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Posts: 154
| I know this is a muskie forum but this is the only forum where I think I might be able to get some help. We have a cabin up on Big Sandy Lake in Mcgregor and I have not tried too much for big pike but am unsure of where to start. The lake is pretty big and has bad water clarity, I have only found weeds to grow in 7ft of water or shallower. There is a decent cisco population aswell as perch. I have only caught pike up to about 7lbs and I know there are fish in there exceeding 15lbs. The weeds in only shallow water seems to throw me off and was just hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction. -Thanks |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | I would start with trolling cranks just outside that deeper weed edge. |
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | Yep, troll and troll around suspended bait. |
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Posts: 731
| Like the other guys said, trolling the weed edge is a good starting point. Big pike are a whole different animal than the snakes. Water temperature is key for your success because as the water begins to cool as we head into the fall, big pike will move into the shallower weeds to fatten up for the winter months. Usually for me, on my chain of lakes in Wisconsin, this occurs in mid to late September and lasts until late October. Since u have a cabin on ur lake, try spending ur time there in the early to mid fall period. Then break out your musky sized equipment, big spinnerbaits, bucktails, minnow baits, and have at it. Kdawg |
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Posts: 612
| Don't mean to rain on your parade. but it's likely too hot to see any action from the big girls unless the lake has a thermocline. My favorite pike lake won't produce anything but hammer handles until late August - September with this extreme heat (unless you troll near the thermocline). The big girls either go deep or go into a semi-dormmate state as water approaches - exceeds 80 degrees. As mentioned trolling is the best way to get too know the lake. In time you will locate the drop-off's, point's, etc. where the larger pike hang. The best bait varies from lake to lake and even from season to season. Might not hurt to ask around. Good-luck. |
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Posts: 1664
| Once the temps go down head to the South end and go into the river. Work the river. |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | In the Summer
Big Pike like Cool water
Look for Springs feeding the lake cool water
Or streams with cooler water feeding the Lake.
Deep weed beds or deep boulders that has bait and cooler water.
Big Pike ambush there Baits so try to find spots that a Big Pike can hide in cooler water. |
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | No musky in it being connenected to the mississippi? Looks like you have alot of points and probably some good contours. Quite a few other lakes to go to and some look like spawning lakes. Has to be some big time pike migration in that system.
Edited by ToddM 7/23/2018 9:07 PM
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Posts: 735
Location: Apparently where the Muskie aren't | In illinois I fish a lake that is quite a bit smaller but also has some nice pike. I've tried many things, everything from live bait to muskie lures. The most effective technique I found (for me) was the most obnoxiously loud deep diving bass crankbait I could find. Some good ones I found were the rapala dt series (anything dt10 or more) or even manns has a 20+ crankbait that dives 20 feet. Strike king also makes a 8xd and 10xd which have been effective. Usually I just get the brightest most obnoxiously colored lure I can find.
Although I have caught nice pike on all of those lures I seem to do best with the ones that dive in the 10-15' range. Anything deeper than that I don't think is as effective because I believe if a fish is that deep it is for the most part dormant and not feeding very much.
Edited by Musky_Mo16 7/23/2018 10:41 PM
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | Big pike are far more like open water muskies than the hammer-handles that you catch in the weeds. Fish the bait in deep open water and you'll find the biggest pike in the lake |
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Posts: 591
Location: Duluth | Go deep. Some have mentioned springs and other cover that might provide a bit of colder water but temperature is really key here. Big pike especially hang out way deeper than most, a lake in the UP that is known to give up lakers occasionally gives up a 20lb plus northern caught by guys jigging soft plastic for the lakers in about 50 FOW.
