Flying into a lake to fish for trophy Northern Pike and not quite sure what you need to bring? In this article I will offer some advice starting with what rod and reel combinations you should consider taking along. “Well, can’t I just use my Walleye rods? I’ve landed 40”+ Pike a number of times while Walleye fishing”. My answer to that is, sure you can, but it is not something I would recommend. Most Walleye set-ups are under-powered for targeting big fish. This prolongs the fight and puts unnecessary added stress onto the fish. It is also inefficient for targeting trophy fish because you are not maximizing your potential in terms of casting and techniques. What do I mean by that? Essentially, by using an under-powered setup you limit what you are capable of doing and how effective you can be with what you can actually do. For example, you can fish 1.5 ounce spoons with a 7′ medium power fast action spinning setup, but the rod will be overloaded casting spoons of that weight. That results in reduced casting distance and has the potential to snap your line on a cast if something goes wrong, like the bail closing early or if the line becomes wrapped. Perhaps even a broken rod! Walleye setups are also typically spooled with 6 to 8 pound test line, which I don’t think requires further explanation as to why that is a bad idea for trophy Pike fishing. Besides, this article provides the justification to pick up some new fishing gear guilt free!
The best way to approach this problem is by looking at the lures and techniques used to target these fish. From there, you can decide what set-up you need based on how you are going to be fishing. For the most part the methods and baits used are somewhat seasonal, and others are less than ideal for a fly-in fishing trip. Which brings me to another point, everything I mention should be taken in the context of a fly-in fishing trip where you have some restrictions on weight and the maximum length of the rod. So, unless I was able to identify an adequate two-piece or telescoping rod, the maximum length of the single piece rods that I will be recommending will be 7’6” for practical reasons – although, going closer to 8′ may be possible if you don’t use a rod tube during transport.
However, before I get into those details, it is probably a good idea to first go over some basic technical specifications that are the basis for recommending a particular rod and reel for a given application. There is no point in baseless recommendations so to best explain my reasoning behind them you will need a basic understanding of reel gear ratios, rod power and rod action in addition to the more obvious specifications like maximum drag, line test, spool sizes and reel type. Most importantly, taken together, all of this will aid you in putting together the best set-up tailored to your specific needs.
Reelin’ In Those Ratios
A fishing reel has two basic functions: 1) to release and retrieve line and 2) to regulate energy transfer from the line to the rod. To release and retrieve line, a system of locking toothed gears is used. You turn the handle, the gears move and that translates into the spool turning to collect the line. All reels have a gear ratio specification. The gear ratio is simply the number of teeth on the main drive gear, which is the gear that the reel handle turns, to the number of teeth on the pinion gear, which is interlocked with the main gear and is what rotates the spool. The ratio simply tells you that for each full 360 degree rotation of the handle, the spool with complete that number of rotations. So, for a gear ratio of 6.4:1, each full rotation of the handle results in the spool fully rotating 6.4 times. Why is this important? Well, the gear ratio is part of what dictates how fast your retrieval rate is. Sometimes you want your bait to slowly crawl along and other times to burn it back to the boat! Of course, you can always speed up and slow down your retrieval rate, but that is not always practical.
In general, when you want to impart a slow action onto your bait, you should use a reel with a lower gear ratio, and when you want to burn a bait, use a reel with a higher gear ratio. However, gear ratio is only part of the equation as the retrieval rate is also dependent on the size, depth and width of the spool as well as handle length. That is where inches per turn (IPT) [also called line per turn (LPT)] comes in, which indicates how many inches of line a reel retrieves upon one full rotation of the handle. Most reels will have this specification and it is actually more important than gear ratio when considering how fast you want to retrieve your line. Do not ignore the gear ratio though. It is still important because of torque. The lower the gear ratio, the higher the torque, which basically translates into more power and makes retrieving line require less effort when there is added resistance. It is easy to understand by thinking about the gears on a bicycle. When you are in a low gear it is very easy to pedal, but switch to a high gear and it becomes more difficult. That is why you switch to a lower gear when you have to ride uphill. It is the same concept when you are retrieving baits that are heavy or create a lot of drag, such as double bladed bucktails. A lower gear ratio reel makes it a lot easier to bring in those hard pulling baits.
