When fishing in the northern parts of the world you’ll find the pike to be a popular game fish. These fish, often referred to as walleyes, are an olive green color with gold flecks and a white belly. They have dark spots on the webbing found on the spines of the first dorsal fin and a light spot on the lower part of the tail. There are no spots on the spiny dorsal fin. They have a slender body, long head, sharp teeth and sensory pores located underneath the lower jaw.

Pikes tend to stay around brush piles, weeds, submerged trees, lily pads, rocks and other areas where they can find cover when they’re not on the move. They hide out in these areas and ambush their prey as it swims by. Nevertheless, since they do tend to move around a lot, this makes them a little harder to find than some of the other species.

They can be found near the shoreline much of the time but they will move out to the deeper parts of the water during the day and in the summer. They also prefer clear water over murky waters so keep this in mind when searching for them.

Before you head out to fish for pike, it’s a good idea to plan out your fishing trip. Determine when the best time to fish would be and make plans to be on the water at this time of day and season. This way, you can take advantage of the prime feeding time for this species. You’ll also want to look over your gear to make sure all of your tackle is in good shape. Using old, worn out tackle can result in losing more fish than you reel in.

Five fishing secrets for pike fishing:

1. Pike have very sharp teeth that can cut through regular fishing line with ease. For this reason, it’s recommended that you use cable fishing line and a wire trace to prevent the fish from biting through the line and getting loose. You’ll also want to use forceps and wire cutters when removing the hook to avoid getting bit, which would be very painful.

2. Exercise patience when fishing for pike and pay close attention to your fishing line. One of the reasons they are so hard to catch is because anglers miss their bite and they steal the bait away without you even knowing it was hit. Playing close attention to your line and using a bobber can help you detect more bites.

3. Crankbaits, jigs, spoons and plastic worms are all excellent lures to use when seeking out pike. They will be greatly attracted to these lures. Since they can see so well, color is important so choose wisely. If you’re not sure which colors to use, you can experiment until you learn what works best and when.

4. This species feed the most aggressively at night because of the advantage they have over their prey due to their excellent eyesight. They can also be caught on windy days when the waves break up the sun’s rays shining through the water and on overcast days.

5. When fishing for pike, look for the baitfish and they will usually be close by. They have a tendency of staying close to their food source.

Take some time to learn all about the pike and how the weather and seasons affect them. They will move around according to the season and if you learn what their patterns are, you can find them faster and easier. They will also be more aggressive at certain times of the year than at other times and this will also have a lot to do with the weather and water temperature.

The pike is considered a predator fish because they have a very aggressive nature and they’ll strike at anything that invades their space. For this reason, you can often entice them to strike even when they’re not hungry. Still, they will take spells when they are being finicky and it seems like nothing will get them to bite.

This is a strong species that will fight hard once hooked so, you’ll need good quality gear in order to make your fishing trips a success. Fishing rods ranging between ten and twelve feet long are recommended along with a heavy duty reel. Of course, you’ll want to choose gear that is suited for you personally and something that you’re comfortable using but this is a basic guideline that can give you an idea of what works best for this species.

Using this information and the five fishing secrets for pike above can help to make all of your fishing trips fun and productive. There is nothing else quite like being on the water reeling in a mess a fish and the pike is one exciting species to seek out.