Setting the hook on Pike

[Fisherdan]

I have been having trouble this season setting the hook on pike with both rod and and tipup.

Last year I started something I read on this forum. Using a smelt with a single hook, I would let the fish swim off with the bait, and simply close the bail once the fish stopped and had been munching for a moment. This seemed to work more often than not, with larger pike — say 4 lbs and up. Maybe I was just getting lucky, but I felt that the fish would usually hook themselves this way. I also liked that with a single hook, there was less damage to the fish, and quicker, smoother releases were occurring.

This year, I have been taking my kids to places that are closer, however have smaller pike. So far, I’ve managed to hook up and land one fish, but I’ve lost four or five others.

Any suggestions? I feel like fish that are a bit smaller… say 2 pounds, might not hook themselves very well this way. Maybe a smaller chunk of smelt on a hook or jig, with a quick hook set once the fish has it, is better?

Any thoughts on hooking up Pike, large and small is appreciated. What I’m really trying to do is get the kids hooked on fishing… so I really need better results than what I’ve been getting! Telling them, “Oh, it got off,” is getting old fast.

[Remps17]

I would say down size the bait if your running a single hook, and for the class of fish.

I still run a classic QS rig for larger baits. One treble in the head facing backwards so when the pike takes the bait head first (hopefully) you can get a good hook in them.

I run barbless for QS rigs and set the hook ASAP to avoid deep takes. You will have days that a lot of fish are back hooked and other days where pike will run with the bait and not take it for a while. Just deepened on the pikes behaviour that day.

I have had poor hook ups on single circle hooks. But others swear by them.

Probably things that you have already heard but that what works for me. Good luck out there.

[MrDave]

Go buy a hook sharpener. Likely your problem is not perfectly sharp hooks. They seem sharp but can be sharper. I use one treble hook in the middle of the minnow.

[Off in the Bushes]

My mentality is set the hook when they are taking line at least you know it’s in their mouth. You sit and wait and you’ll never know if they tasted steel and spit it out. I’ve have success with pike rigs and single hooks. But am currently changing up my game to fluorocarbon leader and red treble hooks based on other discusses on here. Due to the warm weather I have not tested my theory, or put into practice what was discussed.

[58thecat]

4" and under one treble mid section hook facing towards tail...over 4" two trebles tail end and then mid section....barbless and sharp hooks....if targeting pike I don't lay on the bottom just off 6" or so...

[MrDave]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

4" and under one treble mid section hook facing towards tail...over 4" two trebles tail end and then mid section....barbless and sharp hooks....if targeting pike I don't lay on the bottom just off 6" or so...

Sigh... I will type it again. You are only allowed one treble hook per line. It's in the regs under the prohibitions, you may have missed it when you read them I guess.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Originally Posted by MrDave

Sigh... I will type it again. You are only allowed one treble hook per line. It's in the regs under the prohibitions, you may have missed it when you read them I guess.

Hahaha you sure about that

[HuyFishin]

Originally Posted by MrDave

Sigh... I will type it again. You are only allowed one treble hook per line. It's in the regs under the prohibitions, you may have missed it when you read them I guess.

A treble hook is only a single hook (one shaft)

so a quick strike rig would be considered legal. I think the last time you brought it up in the forums it was discussed.

[walleye guy]

Originally Posted by MrDave

Sigh... I will type it again. You are only allowed one treble hook per line. It's in the regs under the prohibitions, you may have missed it when you read them I guess.

if this were true, every crankbait in your tackle box would be illegal !!

[old dog]

I usually set the hook on the second or third run and as said when they r on the run but I don’t set when the line is really spooling off fast, what until it starts to slow down.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by MrDave

Sigh... I will type it again. You are only allowed one treble hook per line. It's in the regs under the prohibitions, you may have missed it when you read them I guess.

we did this dance on another thread....

https://albertaregulations.ca/fishin...eral-regs.html

Illegal to use a line in angling equipped with more than three hooks (e.g., three hooks, or three single-hook lures, or one three-hook lure).

Hook – A single-, double- or triple-pointed hook on a common shaft, and includes hooks attached to a lure. (Note: some legal lures appear to have a hook with four points, but actually have two shafts each with two points, meaning that this lure has two hooks).

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Fisherdan

I have been having trouble this season setting the hook on pike with both rod and and tipup.

