Expert: Joe Junion (Jomusky) - 1/18/2005

Question
Hi, fishing for pike in upstate ny, in may till the third week of june I can catch pike from 3 to 11 pounds all day in water depts of 4ft to 12 ft.
What I use are in line spinners, and medium to large suckers. After the 3rd week in june the water heats up,and the pike seem not to be in those same spots. 1 lake is 50 deep, and the other 140ft deep. Any advice on the subject of pike fishing would be greatly appreciated, thanks

Answer
The pike move to deeper cooler water in the summer. Not sure about your water temps there. I would recommend using plastics over deep water, like Bulldawgs, Jig and reapers, or the fish looking ones like Castaic. The retreive is simple, cast it out, count it down, and jig it back. A good sonar unit would help you locate the baitfish and inturn the pike. You could also try suckers, but they can be hard to keep alive in the boat when it's hot out.

One more thing, be sure to properly handle the fish and let them go. During the warmer months you need to be very carefull and quick, because the heat is tough on them.