Pike have a tendency to hold their prey sideways between their teeth and swim off with it. You need to give them time to get it into their mouth. When fishing live bait, never set the hook immediately. Feed them slack so they don't feel resistance. Usually they will swim off with it and then stop to engulf it. When they start to swim again is when to set the hook. Others may have different opinions, but this is what I've found works best.

 

try using a stinger hook or hooking the shiner different.

 

I usually do good with circle hooks, hook the minnow slightly forward of the dorsal. Circle hooks require little hook set, and usually don't get swallowed.

 

Growing up in Michigan I have had a few chances at Pike to say the least. When fishing for pike with a chub minnow/sucker under a bobber. When the pike first hits it kills the bait and swims off with it. Then they let it go, the bobber floats up just let it alone. Then the pike will come around and take the bait from the head to the tail. At that time feed out line let it run another 10 ft or more then set the hook. It does not work every time but most of the time. I remember one ol guy told me when I was a kid that once the first hit starts, to light a cigarette ( 0ld days) and when u are done with it, it is about time to hook up with the pike. The moral of the story is slow down and let them get the bait down in their mouth. Good Luck

 

i grew up fishing pike in the hoga above the (old) dam in munroe falls. we always hooked our shiners thru the back behind the dorsal fin. once a pike took the bait we let it run (open bail) till bobber came back up. usually 10-20 ft. wait till bobber moved again then set the hook. we didnt have circle hooks back then. however i'd highly recommened them. hope this helps good luck jon

 

I will thrown in my two cents as well...I have certainly missed a good number of pike. The main things to consider is the size of the bait and size of the hook. I usually use a large chub (7+ inches), and my hook is a 5/0 or 6/0, hooked through the upper lip. I will wait between 30 and 60 seconds. However, the better way is to use a 2/0 or so treble hook, hooked through the minnows' back. The downfall is they do not stay alive near as long as hooking through the lip. As a previous post noted, pike grab their prey sideways, and this way, you should be able to set the hook immediately, and not risk a swallowed hook. And don't feel like an idiot missing them-anyone who targets pike with live bait misses their fair share!

 

Hook the shiner threw the middle of the body right under the spine.

 

Caught many pike on livebait and sometimes even when landing a small bass on a crank. Let the pike run on the strike. Count to ten when the second run starts and set the hook. I always used a size two or size one treble and hooked the bait, perch, sunfish, chub or sucker at the rear of the dorsel as the thinner portion of the bait body allowed for better hook exposure. I used a horizontal sweeping hook set in an attempt to avoid the upper and lower teeth and bury the hook in the side of the mouth.

 

. Count to ten when the second run starts and set the hook.

The longest "wait" and "count to ten" you'll ever have.
Years ago I lived in an area of Northern Indiana where the pike fishing was exceptional for some reason. This was my absolute favorite way to fish them. We would do well even in the hottest part of the middle of the day. Kicked back, feet up, hot sun, cold beer just watching a giant bobber with a creek chub under it... Freakin perfect! Only tough part was the wait and count. As well as I knew what I had to do, can't tell you how many time my lack of patience caused me to blow it on a nice run. We would often pick some big dogfish and the occasional hog bass when pike fishing this way as well.

 

Look up quick strike rig and use them.

 

Normally the pike will grab the shiner in the side of its mouth and dart to the middledeeper part of the river to get the bait turned around in its mouth so it goes down head first. After that you will notice the fish might make a run up or down river.....Then drop the tip of the rod load up and set the hook. If you set the hook as soon as the bobber goes under you will rip the shiner right out of the pikes mouth

 

Or use a circle hook....

 

Thanks so much for your tips, everyone. I did some Googling and will be picking up some new hooks as per the advice in the thread. Utilizing the patience you all echoed, I successfully landed 3 of the 4 bites I had tonight. An 18 inch pike, a 16 inch pike, and a 15.5 inch small mouth were taken. First smally I've ever caught in the river, and man was he fat. Surprisingly (to me), I've been fishing steel leaders and have caught a white bass, a smally, and various panfish on them regularly. I would have assumed the leader would scare away most fish outside of pike; this appears to be inaccurate.

Thanks again for the tips. I'll be sure to remember my camera going forward for proof!

 

Hey fishing in kent, if you dont mind me askin, where are you fishing? Ive been trying for a while to hook into some pike but no luck so far. Ive been fishing fred fuller and waterfront park.

 

Hey fishing in kent, if you dont mind me askin, where are you fishing? Ive been trying for a while to hook into some pike but no luck so far. Ive been fishing fred fuller and waterfront park.

Various still-water pools in and around fred fuller as well. I haven't seen anybody catch anything in that portion of the river throwing plastic yet. Just live shiners in deep, dead holes. I talked to a guy who claimed a 25+ incher on a crankbait at 6:00 am just below the bridge on main street in Kent. For me, the fishing has been not-so-hot virtually all day long on a consistent basis, then 7:00PM rolls around... from then till dusk it's really fun. Don't go more than 5-ish minutes without a taker of some species.

Also, you wouldn't believe the size of the carp I've seen jumping if I told you, so I won't. But if you're into that sort of thing, bring some corn and a big rig. They are everywhere, and incredibly active in the evenings.

 

Never caught a pike on live bait, but done real well on cranks out of that area. Lots of casts, lots of work, but all you need is one pike and you have your payoff!

 

Fish near the wood piles. Pike are ambush predators. They sit and wait until something comes by to attack it. There are plenty of pike in the kent section of the river. You just have to find the hungry ones. Spend a few 10-1 5mintues tossing at one pile then move on the next. I know WillyDub pulled out a 6.5lber last week up in kent. If you catch two in one day, that's a good day of pike fishing.