracuda
Yep - that's about right.
I am planning a trip this summer to fish for pike, this video shared some really valuable information. I didn't know about Lymphosarcoma, I am a catch and release angler, this is great to know. Thanks again for another stellar video Nat!!!
Great - thank you for sharing this feedback. Good luck this summer!
Keep an eye on water temperature. Here in the UK they recommend max 20 degrees C. Pike are very aggressive but also very delicate fish 👍
@@leftmono1016 Yes, 20*C is approaching the maximum temperature tolerance for pike, especially the larger ones.
2 years in a row. We were catching pike with these sores. Didn't know till now.
Our local lake, nobody fishes it. If so, only from shore. Very rarely do you see another boat.
Lake is a horrible, nasty green color. I recommend rinsing off boat shortly after pulling out. If not water will stain color.
Lake used to be a great crystal clear lake. Great for muskie, pike, and largemouth.
Lake Neatahwanta, Oswego County, Fulton, NY
@@joeellis2692 Sounds like the lake may have a serious nutrient/runoff problem contributing to dense algae/cyanobacteria blooms.
omfg... That release at the 37 second mark had me bricked up, so sexy.
Glad you enjoyed it. That was a beautiful pike.
I love pike. I love a fish that comes to the boat looking PISSED !!! My largest is 44" on Lake of the Woods (Canadian side).
Pike are great. 44" is a beauty!
I like this kind of video! You should definitely do more!
Thanks - I will likely do more of these videos with other species
Quick question. Do you think that if I was pike fishing and I had to go deeper with jigs, that a 4 inch white twister tail would produce good numbers and size of pike? Obviously I know I would catch dinks, but would some better ones be mixed in? Also, could I use a steel leader while jigging for pike or would that spook them?
For every big pike, you're going to find a lot of smaller ones around. And pike will eat things that are nearly half their size, so even increasing the size of your lure isn't going to prevent you from catching some small ones. A 4" twister tail and jig will certainly catch pike of all sizes. You could also try some larger deep-diving crankbaits, spoons, or bucktails. Those would work better with leaders than jigs.
@@FishingwithNat thanks. I was only saying jigs specifically because in summer pike can go very deep
Steel leader is a must
Yeah a big pike will bite through anything but steel/titanium if it lines up in their teeth the right way.
I think it depends on what you’re using. You can probably get away with something like a spinner bait without a leader
@@liltimothy8109 nope
@@liltimothy8109 Or an inline spinner with a snap swivel works well too, since the snap swivel acts like a short steel leader.
Never used a steel leader and never had any issues.
Caught pike in Canada on fingernail clippers, I was bored
I can see them striking that! Nice and shiny!
I never try to catch pike but when I do they are either stiff as a board or put up a good fight
True
Some of the most fun fishing I've had was using a Rebel Wee Crawfish lure on St Joseph river in Indiana. If it was the right time of year, almost every other cast landed a hard fighting pike.
Awesome
It sucks that finding good spots are hard. Used to have such a good spot with my buddies but overfishing, construction and low waters ruined it
Yeah, it sucks when things happen to a good spot the wreck the fishing. I've had many spots ruined in various ways to the point that I don't even bother going there anymore.
@@FishingwithNat the worst part is finding a new spot that's good is so tough. The only spots I found is from word of mouth
Caught a 105cm 8kg pike today
Very nice!
Great video! Love the thumbnail! May I ask what Ai generator?? Guessing that it was? Thanks!
Thanks - you're right - the image was created by Copilot.
Well done! Love it. Ai is insane....see where she goes here soon haha.@@FishingwithNat
Pike have very sharp teeth so wire leaders are good.
Absolutely
Got a 23 and 7 8ths northern off the breakeall the other day in michigan.
Awesome. Breakwalls are nice spots to catch big pike.
Pike make great aquarium fish ... you need about 200g tank and a good filter ... that way you can watch the pike
They are interesting in an aquarium for sure. Like you said, you need a very large tank because they grow quickly. They also eat a lot and prefer live minnows.
@@FishingwithNat The advantage of keeping game fish is that they can be released if you do not want to keep up the aquarium.
