Planning Your Pike Fishing Trip

By Jane Mun 

Getting a weekend off to take a fishing trip is not easy for some people, especially city dwellers. For those folk lucky enough to live near lakes and rivers that offer fishing opportunities, it is not a big deal to take a trip whenever they have the time to do so. For most people going on Pike fishing trips, a bit of planning is involved to make sure that they get the best chance they can to catch big Northern Pike.

If you are living in the United States, it is a good idea to find out which states allow Pike fishing during the time period you wish to take your trip. Some states offer year-round Pike fishing, others restrict it to spring and autumn, after the Northern Pike have completed spawning. Most of the Canadian Pike fishing spots offer year-round angling. This is convenient for US citizens, since visas are not required, as long as intend keeping your fishing trip under 3 months in duration!

Once you have established which area you are going to fish in, find out which camping sites, fishing lodges or chalets are available. If you intend to take your family or wife with, it is best to choose a site that provides hot water, indoor toilets and other such amenities that robust Pike anglers think are frivolous and against the spirit of 'roughing it'. Bear in mind that if your family is not comfortable or happy while you are out fishing, you trip could be cut short, which minimizes your chances of catching anything at all.

The geographic location and the time of year of your trip are important. These factors determine where the Northern Pike will be located in the lakes and rivers and how they will behave. During the warm months of spring and summer, they will be slow moving and generally lazy. This means using the right kind of bait and lures that won't scare them off. If it is autumn, then you will need to pack in lures like Daredevils that are designed for movement and spoons that attract Pike with noise.

Always bring a number of lures of the same kind on your fishing trip. This is due to Pike being aggressive enough to escape from your line once hooked and very often they will be strong enough to detach your lure. You should also bring suitable equipment for both open water fishing and fishing along the shoreline, depending on where the Pike are actually swimming on the day.

Many Pike anglers reckon that using live bait is the best method to catch very large Northern Pike. To properly plan your Pike fishing trip, take into account which live fish you will need to catch to use as bait and be sure that you have the right bait and lures for those fish too. Small fish like Minnows, or bugs will not be enough to get the larger Northern Pike interested. You will have to plan on bagging a few large fish like Walleyes to guarantee large predatory Pike end up on your hook.
 

The author is writing article in a full time basis. He also freelance in writing other articles such as occupational therapist salary and occupational therapist careers

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