Baits and lures for northern pike fishing

In order to enhance your northern pike fishing skills, you must know the ideal baits and lures for northern pike fishing.

Considering that northern pike is a cold-water fish, it makes sense to assume that they won’t perform at their best when the weather becomes hotter than normal outside. Therefore, during summer, northern pike fishing can give some good results.

But as we said before, by knowing the best baits and lures for northern pike fishing to use, your chances will be way higher.

That’s why, in this article, we’re talking about the baits and lures for northern pike fishing you can use when fishing in Lake of the Woods.

Weather and temperature should be considered

Lake of the Woods has an average summer temperature of 75.2 º F (24 º C). As a matter of fact, 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.

With that in mind, during days with temperatures above normal, we recommend fishing your regular spots. But remember, the further out from the shore and deeper into water, the better.

Pikes get “lazy” during hotter days

Fish are less inclined to be active and expend energy for their food on warm, sunny summer days. In fact, the meal must justify the calories and work used. Thus, the Northern Pike can't risk missing their objective.

Therefore, if the water temperature is above normal on a hot, sunny day, you should experiment with slow action baits. For instance, crank-baits and slow-moving top waters are good options. But still, you need to make sure to pause a few times during the retrieval process.

Moreover, crank-baits are made to float while paused and drop toward the bottom when retrieved. For "lazy" pikes, this is the ideal chance to get a simple dinner for themselves.

Crank baits for northern pike fishing

All lures that sink during retrieval, and float along the water column when pause, are known as "crank baits."

Every angler should experiment with a six to twelve-inch fire tiger pattern x-rap type lure early in the season. In addition, the depth to which the lure sinks, depends on the size of the plastic lip.

So, use varying sizes to better fish various structures. This can include a larger lip to cover the side of a rock pile or a smaller lip to remain above a weed bed.

Spinner baits can work!

It is a spinner bait if it vibrates and spins, not rocket science!

An aspect to have in mind is that the vibration produced by the spinning motion of the blades is what draws the fish to this lure. While keeping the blades moving, anglers should experiment with varied retrieving speeds or paces.

Spinners are a whole universe of lures on their own, much like crank baits. However, it's a good idea to start modest in the season and raise the size as the year goes on.

For sure, by knowing this information about baits and lures for northern pike fishing, your fishing skills can improve more and more!