@@comment8767 True, but releasing a fish once it's been in an aquarium can also spread aquarium diseases from other fish into the wild, so you have to be careful about that
Went out today to fish before work: I was there for large mouth bass but WOW: had 2 of these boys completely SLAM my swimbait, they are fighters & they completely destroyed steel leader, it was so fun, I couldn’t help but come learn everything about them. ( I caught both with a soft swimbait, darker green 3.5 inch & a smaller purple soft swimbait 2 inch - good luck fishing fellas. God bless you all!
They are hard fighters for sure. They can take off like a bullet.
@@FishingwithNat I’d be lying if I said that fish didn’t surprise me and shock me just a bit, I was shook for a solid 20 secs 😂😂
@@Steez0099 I know that feeling 🙂
Such an amazing video
Thank you 🙂
As stated before, I have been fishing most of my life but only now am I learning how to fish. We have a pretty heavy population of Chain Pickerel around the grassy areas of the lake we have a camp on. As you have mentioned it in the video, they are easy to catch. I can be out trying to get a few small mouth bass but not get anything. I now know I can head to certain grassy areas and am pretty much guaranteed to get a few pickerel. I have learned that they don't like bait that just sits there. They seem to like action.
I started with a frog at first but they just couldn't seem to really get a hold of it. Then I tried a jitterbug and BOOM!!!! Last weekend, trying braided line for the first time-finally, I caught a couple with a Rapala floater and also a torpedo. As always, thanks for the info. I am learning a lot.
Cool. The Jitterbug is a classic! Neat lure with a neat action.
I consider them to be fresh water barracudas... I have always thought it would be interesting to put a tag on them to see how much they move around in a lake system. I would think they would be always on the move...
Pike spend a lot of time just sitting in vegetation waiting to ambush something that passes by.
I see a pike at the exakt same spot in a small lake at my town every year.. he loves his spot
Funny, since they are built for speed, I would think they would roam around a lot.... Guess I was wrong...
@@robohippy They're built for short bursts of speed to ambush their prey like a bullet.
The AI thumbnail is kind of a big miss. AI has a really tough time getting any sort of specific fish "right" and also just comes off as lazy and the images always look lifeless. Also, I feel as if AI images just do not stand out amongst other thumbnails in the algorithm and come off as generic. I'd feel much more confident that I was going to learn something going into a video that advertised itself with the actual physical thing it's trying to teach you about. Maybe just use a picture of a fish you've caught in the past, or try to ask a photographer of sorts if you could use one of their photos, perhaps something along the lines of a pike in its own habitat. I love your videos, but I just don't like seeing content creators "cheap out" into using the AI stuff.
After watching the video, it looks like you had plenty of stock footage to use, and that footage was great. To be honest, you really only needed to use that for those brief clips that used AI and it would've not done the video any damage, if not only improved.
I agree, whenever i see AI it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Yeah couldn't agree more man
I appreciate the feedback. I wanted a thumbnail photo that represented the speed and ferocity of the northern pike. The only part of the actual video that was AI-generated was the illustration of the pike and the duck, since it's obviously a one-in-a-million shot to actually capture a real photo of a big pike eating a duck.
I don’t think its too bad. I do agree its a little lifeless though.
Awesome video. I like the thumbnail too
Cool, thanks!
Always makes me laugh seeing people just casually tying lures right onto a line... Here in Canada we have real fish with real teeth so steel leaders are standard fair.
Always baffles be too how people can just keep one lure on for hours at a time. I'm usually swapping lures every half hour until I find something the fish want, so a leader with a good clasp or clip are required.
Swapping often can be a good way to be efficient on the water. If you know you're in a good spot and the fish should be there but you're not getting any action, give something else a try.
I remember catching my first pike. Tried to land it in putting my thumb in its mouth like I would with a bass. Won't do that again!
Ouch - yeah that was a quick lesson learned! I had a pike clamp down across my thumb broadside this spring - it was torn up and sore for several days afterward.
