Northern Pike Ice Fishing Bonanza
By Thomas Jones, VT Fish & Wildlife

       Anxiously waiting for the air temperature to warm a few degrees above zero, your bare hands and empty stomach welcome the freshly poured hot coffee. In short time you are greeted with your first tip-up "flag" of the day, and you rush to the hole to see your spool of line spinning wildly. After the fish has made its run, you set the hook and the battle is on. The line sings through your fingers, and after an intense battle the fish begins to tire and you finally get a glimpse of the big northern pike as it cruises by the hole.

For those who are crazy about ice fishing, scenes like this are common on many of Vermont's frozen ponds and lakes. It's a way of life for many dedicated ice fishermen. For those just beginning, ice fishing for northern pike can be very rewarding and may quickly become addicting.

One serious northern pike enthusiast is Bob Dostie from Swanton, Vermont. When asked why he likes to ice fish for pike he said, "Northern pike tend to be aggressive feeders and hard fighting fish. When you set up in a good location, pike can provide a lot of action and make for an enjoyable day on the ice."

Built like rockets, pike are well adapted to earn their place at the top of the food chain. They lie in ambush, waiting for prey to swim near. They have extremely quick acceleration and abundant teeth, enabling them to effectively catch and hold onto their prey. Their diet consists of small fish, frogs, tadpoles, crayfish, leeches, and large aquatic insects. For medium to large pike, small rodents, snakes and birds are also on the menu. Primarily sight feeders, they are very active by day, which makes them fairly easy to catch. They also feed in coldwater conditions making them ideal candidates for ice fishing.

When safe ice conditions exist, the following Vermont waters are a good bet for catching nice pike through the ice: Lake Champlain (Kelley Bay, Missisquoi Bay, Dillenbeck Bay, Carry Bay, St. Albans Bay, Mallets Bay, Larabees Point, Singing Ceders, Lapans Bay, Benson Landing, and Dresden Narrows), Lake Bomoseen, Lake St. Catherine, Lake Hortonia, Glen Lake, Lake Carmi, and Norton Pond.

The following tips may help you catch pike through the ice:

-       Fish mornings and evenings particularly on overcast days. Rapidly changing weather conditions can produce phenomenal pike action. Patience and persistence are the key to getting big numbers and large pike.

-       Most pike will fit through a six-inch hole, but larger holes, eight to 10 inches, will make it easier to guide the fish up through when landing. In extremely cold weather, smaller holes will shrink due to ice build-up.

-       For tip-ups, rig the spools with heavy dacron ice-fishing line (36 to 45 pound test). This large line makes it easier to handle on the ice. On the end of the main line, tie a barrel swivel to keep your line from getting twisted. To the swivel tie a three-foot leader, which can be heavy monofilament, heavy fluorocarbon, or steel. To the leader, add a very small split-shot to keep your bait from moving too much. A variety of hook sizes and styles can be used. You may need to experiment, and then decide which set-up works best for you.    

-       Pike prefer soft non-spiny rayed fish. White suckers, creek chubs, golden shiners, and rainbow smelt are all good choices. In general, baits from three to seven inches are used. This size range will usually eliminate flags from panfish that will take smaller sized baits.
       
-       Pike prefer shallow water (3 to 15 feet) associated with aquatic vegetation. Points and drop-offs with weed beds close by are always a good bet. During late ice conditions you may want to try shallow flats as pike are spring spawners and will begin to congregate in these shallow areas. Suspend your bait about 12 inches off the bottom unless you're fishing very shallow weedy areas. In this case, hang your bait closer to the hole to avoid the bait being entangled in the weeds. To accurately set the depth for your bait, use a sounding weight. Clip the weight on the hook and lower your line until it hits the bottom, clip on a tiny bobber or line marker to mark your line where you want it to be on the tip-up spool. This "sounding technique" will take some practice but when perfected will make it easy for you to see if a fish has taken line, or after checking your bait you can easily put the bait back to the correct position without sounding again.

-       Once you're set-up it's a waiting game. Check your baits at least once an hour. If the bait is dead, don't worry about it. Pike will eat dead bait too. Sometimes it's their first choice.

-       Flag-up! Now what? Do you immediately set the hook? Waiting too long will usually result in deeply hooked fish. You may want to wait for the spool to stop, slowly bring in some line until you feel the fish and then give a quick short jerk to set the hook. Gently pull in line if the fish starts to run, just let the line slip through your fingers with a little bit of tension. When the fish stops, repeat the process.

-       Use large forceps or pliers to remove the hook. These simple tools will help you avoid being cut by the pike's teeth and will also enable you to quickly remove the hook if you intend to release the fish.

-       For fish that will be released, it is important to minimize the time the fish is out of the water, especially during extremely cold air temperatures that can freeze the fish's external surfaces. Quickly remove the hook, avoiding any contact with the fish's gills. Extra care here will help ensure that the fish survives.

-       Northern pike can grow large where abundant food and habitat are present. Vermont's state record is 30 lbs. 8 ozs. If you are going to harvest fish for the table, you may want to consider keeping smaller male pike and releasing the larger females to spawn in the spring. Keeping large pike in the fishery will enable them to reach their full potential and help ensure a quality fishery.

Be sure to check fishing regulations for each pond or lake you intend to fish. For more information contact Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, 103 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT 05671-0501
Phone 802 241-3700. Ask for a Digest of Hunting, Fishing & Trapping Laws. Fishing regulations may also be found on the department's website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com).
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Pike fishing tips and photo courtesy of Bob Dostie, Swanton, VT

Caption for attached photo: Bob Dostie, Lake Champlain, VT, with one the many nice northern pike he catches each winter.


For Further Information please contact: Thomas Jones at 802-241-3700 or email to tom.jones@anr.state.vt.us