Five pike-approved baits for targeting trophies through the ice!
Across Southern New England there are many opportunities to target large, aggressive gamefish and one in particular shines in the colder months – the northern pike.
Northern pike readily take a variety of baits as they are voracious, opportunistic feeders throughout the year but their continued activity during the wintertime makes them especially endearing to the year-round angler. Whether you are targeting pike in open water or through the ice, their proliferation through lakes, ponds, and river systems means there are plenty of water bodies where you can try and hook a trophy northern. These fast-growing fish fight hard and reach sizes not attained by nearly any other freshwater gamefish in southern New England. In fact, Leslie Slater tied the Connecticut state record in August of 2020, her 29-pounder ate a Roostertail.
When it comes to targeting large pike through the ice, many anglers subscribe to the “big bait-big fish” theory. And while that can be true, a variety of soft-finned fishes make excellent baits to deploy when seeking big pike.
Store-Bought Pike Shiners
Store-bought “pike shiners” easily lay claim to being the top bait used to target northern pike in southern New England. First and foremost, store bought shiners are readily available and by far the easiest bait to procure. Walk into any bait and tackle shop in the region and one of the tanks loaded with bait will inevitably be labeled “pike” or “extra-large”. While the specifics of what qualifies as a “pike shiner” will vary greatly from one shop to the next, there is no doubt store bought shiners, usually of the “Arkansas” variety, get the job done when it comes to tempting a hungry pike to bite.
While readily available, the downside to store-bought shiners is they are not always large enough to cull out the smaller fish that can easily chase down and ingest a smaller bait. This might mean more action from smaller pike and non-target species like pickerel, largemouth bass and even the occasional overconfident yellow perch. For some anglers having flags flying all day is exactly the type of fishing they are looking for. But for a smaller subset of experienced pike anglers, fishing big baits cuts down on interference when specifically targeting the largest predatory fish. Therefore, many pike anglers specifically forego smaller shiners (less than six inches) altogether.
Smaller baits aren’t always a bad thing though and plenty of large pike are caught on store-bought shiners. Sometimes a smaller offering is just what a big fish is looking for. I remember one weekend in particular. I had been fishing three days straight with some friends on a northern pike lake. There were several other groups of diehard pike anglers fishing nearby over the course of the weekend and no one was doing anything. These anglers were fishing all manner of large baits, both live and dead. On day three of the stingy session, two anglers walked out on the lake at a leisurely 11 a.m. They set up right in the middle of everyone else with some small shiners and by 1 o’clock they were hooting and hollering as they slid a 41-inch, 21-pound northern onto the ice. A 4-inch store-bought shiner sealed the deal on what was by far, the nicest fish of the weekend.
Golden Pond Shiners
If store-bought shiners are the top producer when targeting northern pike for their availability, golden shiners are likely top of the class of pike baits for their sheer effectiveness. While not as easy to find as bait shop shiners, golden shiners are naturally abundant in many pike waters and a favorite bait for the fish and anglers alike. These beautiful, plump, soft-rayed shiners stand out as a bait that northern pike just cannot ignore and, the bigger the better.
There are periods of time where golden shiners can be purchased at some select bait shops across southern New England. During the late fall and early winter months some shops that are properly licensed will go out and catch loads of “pondies” before the ice sets in on the lakes, ponds and backwater coves where they are most often found. Pike anglers in the know will often purchase these shiners in bulk, so when the shops have them, they don’t last long.
If you can’t find golden pond shiners at your local B&T, there’s no need to worry. These shiners will readily take a variety of small baits. Many anglers swear by pizza dough as their choice bait to catch pondies but bread, tiny bits of garden worm and maggots are all good picks. Good places to look include deep basins of small ponds, and quiet backwaters of larger bodies of water like lakes or major river systems. Prime time to find schools of shiners include first and last light when you can sometimes see the schools of bait dimpling on the surface. A couple of small hooks under a bobber or a sabiki rig are good choices on ultralight tackle when targeting shiners. You can also trap shiners in bodies of water known to hold them. Be sure to check local regulations before filling a bucket with pondies.
Suckers
There are a variety of sucker species swimming in the waters of southern New England and they are prized by many pike anglers. Suckers fall somewhere in between store-bought and golden shiners in their effectiveness and availability. They are generally easier to find and purchase in shops than golden shiners and they are quite effective at culling out small fish. Most bait shops that carry them sell white suckers that come from large distributors out of northern New England. Because there is a supply chain in place, most pike anglers can count on being able to buy suckers between 6 and 12 inches at some point during the winter. The downside of store-bought suckers these days is the ever-increasing price. Suckers that used to go for a dollar or two apiece are now often selling for north of $5 per bait. The hardiness of suckers can help to justify their cost to some degree as they survive well in captivity and can be used over and over before that trophy northern finally tracks them down.