Sounds like you already identified forage, buy yourself a cisco bondy or something like it and hammer the deeper structure. Leech imitations have also caught me massive pike in the "dog days" of summer. |
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Posts: 267
| Yup, troll open water. They aren't going to be on the weedlines until it cools down. And even then, a 15 pound northern (assuming a 38-40" northern) is about as common as a 50 inch muskie. |
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Posts: 154
| Thanks guys, only a few muskies in the lake. Was stocked back in the 50's I heard and some came from the Mississippi during a flood (there is a dam). I will focus my efforts during the fall and troll some offshore stuff. @Brian Hoffles you're talking about the river by zorbaz correct? |
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Posts: 1664
| MNFisherman - 7/24/2018 2:35 PM
Thanks guys, only a few muskies in the lake. Was stocked back in the 50's I heard and some came from the Mississippi during a flood (there is a dam). I will focus my efforts during the fall and troll some offshore stuff. @Brian Hoffles you're talking about the river by zorbaz correct?
Correct. It actually is a pretty good size piece of water and the best thing is the ski boats stay out of there. |
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Posts: 37
Location: MN | I owned a cabin on Big Sandy for 20 years....Good recreational lake but big fish were few and far between for every species in the lake. Could always go out and catch 10 to 20 fish in a day but nothing impressive in size.... Agree with others in deeper water trolling as that usually produced some bigger fish.... Loud baits as well because its such a dark stained lake....Good luck! |
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Location: MN | eightbduck - 7/24/2018 9:12 PM
I owned a cabin on Big Sandy for 20 years....Good recreational lake but big fish were few and far between for every species in the lake.
I beg to differ. The lake has giant panfish. Also big tullibees although they got wiped out pretty good from the 2012 flood. I caught one an inch longer than the state record although not as heavy. Any word if the tullies have made a come back yet? They were a blast to fish late ice. Kept the smoker busy.
To the OP, I have never targeted pike in the lake but I hear most of the pike and walleyes run on the smaller side. I have seen some nice pike in the sandy river up from the lake a ways. There are some other lakes in the area with very nice pike if you are willing to explore.
Edited by Nershi 7/27/2018 9:58 AM
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Posts: 770
Location: Delavan, WI | I used to live near a 200 acre lake connected to a river system, some muskies present in the system although not really a lot. However i heard of a couple caught over the years so that was enough for me to give it a try, this lake was somewhat clear so I started by casting a regular size white bulldawg around some deeper drop offs near the 10-12ft edge within 5 casts I had a strike, started reeling and had a 36" pike in the net. Another 30 min went by and I had a 38" pike in the net they were not muskies, but this sure was fun. Unfortunately I only lived there for a couple years and fished it maybe 5 times it was a bit tough to get to lake, working 6 days a week 1st off you had to park on a busy street since only good launch was at a marina that had no parking lot, so getting a parking spot was a crapshoot and then you had about a 45 min ride upriver with a few unmarked shallow spots, did hit a log once but overall had a few other pike in the mid to upper 30" range, a couple were picked up trolling deep weed edges on 8 and 10" cranks and few more on jerk baits, So my suggestion is try casting some smaller rubber around nice deep weedy drop offs and good luck! |
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| big pike don't like warm water like musky.that's why the bigger one will move really deep during hot summer ,small one will stay in shallow weed to hide |
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Posts: 591
Location: Duluth | supertrollr - 7/29/2018 1:13 PM
big pike don't like warm water like musky.that's why the bigger one will move really deep during hot summer ,small one will stay in shallow weed to hide
still surprised at how many suggested trolling open water despite having this knowledge. If you want to be in the strike zone, jig. Yea its boring but not as boring as burning gas and catching hammers on big baits. |
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Location: Lake Tomahawk, WI | On shield lakes like Rainy and LOTW, we've taken a bunch of big summer pike by trolling Grandmas or Depthraiders around offshore structure around 20' deep. In Northern Wisconsin, our big pike all come through the ice, haven't been able to consistently catch them in the summer here. I think deep mud flats might be an option, or maybe bouncing deep structure. I do know that they aren't suspended at the depths that walleyes and muskies use. Tried that for years with only 2 medium size pike caught. I need to spend more time trying to figure them out.
