The northern pike is a common target for American and Canadian ice fishermen. This species is a freshwater fish that can be found anywhere in the northern part of the North American continent. It is characterized by white or tan spots on a grayish-brown background, and individuals can grow to over fifty inches in length and fifty-five pounds in weight, making northern pike one of the largest fish species that is commonly sought after by ice fishermen. Ice fishing pike is considered one of the more exciting species to target while on the hard water and can wreak havoc on your ice fishing gear.
Of course, you can never catch a fish if you fish in the wrong place, so if you want to land a northern pike, you will have to learn about the northern pike’s natural habitat. In lakes, they like to stick to areas with clear water, where they can easily see their prey, and areas with lots of underwater weeds, rocks, and other debris, where they can easily hide from their prey. Some promising places to fish for northern pike are close to rocky points, narrow channels, and river mouths.
The northern pike is an aggressive predator, and will go after almost any kind of bait as long as it is big enough, although live bait is thought to work the best. The most common live bait items are six inch smelt, Portuguese sardines, large shiners, and suckers. The northern pike is a powerful fish, so you should use a large, sturdy hook and a thick line.
Northern pike have large mouths with many very sharp teeth. If you land a northern pike, be very careful as you are removing the hook, because people have been known to have their hands badly torn up when a landed pike bites them. If the teeth of a northern pike break your skin, you should clean the wound as quickly as possible, because there are many species of harmful bacteria that live in the mouths of these carnivorous fish.
Northern pike eat in a way that is unlike many game fish species. When most types of fish want to eat something, they quickly open their mouths and close their gills, which creates a low-pressure zone inside the mouth. The only way for the water to fill that low-pressure zone is to flow into the mouth, which in effect sucks the food item in. When a northern pike wants to eat something, it swims up beside the item, and quickly snatches sideways with its large, elongated mouth. This means that, while most fish species must pull the whole food item into the mouth at once, the pike has the ability to test its food without full on biting it. As an ice fisherman targeting northern pike, this means that the fish will sometimes give a small tug at your line without actually taking the bait. These tiny tugs may be frustrating for ice fishermen out ice fishing pike, but at least they indicate that the fish is down there and interested in the bait. Just be patient.
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