Get Ready For The Fall Pike Smashfest
When the leaves start changing colours and the temperatures start dropping, two thoughts run through my mind:
“Is trout season really almost over?” and
“Woohoo, toothy-critter time!”
Toothy-critter time!
In the past three years, the end of trout season reminds me that I did not hit the rivers near as often as I had planned. When we lived on a brook trout stream, I was out there every day. Now, it’s a bit of a drive to get to my favorite spots. As the end of September hurtles towards us, I always try to cram in a few more days with the brookies.
Yet, as trout season comes to a close, I am gearing up for one of the best times of the year to be on the water. With the cooler temperatures signaling the approach of winter, the pike start putting on the feed bag, and this can lead to some truly amazing days of fishing.
As this time of the year approaches, I start keying in on feeding flats with plenty of weed left. Last fall, Darrell and I were fishing in just such an area and happened to notice schools of minnows jumping out of the water. The minnows were being chased by pike, so we started casting into the schools and landed pike on almost every cast. It was fantastic.
While we don’t have many trophy-sized pike locally, the fall smashfest is too much fun to resist.
Not only are the pike abundant at this time of the year, but they are also extremely aggressive, allowing anglers to use power-fishing techniques, which is much more to my liking. Go-to baits at this time of the year are spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, anything with flash and vibration. In general, bigger spinnerbaits seem to help attract bigger fish. Crankbaits, especially lipless varieties, can pull in the fish when nothing else does. For even more fun, try tossing a topwater lure.
While white and chartreuse baits work through the spring and summer, adding some orange makes a huge difference on in the fall on my local lakes. Days where the fish seemed to be shut right down have taken dramatic turns when I finally toss out an orange spinnerbait.
Some of our go-to lures.
A benefit of using spinnerbaits is that it saves your line from getting too many knicks as the knot is usually outside of the mouth. When targeting pike, don’t forget to check your line often, and retie if you find knicks. Some anglers prefer to use stainless steel or titanium leaders while targeting pike. I prefer to use a fluorocarbon leader as it’s invisible and can be tied directly to the lure.
Targeting pike in the fall can produce a memorable day on the water. There is little to compare with the smash of a hungry pike. My best days have left me with sore arms, shredded lures, the smell of pike emanating from the boat, and a permanent smile on my face. If you haven’t been out for pike before, the fall is the time to get out there and give it a go. Be prepared for the smashfest.
argosgirl
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I don’t have much Pike fishing experience at all, so enjoyable to read your plan of attack. Sounds like a really good time if you get into some. Wish I was on the boat with you and Darrell just to watch and learn…………………..
Mel, it really is an amazing thing to experience. If you get a chance to do some pike fishing, I highly recommend it, just be careful with your fingers 🙂