Multiple species of suckers are readily found in lakes, ponds, rivers and streams and can be caught on a hook and line or in a minnow trap. Fishing along the bottom with small bits of worm, maggots, corn or bread is a good way to tap into your local sucker population with a rod and reel. During the colder months it’s a good idea to target areas with slow-moving water, away from the faster riffles and runs. Suckers are also good candidates for trapping, again, check your regs.
Fallfish
Fallfish are a naturally-occurring minnow species widely present across southern New England’s rivers and streams. What fallfish lack in availability they more than make up for in their effectiveness as pike bait. These beautiful silvery minnows can grow to large sizes and work equally well both alive and dead. Northern pike really seem prefer them in the water bodies in which they are present.
Fallfish can be tough to procure and if you were to find them in a bait shop they would be a specialty item. Most anglers who use fallfish for bait, catch their own via rod and reel. These minnows can be tricky to find and catch as the weather cools. While fallfish can be downright easy to catch during the warmer months of the year, they tend to move around and become seasonally finicky right about the time when many anglers start to look to gather and store them for winter pike fishing. For this reason, it’s a good idea to think ahead and prepare to catch them in the early fall months. Fallfish can be fooled with just about any presentation used to target trout. Small lures and flies are effective but many anglers use some kind of bait to catch fallfish. Favorite baits drifted under a bobber include bread, oats, corn and garden worms. Fallfish can also be trapped but they can be wily and often, it can take some time and advanced reconnaissance to find the best places to trap them with consistent success.
Wild Cards
Norther pike are not a particularly picky species of gamefish, and they are especially opportunistic predators in the colder months. A variety of non-natural baits can be used with success when targeting cold-water pike. Pike fishing in the winter often involves fishing dead baits along the bottom as the species has evolved to take advantage of winter kills of smaller fish. Therefore, using a smelly, oily baitfish like an ocean herring, sardine, mackerel, snapper bluefish or peanut bunker is an effective way to target pike at this time of year.
The benefit of using some of these non-traditional baits for pike is their ease of use and availability. Many of these saltwater baitfish are readily available for purchase at bait shops, grocery stores, fish mongers and ethnic markets. These oily baitfish freeze well and can be thawed the night before. They are light, don’t require a bucket of water or aerator to keep them lively and, they don’t have swim bladders so they sink readily to bottom or whatever part of the water column you may be targeting.
Live vs. Dead
Every angler has their own preferences, tactics and techniques when it comes to targeting pike in the winter. Whether you are fishing open water or through the ice, both live and dead versions of all the offerings discussed here have proven effective at one time or another.
Some anglers are skeptical of fishing with dead bait when introduced to the concept but there is some science behind the idea. Pike have evolved to stay active during the coldest months of the year when some other species of smaller fish tend to experience die-offs due to the cold or lowered levels of oxygen present in ice-covered waters. The larger pike have learned to ‘key in’ on these easy meals that require little expended energy to take advantage of. Pike are also springtime spawners and use the winter months to bulk up to prepare for their reproductive activities and dead baitfish along bottom make an opportunistic snack for a hungry pike full of growing eggs.
Some anglers prefer to fish live baits throughout the season, others fish dead baits all winter long with still others preferring a mix of live and dead baits in their spread. Whatever your preference, there are advantages and disadvantages to both presentations.
The action and allure of a large, live baitfish to a big pike cannot be denied. That said, keeping them alive and available throughout the winter requires preparation and constant attention. You almost need a commercial grade bait tank, filtration and air system to keep lots of large bait alive all winter. It can certainly be more convenient to purchase bait from your local bait shop but large, live baits like suckers or golden shiners aren’t always available. By contrast, catching or buying then vacuum sealing and freezing large baits makes an easy alternative to tending to a tank for months at a time.
Both live and dead baits each seem to have their days. If you’re new to pike fishing taking some time to experiment and see what works best for you will be the most effective way to see what kind of commitments you’d like to make in targeting them. Northern pike can be both a challenging and rewarding fish to target when the water cools and the fishing tends to slow with the season. These big, beautiful gamefish can be a great option during the winter months. Take some time to try a few new baits and presentations and you just might catch a trophy northern of your own.
