Baits and lures for northern pike fishing

Northern Pike in Lake of the Woods

In our last article, we mentioned that the northern pike tends to be a cold water fish by nature. Lake of the Woods freezes for more than four months per year. The Northern Pikes have adapted to live and thrive in these conditions, so it makes sense to assume that they will not like, or perform at their best, when the weather becomes hotter than normal outside.

Weather and water temperature

Northwestern Ontario as a region enjoys an average summer temperature of 75.2 º F (24 º C). Any sunny day without cloud cover over 86-88 º F (31 º C) should be considered to be hotter than normal. Together with this, the angler on the hunt for northern pike should also consider the water temperature. During days with temperatures above normal, we recommend fishing your regular spots, but further out from the shore and into deeper water.

Pikes get “lazy” during hotter days

During warm sunny summer days, fish are less willing to work and spend energy for their food. The meal needs to be worth the effort and the calories invested. The Northern Pike cannot afford to miss their target. Thus, and as we also mentioned in our last article, if it’s a hot sunny day out, and the water temperature is above normal, you should try with slow action baits, like crank-baits and slow moving top waters, making sure to pause a couple of times along the retrieving process. Crank-baits are designed to sink towards bottom when retrieving and suspend when pausing. This presents the perfect opportunity for “lazy” pikes to fetch themselves an easy meal.

Crank baits for northern pike fishing

We will call “crank baits” to all lures that will sink while retrieving, and suspend along the water column while pausing. We could write a full series of articles about this group of lures alone, but we will keep it short. Early in the season, every angler should try a fire tiger pattern x-rap type lure, between six and twelve inches. The size of the plastic lip will determine how deep the lure will sink. Make sure to have different sizes to better fish different types of structure: small lip to stay above a weed bed or bigger to cover the side of a rock pile.

Spinner baits

If it spins and vibrates, then it’s a spinner bait. Let’s remember that the action of this lure, what attracts the fish, is the vibration created by the spinning motion of the blades. Anglers should try different retrieving speeds or paces, but always keeping the blades in motion. Same as with crank baits, spinners are a whole universe of lures by themselves, but a good principle is to start the season small, and increase the size as the year progresses.