Fly-in Northern Pike Fishing North of Nakina, Ontario

Northern Pike are apex predators and found in all of our lakes. They hit just about any lure and you will catch many of them while fishing for other species. The presence of trophies is what attracts serious Pike hunters from all over North America.

Guests who are fanatical about Northern Pike are looking for the big gators. Pike in the 35" to 40" range are common and fun to catch. Our lakes have Pike much larger than 40". Guests report catching 44" to 48" fish with the occasional monster in the 50" range. If you spend the week targeting Northerns you will catch a few trophies.

Where the Pike are: Northern Pike are ambush predators. Generally you will find small to medium size fish in the back of weedy bays and along the shore. The big ones generally stay at the weed lines or at points leading into weedy bays. They will also hang off rocky points and shoals to feed on Walleyes and other fish. One of the best places to catch a big trophy is the outside of narrows where feeder fish are migrating through. If you find an area where there are Lily Pads, Bulrushes or Musky Cabbage; big pike may be resting out of the sun so working the edge of the weed lines by casting in 20' using weedless lures is very affective.

Lures & Colors: Northern Pike hit just about any lure but they do tend to prefer certain colors and color combinations. Red, red & white, red & black, black & white, black with yellow spots, pink, orange and the traditional yellow five-of-diamonds all produce fish.

If fishing the weed lines and casting into the weeds spoons such as weedless Dardevles in the colors above or the weedless Johnston Silver Minnow are best. You may also want to try top-water baits like Spooks and Jitterbugs. If fishing the outside of the weed lines and not casting into the thick weeds regular Dardevles, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and rattlebaits are all affective. If the water you are fishing in has that stained tea color then bright lures or lures that make noise work best.

Many of the extremely large Pike may patrol the rocky shorelines hunting down Walleyes and other fish. If you are a Musky angler you may want to bring some of your larger lures and troll along the shore, especially where there is Wild Rice along a shore that drops off into deeper water. Mepps Musky Killers, Swim Whizzes, Believers, large spinnerbaits, and Rapala J-13s are all affective.

Flyfishing for Northerns has become very popular. Dropping a fly in-between patches of Lily Pads and Musky Cabbage or at the edge of Bulrushes will produce results. The most popular flies are Barry Reynolds Pike Bunny, Rabbit Strip Pike Bunny, Mcmurderer, Red & White Pike Fly, Shiner Flies, Whistler Fly, Mickey Finn Streamer and the English Pikefly.

Even if you are not targeting Northern Pike you will still catch them. It is highly recommended that you bring a long hook remover tool to avoid any injury to your hands. Pike have razor sharp teeth.