Pike Lures revisted, Part 2

A selection of hardbodied swimbaits

HARD SWIMBAITS

The swimbait revolution has taken over the bass market. There are a plethora of huge, expensive hardbodied swimbaits used by trophy hunting bass anglers, particularly in So. California. While I am by no means an expert of any kind on these baits or their histories, I believe they evolved (at least on the national level) when AC Plugs started catching huge largemouth in California. The AC Bait is a hard body with a soft plastic tail section. Most of these baits started as rainbow trout imitators. The stocked rainbows were like fish-food to the giant CAL largemouths.

The baits evolved into what I now call the hard swimbaits. While the original baits are still around, I like, and fish, the lipless, or very small lipped baits with 1, 2, or 3 joints. They have a hypnotic side to side swimming action on a straight retrieve. How aggressively they swim is determined by the angles of the joints. The Sebile has a very straight track with a tight wobble. The Lucky Craft has 1 joint and a much wider swimming track. Both are effective.

To be quite honest with you, using these baits on pike is probably overkill. They are expensive baits, and I don't think pike are that selective - if they see something even remotely edible, they eat it. Still, I like to try new stuff, so I threw them for at least a while on this trip. They all caught some fish for me, with the Lucky Craft probably drawing more hits than the others. You can't go wrong with them, but I believe you will catch just as many fish with other, more affordable jerkbaits. The one advantage they DO have is that they are generally big baits, since they are designed as trophy baits.


RATTLETRAP TYPE BAITS

I rely on Rattletraps a LOT when pike fishing. One of my most beaten-up, tooth scarred baits is a 1 oz. Rattletrap that used to be chartreuse. I rely on 3 models of these baits when pike fishing. I usually have at least 8 of them along with me on any given pike trip. The 1 oz. Rattletrap is my go-to bait. There is just something about these baits that drives pike crazy. I believe I have had the most vicious hits I've ever gotten with these 'traps. I rely on Chartreuse, Fire Tiger, and Honey Bee colors. Before this trip, I found some 1-1/2oz. SW Rattletraps, and I liked them a lot. they've found a place in my arsenal.


My favorite 'trap-type baits for pike

I also use Lucky Craft LVR 15. They cast a mile, give of a very loud rattle, and have terrific hooks on them. Finally, Strike King Redeye Shad in 3/4 oz. round out my selection. You must add these baits to your pike trips. You will shake your head in amazement when a relatively small - 30-35" - pike nearly tears your rod out of your hands when they attack these baits.


GLIDE BAITS

Glide baits are used extensively by musky hunters. They are large wooden baits that have a slow sink rate. Using a rod tip-down technique, the angler jerks the lure in a repetitive motion, causing it to jerk erratically side - to - side under water. The musky baits are very big baits - 4-10 oz. - and require specialized rods to work and fish them effectively.


Rapala glide-style baits - pike love 'em!

Then, 2 years ago, Rapala introduced the Sub Walk. This bait does exactly the same thing, but is small enough to handle on bass gear. And they work for pike. Then, last year, they brought the bait out in a saltwater size. BINGO - perfect trophy pike lure. The same year, they introduced the Glide Rap - a musky type bait that is just a little smaller than a lot of musky baits, making it perfect for pike.

Well, these baits DO work for pike. I had high expectations for the SW Sub Walk on this trip. For some reason, I didn't get around to using it as often as I would have liked. Plus, I had a little difficulty slowing down my rod action - the bait really whipped around on a slack-line twitch, sometimes coming around on the line. Still, Andy and I caught fish on them, and I'll always have some along. The Glide Rap is a big bit and really requires a stout rod to effectively cast and work it. Even if you don't have specialized BIG pike / musky gear, be sure to use the XRSB09 Sub Walk, which is 3-1/2" long and weighs 5/8 oz. - perfect for typical bass gear. (The SW XRSB15 is 6" long, weighs 2 oz)


JERKBAITS

Finally, the lure category that stole all the honors on my recent trip - jerkbaits. I categorize all crankbaits with lips as jerkbaits. Whether you jerk them in erratically, or do a straight retrieve, they work. They work because they imitate the primary prey species for pike - other fish.


Pike jerkbait assortment

Jerkbaits really make up the 3rd part of the 3 major categories of pike lures - bucktails, spoons, and jerkbaits. Many jerkbaits are easy to cast and retrieve, and can be fished with any bass gear. This includes some fairly large baits - the Rapala F-18 comes to mind. Of course, if you target big pike using big lures, you'll want to use rods and reels appropriately matched up to your lure selection. On our recent trip, 3 individual lures shined through as the stars: A Rapala X-Rap Jointed Shad - XJS13 - in Hot Steel color, a Rapala X-Rap Saltwater size 14 - SXR14 - in GGH (Glass Ghost) color, and a Salmo Pike. You've read about Jim's retrieval technique - a slow, steady retrieve until the Jointed X-Rap hit some cabbage, then a rip through the cabbage. Andy works the SW X-Rap in an aggressive jerking motion, and it calls in fish due the erratic movement and size as well as when it gets popped out of the weeds. Billy relied on straight retrieves with the Salmo.

Again, you will see that the baits we opted for on this trip are, by most accounts, pretty big lures. You need to get the attention of the fish, and the size / flash of the big baits does just that. Also, since we're really targeting big fish, it's our intent that these bigger baits discourage some of the smaller fish from going after them. I don't really think this works at all, since pike will go after baits as long as they are, but we like to think it does. I've included 2 pictures for you. One shows the difference in bait size for a freshwater X-Rap to a SW X-Rap. It is substantial. the next shows a war-torn Jointed X-Rap Shad in Hot Steel. these baits just get better and better the more mauled and chewed up they get.


