Ice fishing question

[JakerGreen]

I have enjoyed catching northern pike in the open water.  What tips can you give a kids for trying to target northern pike during the hard water season?

What bait is the best to use?

Should I use a tip up or pole?

How deep are northerns usually?

Thanks, JakerGreen

[thunderpout]

Try a dead smelt or a sucker minnow with the fins trimmed on a tip-up or rattle wheel while ya pound a jigging spoon on a rod set up, to call em in...

[HD]

Jake,

You picked a topic that is my favorite thing to do during the winter.
I love to catch pike, summer and winter.........Through the ice is the best!

I target the shallow areas for pike, not more than 6 to 8 feet deep.
Shallow bays and weed beds are best.
For bait, my favorite has got to be a shinner. But smelt work and so do suckers.

The trick is, to only set your tip-up so the shinner is only a few feet below the ice.
Pike like to feed up, coming from under your bait.

Me and my son, tip-up fish the most.... because we can have fun while waiting for a flag.
(snowball fights, building snow forts...or just messing around)

I hope this helps!

Hunter

[Spinach]

I agree..... I like weed bed areas in about 6-8 feet of water, a plain hook and a small to med shiner works great. Fish about 3-5 feet deep or above the weeds and set the hook!

[guythathunts]

My rule is to set your tip-up bait just above the half way mark in the water collum. So if your in 8' set it 3 1/2 - 4' down. In 12' go 5-6' down. I like smaller sucker minnows. Shiners are great but I have a tendancy to kill them b4 they get to the lake. If you want to use a pole, I like to jig with a silver spoon tiped with a fathead.

Good Luck!

[kingfisher1]

I enjoy using tip-ups while chasing northerns during the winter.  There's nothing I like better than bringing in a snot rocket hand over hand through a hole.  One tip that I use when using a tip up is when you decide what depth you want to go at, put a small pea or marble sized red and white bobber at the edge of the tip-up.  That way, when the pike takes off, you can re set the depth at the same depth.