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| Will big pike take lures on a figure 8 beside the boat and do you figure eight when your targetting pike? There are no muskies in our lake here. |
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Posts: 279
| When I started going to Canada for pike, the guides there said to be sure to figure 8. With that said I never believed them, until I started fishing muskies and catch about half my muskies on the 8.
So to answer your question yes they will hit the figure 8, but not always. What works for me on the pike is different than a "muskie figure 8", I use more jerky movements with the rod tip and smaller turns. |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | 2 years ago I would have said, "Pike don't follow a figure 8, they flash off". After last year, I learned I was being closed-minded. On two different occasions during a blind figure 8 (no follower), I was taken by surprise by pike - never saw them coming, never saw them hit, just hung on to my almost stolen rod, lol. Surely if you're targeting pike, it wouldn't hurt to figure 8 once in a while if you have one follow in, but I wouldn't expend the energy doing it on every retrieve. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Yes. |
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Posts: 97
Location: Pickering, ON | I find Pike like the "L", or just back and forth, but not the 8. From my experience, they tend to hit the brakes and sit there deciding what to do. They are also suckers for a dramatic long pause, then twitch (much longer pause than a muskie would hang out for). It makes for very exciting boatside strikes to watch as they just come unglued.
Edited by JeffinPickering 1/26/2010 2:13 PM
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Posts: 8772
| I've found that on all but the worst days Pike just eat. About the only time I've ever seen them follow is a second before they eat. I suspect if you're getting them on the 8 you just happened to be going over their heads at the time. Not saying it would never happen, but I haven't had a pike follow a lure around on the 8 yet. They just never seem to wait that long! |
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Posts: 28
| Depends on how much they want to eat. While in canada one came in after my dads crankbait and missed the strike. I dropped my bait in at the back of the boat and started the figure 8 and it got crushed almost instantly. Same trip I watched a pike that ended up being 39" follow for over 30 feet before hitting in the 8. So yes they will and its worth the try if you see one following in but they do tend to spook at the boat more than muskie. |
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Posts: 134
Location: (South of the 218) | I too have had my bait hammered in the 8 by pike I never knew where there. And that adrenaline rush tastes much the same to me!!
I have been fortunate to catch many 40"+ pike on our neck of LOTW and the biggest I've even seen was a "follower" not an "eater" (Probably how she got so big - I know) She would show herself, dance in the figure 8, return home and repeat on the next drift.
I don't figure 8 every time when I know I'm in "Northern" only waters by a Change-of-Direction is a must. Call it a Figure 7.
out |
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Posts: 214
Location: Central Iowa | I've always had good luck with pauses with minnow baits, just give it a sharp jerk to make the bait dart to the side and giving them a paused profile view normally does the trick. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | from fishing in canada for pike,I found that right before you would go into the 8 the pike will normally hit.another way to say it is when your lure starts to rise in the water,that triggers the pike to eat. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | I remember going to Bolton Lake in Manitoba and we removed the treble hook on our spoons and replaced them with a big single hook and smashed down the barb. When we pulled them out the guide just smiled as he didn't have to deal with all those hooks. In this dark water we could feel those pike hit the lure and not get hooked. When this happened I would figure-8. The guide would laugh when I would hook up. I also caught two walleyes back to back on figure-8s as well. |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | About 50% of my pike come on figure 8 in Canada. I may see 1 out of 6 follow and the other 5 out of 6 are a total surprise! Make sure you figure 8 on every retrieve in Canada!!! We catch a lot of lower to upper 40" pike on Nunguesser lake where we go just North or Red Lake. Good time! |
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| Just don't let anybody see you figure eight in the metro prior to the muskie opener. It will surely lead to accusations of illegally targeting muskies out of season.  |
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Posts: 256
| The biggest pike I've ever had up (44-45) chased the figure 8 with a bulldawg five times before swimming off. I have caught several others on the eight. |
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