It may seem silly to say that anglers in northwestern Northern Ireland have discovered "Esox" fishing. Finally, "Northern pike" and his half siblings, "Tiger Muski", have been around this neck of the forest for several years. Northern Pike was illegally introduced into the lateral lakes of the Coeur dene river system in the 1970s with mature pike fishing, which was largely established throughout the Coeur d'Alene lake by 1980; from. There is also a well-established population of Pike in the system of the Penad Oriel River. While the debate is raging over the negative effects on native species and established fishing in cold water, the fact remains that the Northern Sudak will probably remain here. During a recent visit to Coeur de Alena, an “In-Fisherman” personality, “Al-Lindner” was quoted as saying that the next American record pike could very well come from Coeur d'Alene Lake.
In addition to the northern pike, the deliberate and planned introduction of the Northern Pike / Muska hybrids by fishing biologists (known as "Tiger Masks" ), have been accumulated in selected lakes in Washington State to provide large trophy fish and precede populations of less desirable species. But many fishermen actually fish deliberately target these species? Most catches from the North perch are classified as “random catches”. That is, they eat when catching other species, mostly bass fisherman. The fact is that fishing lures and methods used for bass, are well suited for pike. Since bass and pike tend to dwell in the same areas, this further increases the frequency of pike or musk catches.
Many researchers have found that the thrill of the strike and the subsequent battles with the boats of these hippos were worth the effort to target them specifically. Taking advantage of Pike's opportunistic feeding behavior, a “dead baiting” or “smelting” was born. Waiting for the game "melting" involves the use of a frozen dead fin or herring, nested with two hooks and suspended from below using a large foam or a beaver. The fisherman just waits until the bobber starts to take off, and then sets the hook. While effective and responsible for some very large Pike, the technique skips the excitement that is accompanied by a bump on the water. The bass fisherman knows what I'm talking about. Nothing makes your heart beat more than to see your quarry brutally attacking the bait, aggressively tearing it across the water.
Pike and Tiger Musky often uses good sonar to locate fish to track underwater lines of weeds, research where the fish scene spawns in the spring, and often hundreds (if not thousands) of large heavy tugs — bits, spoons, lures with spinners and tails. This is definitely not for the fisherman who is happy to sit and take a nap on the beach, waiting for the fish to bite. Sometimes all anglers will get pain in their arms and shoulders for their problems, but often he is rewarded with a heart beat when his prey attracts bait, which leads to swelling of water.
In early spring, large pike takes small bays filled with weeds and hollows to breed. Often getting bait through this vegetation salad is almost impossible. Make it even more crazy ... you can often see a large monster pike just below the surface. You know that there is no way for you to get the bait-bait past them without hooking huge clusters in the process. Even if you could, they often turned their noses on large lures at this time. The answer is often “fancy bait”. Small soft plastic fish imitations, weighted only with a crochet set aside, and cast away the target fish. Spinning sticks and reels seem to work best with such light baits, but some adept baits will do a great job too. When you extract, you are trying to bring the bait in sight, but not too close. If you see how Pike moves aggressively after bait, you can speed up the search. You can catch a fish to dazzle your bait, move closer to inner inches, and then turn away. Changing your presentation with a series of cramps, kiosks, jerks, and tantalizing movements can often cause a strike. The really exciting part of this actually has the conditions to observe the whole process. It takes a relatively calm surface with little or no wind, a nice pair of polarized sunglasses, and a boat with a quiet electric trolling motor. Even quieter approaches can be achieved with a pusher. Obviously, you want to get close enough to see the fish, but not so close that you scare them.
Pike and Muski have very sharp teeth and are quite capable of carefully cutting even heavy monofilaments. Steel leaders have been the main product of pike for many years, but because of their extra weight, it is almost impossible to use them when they are refined to catch small baits for fish. The solution was the introduction of fluorocarbon lines. A strong, almost invisible in water and abrasion-resistant fluorocarbon works well as a lead material with these dental creatures. It should be at least 18-20 pounds, and you still lose a few lines, but most will not be able to break it. After each fish, it would be nice to feel the line for any nicknames, cuts or abrasions, then cut and tie. The best I used was " P-Line » pure fluorocarbon products. You should try to choose a color that matches the water you catch.
One more thing to say about the weather. One of my best fishing days for Tiger Musky was an early spring day during repeated rain squalls and lightning. I do not recommend to be on the water during a thunderstorm. What, as they say; for a two-hour period of brief showers, I tattoo six Tiger Muskys, trolling the Lucky-Craft Pointer 128 in Aurora Black. This bait was actually my “Go-to” bait for Pike and Musky.
Try some of these methods the next time you find yourself on the water, where there is Pike and Muski. You may simply find that the next pike or musk you caught was not a “random” catch, and in fact it was the fish you intended to catch.
Where to go: Lake Kower-Helen and the Chain Lakes of the Maple River, the Alain River, Idaho (Pike), Lake Fernan, Idaho (Pike), Long Lake, Washington, Tiger Muski, Lake Hauser, Idaho and Tiger of Muskny. Google searches will also lead to several destinations in the Montana rivers and pike reservoirs.
Equipment:
Rod: 6 to 7 feet, medium to heavy rods up to 1 oz.
Reel: Bait lure for heavy lures rotating for light.
Line: Heavy braid with fluorocarbon leaders, (2 to 3 feet).
Ty-Gear®, the steel leader.
Baits: Large heavy bait bait, swimming bait and lure.