J.Sloan |
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Posts: 3772
| Since you have a cabin on the lake you are in a position to identify locations of the biggest springs during ice out. There will be a few days of very last ice when the ice reveals the biggest springs, just look for the pronounced dark spots. Get on a hill and take pictures, come back in early open flat water and watch the temps on your finder to land on exactly where those springs are located. Don't fish just scout, mark them springs. Come summer run the thermo from one to the next, that's your trolling line. Move move move, rake the water, start with white/red deep hair/blades on one side and firetiger cranks on the other. Keep your baits 5' above the thermo except for at least one up half way between the thermo and the surface. That one up will be running just below pods of baitfish also relating to the springs. Takes a lot of time but its a good way to put your baits close to the open water suspended big pike.
My grandpa taught me this, it was how he caught huge pike all summer row-trolling
a steel boat with flatfish back in the 30's and 40's in MI. Worked for me, too. |
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Posts: 1664
| Ranger - 8/15/2018 4:36 PM
Since you have a cabin on the lake you are in a position to identify locations of the biggest springs during ice out. There will be a few days of very last ice when the ice reveals the biggest springs, just look for the pronounced dark spots. Get on a hill and take pictures, come back in early open flat water and watch the temps on your finder to land on exactly where those springs are located. Don't fish just scout, mark them springs. Come summer run the thermo from one to the next, that's your trolling line. Move move move, rake the water, start with white/red deep hair/blades on one side and firetiger cranks on the other. Keep your baits 5' above the thermo except for at least one up half way between the thermo and the surface. That one up will be running just below pods of baitfish also relating to the springs. Takes a lot of time but its a good way to put your baits close to the open water suspended big pike.
My grandpa taught me this, it was how he caught huge pike all summer row-trolling
a steel boat with flatfish back in the 30's and 40's in MI. Worked for me, too.
Good advise, however he is only allowed one line per angler. Now if he can get his wife to grab some sun while trolling...................... |
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Posts: 343
| Out west where I live the bigger pike move slightly shallower in the fall around Labor Day and the lake I fish has a large carp and gizzard shad forage base. We don't have much for weeds so we fish steep banks with boulders. Large spinnerbaits slow rolled and baits like Bagleys DB06 and Rapala Super Shad Raps have been my best producers, with firetiger my number 1 color, followed by white. Ice fishing produces the biggest pike. Best of luck. |
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Posts: 5129
| Musky_Mo16 - 7/23/2018 10:39 PM
In illinois I fish a lake that is quite a bit smaller but also has some nice pike. I've tried many things, everything from live bait to muskie lures. The most effective technique I found (for me) was the most obnoxiously loud deep diving bass crankbait I could find. Some good ones I found were the rapala dt series (anything dt10 or more) or even manns has a 20+ crankbait that dives 20 feet. Strike king also makes a 8xd and 10xd which have been effective. Usually I just get the brightest most obnoxiously colored lure I can find.
Although I have caught nice pike on all of those lures I seem to do best with the ones that dive in the 10-15' range. Anything deeper than that I don't think is as effective because I believe if a fish is that deep it is for the most part dormant and not feeding very much. The mo is dead on,try a micro medussa too. |
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Posts: 731
| What I would like to know is what lake in Illinois has big pike? Seriously? kdawg |
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Posts: 1126
Location: Minnesota. | kdawg - 8/20/2018 4:18 PM
What I would like to know is what lake in Illinois has big pike? Seriously? kdawg
Wouldn't it help a lot to go visit your DNR and ask some pertinent questions to the right person(s)?? |
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | I guess it depends on what you consider a big pike. The fox chain pumps out quite a few pike in the 30-40" class. Those are nice pike for illinois. |
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Posts: 5129
| There is at least one other lake I know of, where you can usually get a fish in the mid 30's to 40 ,and numbers if you target pike in Illinois. |
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Posts: 731
| Mn fisherman, If u got the time, I would start planning a trip to ur cabin right about now! Kdawg  |
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Posts: 154
| I’m here right now, heading out for the morning. Caught about 40 pike yesterday, mostly small with some mid 20’s. |
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