pike/smallmouth fishing

Hoosierfisherman, great points. Where are you heading in Canada? It sounds to me like one of the Ontario regions with weed growth ( cabbage, coontail, etc. ) and varied structural elements. This can make a significant difference in the approach you take regarding lures and specific targeted areas.

The majority of the popular waters in Quebec are reservoirs that don't have the same fertility level that you will find in Central and near Northern Ontario ( weed growth if you can find it will be sparse ),

In both areas you can have success with cranks and for sure Sluggos will produce great Pike fishing in the shallower waters but when the reservoir waters of Quebec warm a bit the bigger northerns will go deep ( 20' + ) and you needs to adapt the technique. Another point to consider is that once you get about 100 miles straight north of Ottawa ( an east - west line from North Bay to Lac St. Jean ) the smallmouth population all but disappears.

 

The lake isnt nipissing is it.

 

I'm leaving for Lac Remigny, Quebec (natural lake, very fertile in some bays)in 10 days. Good info on the pike, smallmouth lures. We only caught a few smallies last year in June, but hampered by enormous mayfly hatch brought on by hot spell and not really targeting them. McQ's suggestion on less smallies further north would seem to apply to this place. We used a lot of mepps spinners for pike (my boys need to cast/catch to stay interested) but the coontails and reeds hassled us. This year we are going to try some sturdy spinner baits, buzzbaits, weedless spoons for pike. I'm also bringing my trolling gear for the bigger, deeper pike and walleye. My slake erie smallie tube collection will also be tried. Guess I need to figure out what a slug-o is. Surprised your not targeting any walleye for the fryer, but they can be a lot of trouble to catch.

Hoosierfisherman, your temps seem a bit low as I recall water temps about 10 degrees higher and the air temp 45/72. You may be further north than Remigny, which is about 3 hours north of Northbay/Lake Nippissing.

Here's a link to Canadian weather:

http://weather.ec.gc.ca/forecast/city_e.html?YUY

Good luck. Let's share our fishing stories upon return!

 

Hoosierfisherman, your comment about spinner baits is bang on. An often overlooked lure for Northerns. Here's a pic of my buddy Michels northern from Club Rudy close to Parent Quebec. Mike uses spinnerbaits extensively for his pike fishing. A close second choice for him is big jerk baits.

 

After 3 years of success with mepps in line spinners, I thought I'd try the spinnerbaits since much much more weedless and easier to deal with single hook than treble. I hate to mangle any fish I release. At the Remigny, Quebec camp last year, the more successful bear hunters had time out their typical bass fishing tackle and caught plenty out of weeds that no mepps could venture through. Got any brands, styles, colors in mind? I'm assuming silver/white is always a winner up north. Pprbably need spinnerbaits with sturdy wire, but don't want to spend US $10 for ones used on musky.

What color/length sluggo's are worth a go? 6" seems reasonable, shad or minnow colors? I look forward to trying a weedless rigging on softbait that isn't so costly to leave snagged on something occasionally. Losing a few US $4 mepps can get you down.

By the way, Iron Bridge Ontario is near North Channel (west of Goergian Bay), which is significantly further south than Remigny, Quebec. I'd bet you find warmer temps than you predict and more smallies per McQ.

McQ, thanks for that pike pic! Wow.

 

For Pike you have to have titanium frames or you'll spend alot of time re-tuning the baits after each fish. All you'll really need is like 4-5 spinnerbaits and buzzbaits and maybe 2 packs of silicone replacement skirts. Color really doesnt matter much but I use alot of bubble gum or black/orange (for high visibility) especially in the best fertile tannic pike waters. You need to have at least (2) 1/2oz. double willow bladed and (2) 3/4oz. I cut the small blade off for less fouling. A high speed baitcaster is a must and I would use 30-50lb fire line.

Terminator, Boogerman, Horizon, Northland spinnerbaits/buzzbaits work great
Silver/White/Chartuese all work good but my go to color again is Black and Orange Northland Reed Runner (they have a closed eye) so the leader or line does not slip. Black replacement skirts or actual glow in the dark green are good to have if you are fishing low light conditions. I also found another killer pike lure is a WindCheater by Rebel...it has a knocking rattle that also shifts for long distance casting and has super strong/sharp hooks. Crankbaits/Rattletraps work wonders when the sun is up and high and the pike are tucked into the weeds. A few tips from a pike chaser!

 

It has been a while since I used spinner baits (frequently) myself so I checked my collection from past trips, the box is always with me but it has been 3 years since I've put it to much use. I have in my assortment SB's in a variety of sizes starting at 1/2 oz and up to 1 oz - 6 white/silver willows, 3 orange/brown/gold willow and colorado, 3 yellow/gold colorado and a couple of blacks/silver willow. They are primarily all locally made elcheapo's with a couple of Stanleys in the bunch.

When I was pursuing pike, white/silver was always my goto color for the tannine stained lakes in the north. White Sluggos and 6/0 owner worm hooks are part of the arsenal and a half dozen or so pearl 6" shad bodies rigged with wire through treble. They all caught fish. Lately I have been using the Johnson Silver Minnows gold, silver or firetiger in both sizes as they suit my fishing style to a tee for shallow water targets. Just remember to give the hooks a little sharpening, they are kind of dull out of the box. There is very little weedgrowth in the waters I fish and target structure is usually rocks and deadfalls/stumps.

I get the opportunity to go north a few times every summer and really only target Pike at the opening of the season. As the water warms and I start jigging walleye on deeper structure there will be at least 1 rod rigged with a heavy jig and plastic trailer. If the walleye bite shuts down it is generally because there are Pike moving into the area. Drop a jig down to about two feet off the bottom and most times you'll get bit.

I also am a fan of big bucktails for Pike and have a box of many color combinations of these hair jigs that are about 6" long When fishing with my buddy Don Meissner red/white & black/blue combos are popular. He is the master of big hair jigs. They also do double duty for Lake Trout.

Over the last few weeks I've been introduced to a new walleye kit put out by Coots Lures that is very promising. It's a wire harness, blade and spoon combo that will be pike proof when trolling. I'll give a report once I get a chance to test them out thoroughly.

 

Great info!

One last question (maybe two): What does one do if there is a mayfly hatch? Had troubles last year with a big hatch. Can anyone predict the mayfly hatch for Remigny, Quebec at say 47.76 degrees North or tell me if one already hit up there?

 

Mayfly hatch can turn most everyone into a headscratcher. My method is to downsize my harness blades to #2 in blue, purple or dark green. Split shot for weight, use 1/2 a crawler and long line troll for suspended fish. The key is real slow, just enough speed to get the blade turning. Most walleye that are feeding on the hatch will suspend off bottom and wait for the emergent flies to float up to them.

Early morning until about 8:00 if the winds are light I'll use floating cranks just sub surface again trolled really slow. The evening bite from about 5:00 pm on can be great for topwater presentations and the action will really pickup just at dusk. My preference is to use baits with a white belly. Bagley 4" Top Guns and floating Rapalas in rainbow pattern are my goto choice.

Weedy areas adjacent to extended mud flats are a prime target area. Sit on the weed edge and fish towards the open water. Cast and slowly jerk/snap retrieve your bait on the surface.