Northern pike will dessimate all other large spawning-age fish. As their method of attack for large spawning fish is to t-bone large fish and continue to push the large fish in such a manner that water ceases to flow over gills. Once weakened, and well advertised to other pike who follow for a group feast. The females also carry 3X+ more eggs than other species. Northern pike will take over all other species in same waters
When pike are introduced to new waters, they can have this effect on the native species and they are considered invasive species in some parts of the world have they have not naturally occurred. Around here, they are native and co-occur with smallmouth, largemouth, walleye, sauger, musky, crappie, yellow perch, and more.
Pike are tasty. They are also boney. Just got to filet those fish carefully. A pike sees a yellow perch and he is instantly hungry. The perch is nailed just like that. Yow!!
Pike are excellent eating!
Hello, great video. It's interesting to see how people fish for pike around the world. I live in Finland and here we most often troll for pike and use metal leaders, also my friend taught me a way to grip pike. You take your hand and slide it under the gill and that allows for a good grip.
But we use the same lutes you use exept the topwater frogs.
Cool, thanks for sharing your experience from Finland!
You want the monsters go out at dusk and watch for schools . Then start ripping the edges of it. Caught some monsters on fly in in northern ontario
Thanks for the tip
Awesome video. Would love to see something similar for Muskie if you get around to it. I've been fishing in the kawartha lakes in ON for them my whole life. Some years are better than others. Lots of bad years in row recently... lol.
Thanks for the suggestion. Musky are tough to capture with underwater video. But I've gotten a few clips of them and I'll keep trying!
💞Wow🤍🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🤍🧡
Thank you - glad you enjoyed the video!
Very informative!…
I’ll admit I’m a steelhead snob..pike are fun and easy to catch…always fun
They sure are. Thanks for the feedback.
20 to 30 lb test monofilament is sufficient to stop bite thru from pike
I generally use 20-30lb fluoro or mono leaders for smaller pike, but I had a big one bite through 50lb fluoro last summer.
Maybe 20-30lb mono leader material, but pike can definatly cut 30lb mono line. I used 40-80lb Big Game mono leader material with good success, but due to the bulky knots tendancy to pick up weeds, I generally switch to steel once the weeds come in.
@@FishingwithNat don't swim in that lake, I thought 20-30 mono was sufficient to stop bite offs, guess not, steel leaders will slow the bite
@@timothyroche6445 20-30lb is good for the smaller pike, up to maybe 30". Bigger pike than that are incredible in what they can bite through.
Freshwater Barracuda
Yep, that's a good comparison
Hello Nat,
Thanks for sharing your observations and experience. You sound like a biologist. Where did you collect your data? What have your learned regarding their feeding habits during winter when in shallow 8' - 15' or deep lakes 16'-100' (random) lakes are frozen. Do you understand how Pike stage on shelfs or near tributaries. I have made several observations with cameras while ice fishing in deep clear lakes where is appears that Pike can be trended, What I don't understand is what is triggering the Pike to hunt or transition. I ASSume it is several factors to include efficiency, but water temperature and barometric pressure are common coincidental observations. I'd like to better understand what causes Pike to be where they are and feed when they do feed. Do you know any references that really get into the weeds regarding Pike. Thanks again.
Thanks for the comment. Professionally, I'm a lake biologist and botanist with a lifelong love of fish and fishing. You would enjoy a book called Northern Pike: Ecology, Conservation, and Management History. There are quite a few studies on northern pike that can be found via Google Scholar as well. From my experience and understanding, pike happily cruise the shallows under the ice looking for easy meals. They will sit near aquatic vegetation that remains evergreen (more than 10% of the aquatic plant species in Wisconsin remain standing and somewhat evergreen under the ice and snow). I don't think pike have clear staging areas that consistently vary throughout the season like a largemouth bass does, relating to shelves, creek channels, etc. They seem to be very opportunistic and will cruise around looking for good hiding spots where prey items are nearby. Their lateral lines and sensory pores are very sensitive to detect nearby prey.
thanks@@FishingwithNat
This should definitely be a serious. Yellow perch next!
Thanks for the suggestion. I had fun with this one and would like to cover other species too. Lots of ideas for this spring and summer!
How did you make the thumbnail and the one with the ducks?
Those were generated with an AI (Copilot)
Quality content, very informative. Do walleye next?
Possibly. Lots of ideas for this spring and several people have suggested that this become a series with other species covered. Thanks for the feedback - I appreciate it.
how did u get those ai pics in their there awsome
Just played around with AI image generators until one of them spit out an image that represented what I wanted to illustrate.
@@FishingwithNat do u remember what you looked up?
@@justin.fisherman No, I don't remember exactly
This was awesome!
Thanks
Great job with the video! Some good information! Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks
The first gamefish I caught was a Northern pike. Great fighters.
Absolutely
These guys are the reason I got braided line on all my reels
They are fighters. Braided line is nice for pike fishing.
Excellent Video - enjoyable and Informative.
Thank you
Great video! Would love more videos like this on different species.
Stay tuned...
Nice video!
Thanks!
New catch and release fisher here. If i do net a pike with lymphosarcoma, what is the best way to clean my net so i dont spread it around?
Another thing to consider is if you catch a fish with an obvious lymphosarcoma sore, don't use a net to land it.
@@FishingwithNat good point right there. Would I have to dispose of the lure?
Thanks for the concise break down of pike habits and habitats 👍
Glad you enjoyed it - thanks for the feedback!
You mad ? This is not devises this Wass one bite by lamprey wiils , lern beffore make this video
There are no lampreys in the lake where I took the photo of the pike with the lymphosarcoma sore.
My favourite fish love from the UK
One of my favorites too!
I’d love to see a video like this about lake trout or walleye
More to come
God, I love catching these fish
They are awesome
love the videos and love catching nothern pike!!
Thanks 🙂
I live in Central Finland and ive had 3 of these in my net once. My river is infested with them since my shore is filled with water plants where they like to hide and hunt in.
Id be happy but... well... i dont like the taste of pikes. They taste very mild and the meat is tender. I honestly only eat them smoked.
Fun fish to catch tho.
Fun to catch and I think they're pretty tasty too. My family likes pike breaded and coated with dill butter sauce.
This was good video! Thank you
Thanks - glad you enjoyed it!
Great video
Thanks
Not only did I catch my first fish of the year last week but it was fat pike off navy pier! Got it on a ML rod with a crappie rig 😂
Awesome. Pike on a ML rod are a lot of fun.
@@FishingwithNatI legit thought he was gonna drag me into the water lol. I don’t know how my line or rod didn’t break but I finally got over my dry spell!
@@freddyj5845 Awesome. There are some amazing pike in the harbors of Lake Michigan. A couple of them were featured in this video!
Hope we can see some more fish bio videos
Thanks for the suggestion. I had fun with this one and will probably do more.
Amazing video!
Thanks
About a 10 on the neat scale.
Thanks 🙂
Very informative, general info. Own footage. Solid delivery. Well done.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Besides being well done, I'd say it's rare too.
@@senatorjosephmccarthy2720 Thank you. I put a lot of time and effort into my videos.
Really nice Thumbnail
Thanks
is braided light line good for fishing??
I use 6lb braided line all the time on my light and ultralight rods, typically with a few feet of 4-6lb monofilament or fluorocarbon leader at the end.
is the line at the end necessary?@@FishingwithNat
@@askakas1834 I like to have a few feet of leader at the end because I'm usually fishing realistic lures or live bait with that light line, and the clear mono/fluoro leader helps with that more natural presentation.
Wtf?..pike-cancer?.
Yep. It's pretty nasty when you catch a fish with one of those big growths on it.
@@FishingwithNat on tv saw a tumor removed from a pet white 2/yo rat...was touch &go for a bit, (but the rat pulled through)...
@@Zotbot2329 nasty!
@@FishingwithNat don't get pike here (European carp..yes), they sound like catfish, and armoured catfish, look like sturgeon?...you did a good job of making it look edible..
4 hg Find a place to work where you feel comfortable and comfortable. Make sure the area is free from distractions. ug
good video, -please don't use ai though...
The thumbnail image was AI-generated but it does a good job representing the intensity of the northern pike and the topic of the video.
@@FishingwithNat Fair point!
ai
The thumbnail image was AI-generated but it does a good job representing the intensity of the northern pike and the topic of the video.
I love the the thumbnail@@FishingwithNat
Pike are really just fresh water Baracuda!
That's about right!