Jigging for Winter Pike - How to Choose Location, Gear, and Lures – Foundry Outdoors

Jigging for Winter Pike - How to Choose Location, Gear, and Lures

For me personally, using tip-ups to catch pike through the ice is boring, and no offense to those who fish in this manner, but to me its not really fishing. In my mind as a musky angler, fishing is a constant game of movement to seek out active fish, not waiting for something to swim by for hours. This mindset is why I prefer jigging for pike in the winter months, and its not uncommon for me to drill 50 to 75 holes in a day searching for them. In this article I'm going to breakdown how I search for big pike, and what I use to catch them. 

 

 

Location

I am incredibly fortunate in that I grew up and live across the road from a 100 acre lake in Northern Wisconsin that has no public access. This lake is 50 feet deep with steep drop offs and only a few areas with weed flats and bays. 

This lake also grows very large Pike for an inland lake in Wisconsin due to the lack of fishing pressure, deep water, and abundant forage. One spring in particular comes to mind, when I caught 7 pike 40 inches in length or close to, in the matter of a couple weeks. The largest pike I have seen was 45 inches or more, so its a unique body of water. 

Points, humps, and corners of weed lines and contours will hold large fish on a regular basis. Setting tip ups in the middle of weed beds will allow you to catch pike, but they typically will be of the smaller variety. 

Big fish will seek out mid-lake structure, and use it regularly. This should be your target for big pike. 

 

Gear

Jigging for big pike is going to require some beefy gear compared to walleye or other species, and honestly your selection might be more limited in this aspect in relation to ice fishing. 

Some great rod choices are the Clam Outdoors Jason Mitchell series bait caster rods, and the bait caster jigging rods made by Haat fishing, which are great quality rods. 

Any bait casting reel for bass fishing will work fine, and it doesn't really need to be anything fancy: remember, we are only jigging. If you have a bait casting reel laying around, save your money for that quality Haat rod; its worth it. 

 

 

Lures

One of the reasons I love jigging for pike is that it allows me to really think outside of the box. You can use lures that aren't specific to ice fishing, though there are some great ice fishing specific lures that you can use to catch pike as well. 

Soft plastics are by far my favorite lure choice, due to the natural and subtle vibrations they give off. In shallower water I will take a standard jig or a stand up jig and throw on any type of fluke style bait or shad imitation. 

Tube jigs can also be incredibly effective in water of any depth, and are a go-to in my situations, from working a deep weed patch or jigging around suspended schools of baitfish. 

Ice fishing specific baits that work well for jigging pike are some of the same as for walleye or other species. Rapala Jiggin' raps, rippin' raps, Salmo chubby darters, and the list goes on. 

Let's not forget a classic fish catching lure for all predatory species: spoons. Spoons can work great at any depth, and you can tip the hook with a fake minnow body or a shiner head for extra scent and attraction. 

 

Conclusion

If you're an ice fisherman, chances are you know where to find pike, but the real key to finding large pike is to find those key areas where they live and hunt consistently. Using baits such as the ones listed above will get them to eat once you find them. 

 

 

 





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