Winter Pike Tactics!

While northern pike receive minimal attention during Lake Ontario's open-water season, the species reigns king among ice anglers. Every winter, anglers throng to the lake's bays and harbors in pursuit of pike. In addition, numerous inland lakes offer first-rate pike action, too.
Ice fishing for pike attracts anglers for many reasons. One reason being that, productive waters lie within a short drive for most anglers and boat launches and public docks provide good public access. While other species might be difficult to catch through the ice, northerns remain catchable throughout the winter. On most waters, ice fishermen take the biggest pike of the year during the winter months.

The Author with a nice Pike!

Locating Pike
Since pike sometimes display a roaming tendency, the fish can be taken anywhere in a bay. Essentially, though, pike relate to structure, and an angler who concentrates his efforts near structure dramatically increases his chances of success.
Weed beds are the prime pike-holding structure. The most productive spots are openings in the weeds, the inside weed edge, the weedline, and deep water just off the weedline. Other quality structures include points, shoals, and dropoffs. When any of these structures also has weeds and/or boulders present, the spot can be especially productive. Likewise, large flats with weeds or boulders attract northern pike.
Knowing the specific locations of structures in a given area is a key to successful ice fishing. Anglers can familiarize themselves with an area by spending time there during the open-water season. Once an ice cover appears, depth finders and underwater cameras can facilitate the finding of structures. Charts, too, are extremely helpful. Although the use of the simple sounder takes more effort to find weeds, edges, and structures, many anglers rely on that device.
The first few weeks of ice mean excellent action around near-shore structure. During mid-winter, many pike move deeper where water conditions are most stable. At this time of the year, anglers should concentrate their efforts on deep-water structures and structures at the outer edges of bays. In late winter, northerns again move to shallow-water structures where the action remains good until the season closes on March 15.

Tip-up Tips
Tip-ups are the traditional tool for winter pike. With the variety of tip-ups on the market, an angler can find a style to suit his budget. Regulations permit the use of five tip-ups, and this allows an angler to cover a good chunk of water and affords flexibility when setting up. Individuals can't go wrong by placing all tip-ups along a weedline, but sometimes it pays to experiment by placing a tip-up in an opening in the weedbed, on the inside edge of the weedbed, or even in deep water outside the weedbed. Likewise, setting all five tip-ups along a dropoff is a sound strategy, but again it sometimes pays to place one in the shallows or the adjacent deep water.
When fishing points, a good option is to run the rigs in a straight line from shallow to deep water. For shoals, set tip-ups on the edges, but don't over look the top of the shoal and the adjacent deep water. Fishing with a partner or partners creates plenty of opportunity to experiment with where tip-ups are set.
Since a northern pike's eyes are positioned for feeding above, baits should be set off the bottom. Some anglers place their baits a foot above the bottom while others let their minnows swim freely just under the ice. A distance of three or so feet off bottom works well most days. Again, multiple tip-ups allow anglers to experiment with distance from bottom.
Live shiners (4-6 inches) are the number one ice fishing bait; however, live suckers or dead smelt will sometimes outperform commercial shiners. As a general rule, smaller minnows produce the most action, but large minnows entice the bigger fish. Again, experiment with minnow size. Anglers can control the action of their baits in several ways. The most common is the use of weight. By using heavier weights or by placing the weight close to the minnow, anglers can restrict a bait's activity level. On the other hand, by using lighter weights or placing the weight farther from the bait, an angler allows the minnow to be more active. Anglers should match their minnow action to the mood of the pike that day. Some anglers like to clip a minnow's fin or tail to make the minnow swim in an injured fashion. The use of beads or in-line spoons as attractors can sometimes induce strikes.
Steel leaders or heavy monofilament leaders are the rule of thumb for pike. Because of clear-water conditions, more anglers are turning to 30-pound mono leaders. To reduce bite-offs on mono leaders, hook a small treble (#4) in the minnow's back and set the hook firmly whenever the fish is taking out line. Bite-offs are rare using this technique, but the leaders get nicks and abrasions, and have to be replaced periodically.
When setting tip ups, place a small bobber below the spool. This allows for a quick resetting of the bait without sounding again for bottom. The bobber also lets an angler see how much line a fish has taken out. When a flag goes up and the bobber is just a short distance from the spool, a yellow perch is the likely culprit. This is the famous "perch flag" and the time to get out the jig pole and enjoy another aspect of winter pike fishing, catching a feed of yellow perch.