Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Bullets
While you are planning a proper pike fishing place & trip go to the North Saskatchewan river and practice. I firmly believe there are a big pike that are often overlooked. I have caught several pike between 10 and 20 lbs. with the biggest being 28 lbs.. Those big river pike don't really hang out in back eddies but are more likely to hold behind an obstacle in more of a current. And they are sucking in up to a few pound fish for a meal. They aren't interested in a little 3 inch spoon. Fish accordingly.
I've also seen a 25 lb pike caught right below dickson dam on the Red Deer river too.
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I live in Widewater, so I don't get out to either of those rivers very much, but I do get to practice quite a bit. Most years I manage to get a couple fish in the 10-15lb range, once in a while something bigger.
I agree with you on the river pike getting overlooked, and as a bonus I firmly believe that river pike, per pound, are noticeably stronger fighters. The problem with river fishing in my experience, is that pike often seem to be about the least plentiful species in the river, and they are rarely evenly dispersed throughout the system. I have holes where I regularly catch pike, and other holes which are almost identical in nature that have never given me even one pike. More frustrating still is the fact that most of my best pike holes are at a confluence which makes them pretty well known. The more subtle spots that less people have the patience to find rarely seem to hold good sized pike in the rivers that I haunt.
In short, while the rewards are for sure there, I do sometimes get frustrated when I spend a day catching 10 walleye to every pike, even when slinging baits in the 5-8" range.