Last year I started something I read on this forum. Using a smelt with a single hook, I would let the fish swim off with the bait, and simply close the bail once the fish stopped and had been munching for a moment. This seemed to work more often than not, with larger pike — say 4 lbs and up. Maybe I was just getting lucky, but I felt that the fish would usually hook themselves this way. I also liked that with a single hook, there was less damage to the fish, and quicker, smoother releases were occurring.

This year, I have been taking my kids to places that are closer, however have smaller pike. So far, I’ve managed to hook up and land one fish, but I’ve lost four or five others.

Any suggestions? I feel like fish that are a bit smaller… say 2 pounds, might not hook themselves very well this way. Maybe a smaller chunk of smelt on a hook or jig, with a quick hook set once the fish has it, is better?

Any thoughts on hooking up Pike, large and small is appreciated. What I’m really trying to do is get the kids hooked on fishing… so I really need better results than what I’ve been getting! Telling them, “Oh, it got off,” is getting old fast.

With a rod, I've found a little softer sometimes helps, especially when fishing with bait for some reason. The Uglystic Med-Heavy, or Dock Runner rods are about right.

For tipups, I think the problem is that sometimes the fish is turning the bait in its mouth. Another problem is that the further you let them run the more chance they will zig zag the line through a bunch of weeds and make it hard to tighten up on them without them feeling it, or simply feeling some resistance and dropping the bait.

So a couple pointers: If you can dont use any weight on the tipup, I'm a firm believer that the sinker dropping when the flag pops is one of the biggest factors in dropped takes.

A pike will nearly always either take a horizontal hanging bait across the body or grab it by the head, so put you hook between the head and dorsal in such a position that if a pike of any size takes that bait either way he will likely have the hook in his mouth. Quick strike rigs arent necessary until your baits are over 7-8".

The highest percentage time to set the hook IMO, is while the tipup is spinning. At this point you know for sure that the pike has the bait in his mouth, and the line is likely straight and tight right out to the fish. If you set while the fish is still running dont set too hard, just tighten up on the line to give a bit of resistance the fish will ram the hooks home.

If I get there and the spool isnt spinning, I wait a couple minuets to see if it starts spinning again. If this doesnt happen carefully tighten up the line until you can feel the fish and then give it a good yank. While this is the textbook method, I get higher percentage hookups setting while the fish is running... takes away the guess work and eliminates some potential complications.

[Fisherdan]

Thanks for the responses guys. Appreciate all the ideas. Hook sharpening is some thing that I didn’t think about... seems so obvious though.

And I never thought about the fish zigzagging through weeds. That would for sure be a problem. With tip ups, I’ve been waiting till the fish stops, and I can feel it munching, before I give a tug... but I will try when they’re swimming off with it. (Unless the fish is going too fast, of course).

Do you guys find that larger fish act and hook up differently than smaller fish? Just trying to see if I should alter my method depending on what lake I’m at.

[old dog]

I find big fish do that big tail wag and the line goes out really fast. They stop and start to feed. At this point they either lay it down cause they feel something wrong or swallow. They then go for another run and when it slows I set the hook

[Remps17]

Originally Posted by MrDave

Sigh... I will type it again. You are only allowed one treble hook per line. It's in the regs under the prohibitions, you may have missed it when you read them I guess.

Swing and a miss again MrDave. I am sure the next time someone brings up multiple treble hooks someone will believe you.

[HuyFishin]

Originally Posted by old dog

I find big fish do that big tail wag and the line goes out really fast. They stop and start to feed. At this point they either lay it down cause they feel something wrong or swallow. They then go for another run and when it slows I set the hook

I see pike inhaling big huge trebles all the time and I always assume that if they drop the bait its not because they felt the hooks but for a different reason.

I always assume its no different then feeling a spikey dorsal of a walleye or perch.

[archerynut]

I just got back from fishing so I have some recent observations. We were fishing about 10 or 12 feet of water. It was plenty clear, we could see bottom. Watching the pike come up to the bait they always picked it up in the middle of the body lengthwise. They swam off about a foot then started positioning the bait to eat.

Today we were using Len Thompson #8 and 00 spoons with medium sized frozen minnows. I would wait until the fish started to eat. Good swift upward sweep once the spoon dissapeared. We iced 4 pike and lost another one at the hole in two hours. Sharp bottom edge of the ice cut the line so we know our hooksets were good. Built my neighbour an ice rod. He's six foot three. He set that hook like he was fishing for tarpon and the rod just snapped. So don't put your whole heart and soul into it. Like another poster said sharp hooks are super important. I've never fished with a tipup so I can't comment on that. With a rod in hand tho once you get that hook properly set you'll know it. All our hooksets were right in the front of the mouth/jaw. No bleeding fish. It was a good morning watching my neighbour/friend catch his first fish through the ice.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by MrDave

Sigh... I will type it again. You are only allowed one treble hook per line. It's in the regs under the prohibitions, you may have missed it when you read them I guess.

