Agreed. I don't target pike often, but as a kid I did a lot of ice fishing with my dad. We never caught any under the 20" range, and the majority were over 2'.
Ice Fishing Season..
- Thread starter Reptilesfishbirdsmammals
- Start date
MultispeciesTamer;4763974; said:he was talking about tip ups. read it again, "line rips out of your hand" our smallest pike this year is about 20 inchs. If your using bait that a 14 incher can swallow it might be time to up the size of your shiners. Say a 5 inch shiner should be good. I myself prefer creek chubs and some use suckers.
well im gonna
at you cause i do fine with bigger fish than 20 inchs and creek chubs and suckers are no offense but there junk..sorry id tell you what to use for some big F'ers but im like gonna be secretive but i havent been out lately i got school..pengu13;4768011; said:
ugh i hate when people use metric can you use standard..im american and a bit canadian but im born in american but im just trying to say..say the size in inches or feet..even though i know how big that is by the way..
Well depending where you live and what you can legaly get for bait. All around Creek chubs are the best pike bait in Michigan. There easy to care for, stay alive longer on the hook. Vary actice baitfish. Easy to feed when keeping over long periods of time. Easy to find and buy from a bait shop or collect from a stream when season is open.Reptilesfishbirdsmammals;4768599; said:well im gonna
Depending on where you live in Michigan and where you fish you have the option to use smelt and ciscos as bait. But these are not fish you can take home and care for and use every trip they have to be caught fresh. Thus they are not a good choice for all around bait. Although I would say using these baits in the correct lake from which they were caught from can lead to some monster pike in the 20 pound plus range.
Gold fish, koi and other non-native species are not alloud to be used for bait. So that rules out them.
Perch and other native fish make alright pike bait. I from time to time use them. But again not a good long term bait choice they have to be kept at constant cold temps other wise when you put them on the hook and drop them down they go into shock. They are not a vary active bait and use little energy. There is something about perch that pike are attracted to Idk if its scent or what but Ive caught just as many pike this year on perch as I have shiners or chubs. And perch when hooked just swim down and wiggle.
MultispeciesTamer;4770078; said:
well in alpena we use grey minnows and are fantastic for pike we and i myself..used creek chubs and found them on the "junk" list up here..idk where you live in michigan but grey minnows are great and i dont care for pike i just like to catch them there fun but i target panfish and walleye..
I did some research on these "gray minnows" they apear to be some species of dace. Rhinichthys falcatus (scientific name). This species is not native to Michigan and not available at my local bait shops. As such this species is a possible threat to our ecosytem I would not be caught using it for bait. The Dnr should be called and turned in to the place where you got this bait.Reptilesfishbirdsmammals;4778357; said:
You have me wondering about these grey minnows. They may not be that species above. Do you have any more information about this. Where they come from, etc. As a kid in college who wants to be a fisheries biologist, I want to keep our waters clean and free of invasive species. I require more information please. Fines for having an invasive species in possesion alive in Michigan is great.
MultispeciesTamer;4778997; said:
well i do agree that you want to keep fishing positive..but idk if i can really say if i can tell on the store but if you wanna know go to clems bait and tackle on google alpena michigan..but good for you for being a biologist..but idk if gray minnow is a slang term for some other minnow im not sure..since i might be a fisherman but it doesnt mean i know the bait usually i do but hey as long as you dont hate on me
Before anyone calls the DNR you need to make sure it is what you are thinking. the name Gray Minnow could be a common name for fat heads or something that is sold all over. You go call the DNR and waste their time and money and you are being the bad guy.
no worries the DNR was not called, I understand fully that common names can mean all different species. Just was looking for clarification but looks like there is none.fobrinkle;4785260; said:
