Northern Pike
Huge northern pike up to 48 inches long provide some of the greatest angling experiences imaginable. Mother Nature blessed Red Lake with some of the finest northern pike habitat in the world: irregular shorelines, islands, weedbeds, variety of depths and an abundance of bait fish. This is a northern pike paradise!

Our policy is to keep pike beneath the slot size (27.5-35.4 inches) for eating and to encourage the release of all large northern pike except those kept for mounts. As part of our regular service we clean all your fish and remove ALL bones from northern pike fillets and they are delicious!

Best lures and techniques to catch the "wolf of the water" on Red Lake

• Pike are everywhere but especially in cover such as weeds, rocks and logs and entrances to bays and narrows.
• Best caught by casting or trolling with spoons, spinners, plugs and jigs.
• Retrieve a lure so it has the maximum action and runs its deepest without hooking weeds. Pike will strike at a lure just because it thinks the lure is behaving aggressively.
• Large pike are usually solitary and territorial and will inhabit the same spot for years. In almost every situation, the territories of these lunkers are very close to walleye areas.
• Smaller pike will school, often by size.
• Pike have rows of razor-sharp teeth. A 6-9 inch steel leader is a must.
• Despite their size and aggression, small lures can sometimes work best, especially on calm days.
• Spoons: 1-4 inches or one-third ounce to one-ounce, like Dardevle, Little Cleo, Five of Diamonds, Kamlooper and Johnson Silver Minnow with twister tail added.
• Minnow imitations: 3-8 inches, like Rapala, Bagleys, Rebel, Cotton Cordell. Pinch down the barbs to aid releasing fish and to take these out of your own skin (it happens).
• Spinners: tiny to big bass-style spinner and buzz baits. Mepps #5 and similar big bucktails.
• Jigs: They catch everything! For pike, 1/4 and 3/8 ounce with 3-inch or 4-inch single or double tail plastic twisters or shad bodies. Cast near structure or shoreline and run the jig back to boat near the bottom.
• Colors: Red, white, orange, pink, chartreuse, blue, silver, gold, perch and rainbow trout .
• Bait: Frozen ciscoe minnows, 4-6 inches, on a quick-strike rig, fished beneath a bobber can be deadly, sometimes too deadly - please use quick-strike rigs, not treble hooks.
• Best eating sizes: 22-27 inches.
• Real trophy: 40+ inches.
• Rod and reel: Medium action rod with baitcasting or spinning reel with 12-lb. line.
• Biggest mistake most fishermen make: way too big a lure and rods and line so heavy you cannot cast correctly.