Before you post this again I recommend reading the regs again and if you are still unsure contact F&W

Been checked by lots of F&W officers when fishing with 2-3 trebles many times in Alberta no issues

[dustinjoels]

For small pike I would forgo the larger baits and just use a regular minnow with a jig head and set the hook immediately. I’ve had excellent hook up rates with jaw jackers for pike under 5 pounds.

If you’re targeting the big mamas that’s a different story.

[Fisherdan]

Originally Posted by old dog

I find big fish do that big tail wag and the line goes out really fast. They stop and start to feed. At this point they either lay it down cause they feel something wrong or swallow. They then go for another run and when it slows I set the hook

I thought about this post when I went out today. The flag popped on the tip up, and the spool was spinning fast! I thought about that “big tail wag”.... also started to think that I might run out of line. Then it slowed down a bit, so I put tension on the line to set the hook.

A couple minutes later I had a fat 5lbs pike and a couple of ecstatic kids! Thanks everyone for all the tips.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Fisherdan

I thought about this post when I went out today. The flag popped on the tip up, and the spool was spinning fast! I thought about that “big tail wag”.... also started to think that I might run out of line. Then it slowed down a bit, so I put tension on the line to set the hook.

A couple minutes later I had a fat 5lbs pike and a couple of ecstatic kids! Thanks everyone for all the tips.

Hope it keeps working for you, its contrary advice to what pretty much every expert will give you, but setting on the run is as ideal as it gets IMO. Fish has the bait firmly in his mouth, line is straight, he's facing away from the hole so the hook is likely to be drawn back into the corner of his mouth rather than out the front. You could wait all day to set that hook you are not guaranteed to ever get all those variables back in your favor again.

Glad you ice a fish.

[Topshot]

I have always had good luck with a pickerel rig with 1oz weight. I use large smelt from superstore, big bag for $10 about 4 -6". Put the weight on the bottom and tighten up intil rod is tight. Put rod in rod holder. For that I drill a hole in the ice with a 1/4" cement bit 8" long insert a spring type rod holder from canadian tire. Hook on a bell. Grab a beer and relax. They like to bite when your eating, going to the bathroom or outside tent. I out fish people that hold their rod. So maybe slow down a little. Hope that helps.

[Topshot]

Oh I forgot, turn on the radio and have fun. I have always have the radio on.

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by Fisherdan

Thanks for the responses guys. Appreciate all the ideas. Hook sharpening is some thing that I didn’t think about... seems so obvious though.

And I never thought about the fish zigzagging through weeds. That would for sure be a problem. With tip ups, I’ve been waiting till the fish stops, and I can feel it munching, before I give a tug... but I will try when they’re swimming off with it. (Unless the fish is going too fast, of course).

Do you guys find that larger fish act and hook up differently than smaller fish? Just trying to see if I should alter my method depending on what lake I’m at.

You will miss WAY less large fish. A 10 lb+ pike will just inhale your bait.
I have learned to always set the hook when they are swimming away after the pause to munch.
Then you know they've got their mouth closed hard on the bait.
I found that often I would time it poorly and rip the bait out of their mouths when they were chomping on it.
Happens way less if you can wait for them to take a good run AFTER they've had a chance to chomp for a bit and get it turned around.

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by Fisherdan

I thought about this post when I went out today. The flag popped on the tip up, and the spool was spinning fast! I thought about that “big tail wag”.... also started to think that I might run out of line. Then it slowed down a bit, so I put tension on the line to set the hook.

A couple minutes later I had a fat 5lbs pike and a couple of ecstatic kids! Thanks everyone for all the tips.

Good to hear. Congratulations!
Having kids there makes it 10x more exciting.
Their exuberance rubs off.

[KBF]

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

You will miss WAY less large fish. A 10 lb+ pike will just inhale your bait.
I have learned to always set the hook when they are swimming away after the pause to munch.
Then you know they've got their mouth closed hard on the bait.
I found that often I would time it poorly and rip the bait out of their mouths when they were chomping on it.
Happens way less if you can wait for them to take a good run AFTER they've had a chance to chomp for a bit and get it turned around.

Pretty sure I did this today.
What size of treble hooks are people using in a quick strike setup?