FW vs. SW X-Raps


A battered X-Rap


TOPWATERS

Very little has been mentioned (by me) about topwaters for Pike. I always have an assortment of topwaters along with me on these trips, but the last 2 trips I have had very little success with them. In the past, buzzbaits and Super Spooks have been good to me on pike trips, and I always have them along. The other bait I've done OK on is a Woodchopper. I 've gotten very little on Popper style baits (Chug Bug, ...) I would rather catch fish on topwater than anything else, but I won't use them if the fish don't want them. While I'll always have a few along, in recent years they have been falling out of favor with my. I hope that changes in the future, but when you have weight restrictions on what you can carry on your trip, you can't waste precious ounces on baits that have not been productive.

I hope you enjoyed the overview of pike baits. The lists grow and shrink with each passing year, and I love to try new stuff. I'll keep everyone posted on new baits for these toothy predators.

My Favorite Things

I admit it - I have a LOT of stuff. Working in the fishing and hunting industries for nearly 20 years, and being a compulsive packrat, I have STUFF - lots of it. Rods, reels, lures, flies, boots, ... really, too much of it. The good thing is, when someone at work is going to the Keys for a weekend in Feb., for example, they know they can borrow a fly reel loaded with a bonefish line, and a box of flies appropriate for the destination! Still, with all the stuff, I have my favorite things. I define my favorite things as follows: regardless of the price, or how I came to obtain them (gift, bought them myself), I will NEVER be without them. These are the things that, if I was to wear them out, lose them, break them - I would replace them without a second thought. The following are my Favorite Things. Feel free to comment on yours as well as your thoughts on mine. They are in no particular order.














Muck Boots/ shoes. These are the most recent acquisition that I will never be without. I have both shoes and boots, and they are , without a doubt, the most comfortable footwear I've ever worn. Being neoprene, they are too warm for the summer, but that's the only drawback I can see. I wear the shoes for fishing from a boat - they're waterproof - and the boots for pheasant hunting. The shoes when its cold outside. I also happen to be afflicted with gout about once a year, making walking nearly unbearable. The shoes are the only things I can function with when gout flares up. These shoes/ boots are awesome!








Fenwick HMG UL spin road, circa 1985. This is one of the first "good" rods I ever bought, and I still use it as much as nearly any rod I own. I love to fish for panfish, so it is usually along with me on my walks around the local ponds. It's too short (4-1/2'), too light and whippy, and the cork handle is so dirty its hard to see the cork anymore. But - it works. This would be hard - to - impossible to replace, because the rod isn't made the same way it used to be.








Weighted bobbers and Cubby Mini-Mites. I found weighted bobbers about 6 years ago, and my panfishing has expanded tremendously because of it. These bobbers let you cast a mile, and the weight renders them close to neutrally buoyant, easily detecting the most subtle strikes. Paired with a Cubby Mini Mite, they create a perfect panfish combo. I don't know what it is about the Mini Mite that makes them work so well, but they just flat-out catch fish. I've tried the knock-offs, and I fish a lot of grubs (see below), but Mini Mites are my go-to baits when UL fishing.









Jig and Grub / Twister. The classic "nickle crankbait" - just cast them out and reel them in. At times they're almost too easy. At other times they're the only way to find and catch fish. Size of the grub and weight of the jig vary depending on the target species. And these are not just for freshwater - they 'll catch fish everywhere. Over the past year I've fished them from 1" long for panfish to pulling a gang of 9" 'ers on a dredge to attract blue marlin. It doesn't get anymore versatile than that. And I literally never go fishing without having some along. I'm not quite as fanatical about them as an old friend from PA who, to the best of my knowledge, never used anything in his life other than a chartreuse or motor oil "twister" - right Ken?? - but I do use them a lot, and catch a lot of fish with them.










F9 Floating Rapala. The old standby - the original floating balsa crankbait. Years ago, these were the most expensive lures you could buy, but everyone had some. Now they have been overshadowed in some circles by the Japanese baits (Lucky Craft, Daiwa, ....) but they still work. Very well. It's probably out of a sense of nostalgia, but I always have some of these with me. HINT - if you break off the lip of one of these baits, don't throw it away. Turn it into a good topwater - the bait will dance and dart erratically when twitched and ripped.

Barbour Border waxed cotton coat. My Border is now 15 years old, and is starting to really feel like it's getting broken in. It was worn everywhere for about 8 years, and has been relegated to hunting and fishing in cold, windy, rainy weather for the last 7 years. It has frayed sleeves, a few patches on the back and elbows. In short - it's almost perfect. I send it back to get re-waxed every 2 years (it's due right now). When I'm going pheasant hunting in a rain/ snow mix, with a stiff wind - the Barbour Border is the perfect coat to keep you warm and in the field. This jacket, with its liner, were my primary means of warmth in Norway at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994, when the temp. rarely got north of 20 degrees.

Those who have read this blog know I love to flyfish for trout. I have a ridiculous amount of trout flies, but a few always go with me. West, East - doesn't matter. Brook trout, cutthroat, browns, 'bows, grayling - this trio has caught them all. The elk hair caddis is a terrific fly in and of itself, and also serves double duty as a high floating indicator. The cone head Wooly Bugger just plain catches fish, especially in black or olive. And the bright pink San Juan worm is flat out deadly everywhere I've fished it, including the famed technical waters of flyfishing lore. A day on the West Branch Delaware River about 10 years ago illustrates this perfectly. Dave Colley and I were fishing with a guide (I've forgotten his name) and he showed us a deep run that held some nice fish. He suggested bh caddis pupa or gold ribbed hares ear, but Dave put on the worm. "They don't work here - these aren't those stupid fish from out west" was his reply. 15 minutes later, after a 18" and 16" brown brought to hand, he was a believer.

Let me know your favorite things - just the ones you can't live without.

Wolfy