Reels can be classified into four basic classes based on retrieval speed: slow, medium, fast and hyper-fast. A slow speed reel will typically have a gear ratio of 4.9:1 to 5.4:1 and 20″ to 24″ IPT, a medium speed reel will have gear ratios ranging from 6.1:1 to 6.4:1 with 25″ to 28″ IPT, fast reels are in the 7.1:1 to 8.1:1 range with 29″ to 33″ IPT and hyper-fast reels have ratios 9.1:1 to 10.1:1 with 34″ to 40″+ IPT. When looking for a particular reel remember to look at the IPT and not just the gear ratio, as there are some beefy reels that have low gear ratios but a very high IPT, such as the Shimano Tranx series. Spinning reels also tend to be on the upper end of IPT at 34″-40″ as well, even though they typically have medium speed gear ratios. That is also a reason why people often prefer baitcasters to spinning reels when they need that extra pulling power. So, why is all this important? Well, specific gear ratios and retrieval rates are ideally suited for a given technique, which I will get more into later.
Earlier I mentioned that the second function of a reel is to regulate energy transfer from the line into the rod. Essentially what I am referring to is the reels drag system. The drag setting regulates how much energy goes to the rod (i.e., how much it bends) from force placed onto the line. The force on the line is directed into the rod until it surpasses the max drag setting where the energy is then transferred into the drag washers and line is released, redirecting the energy away from the rod and line. A reel drag is basically a set of washers stacked together and the friction between the washers creates the drag. The drag is adjusted by changing the pressure between the washers. The maximum drag on a reel should be set to about 15-25% of the line breaking strength for braided lines and 20-30% for monofilament. This should provide a good buffer for when a fish strikes as well as prevent overloading of your rod.
For trophy Pike fishing you can take advantage of three types of reels – round baitcasters, low profile baitcasters and spinning [or fixed spool for those in Europe]. Round baitcasters tend to be made of beefier components (e.g., forged aluminum vs. die-cast), have low gear ratios, strong drags and larger spools that hold plenty of line. Low profile baitcasters are typically more lightweight, compact and have low to hyper-fast gear ratios. However, today there are plenty of larger solidly constructed “low profile” baitcasters that offer incredible power, strong drags and medium to fast gear ratios. These reels can even be as large as or larger than some round baitcasters. So much for low profile! Spinning reels are often overlooked as they are not considered powerful enough for trophy fishing, but that is simply not true. You just need the right reel for the job! The reels in the 4000/40 and 5000/50 sizes offer plenty of power when targeting trophy Pike and have a fast retrieval rate making them ideally suited for many applications.
Rowdy Roddy Power
Now let us talk a little bit about rods. There are several specifications that manufacturers typically provide for a fishing rod – length, power, action, line weight and lure weight. The length of the rod is typically dependent on its intended purpose. Longer rods distribute and hold more energy, which is great for handling large fish, steelheading is good example of this, and when you want increased “more graceful” casting distance. However, long rods are terrible when you want to impart action on your lure with the rod, such as with jerkbaits or vertical jigging, so a shorter rod is a better choice in those situations. There are also some more practical considerations as well, such as where a long 9′-10′ rod is an excellent choice for doing figure 8’s while musky fishing or fishing from along the bank of the river but may be impractical to wield when you are in a canoe or 14′ boat. For the most part, as mentioned, I will focus on rods that are in the range of 6’6” to 7’6” for use on fly-in trips with the exception of 2-piece or telescopic models.
The power of a fishing rod is indicative of the rod strength, stiffness, resistance to bend or the amount of energy or weight required to reach its load at 90 degrees. Unfortunately there are not really any industry standards when it comes to these specifications and you will often here people talk about how brand X is stiffer than brand Y for a similar power rating. Nonetheless, there are commonly used designations for power such as Ultralight (UL), Ligh (L)t, Medium Light (ML), Medium (M), Medium Heavy (MH), Heavy (H), Extra Heavy (XH)and Extra Extra Heavy (XXH) that are sufficient enough to understand what the rod is capable of handling. The heavier the power rating of the rod, the stiffer it will be for a given action. For trophy Northern Pike fishing we are mostly interested in Medium Heavy and Heavy power rods since we are primarily using 20-65 lb test line with 0.5 to 4 ounce lures. You only want to go as heavy as you really need. Using an over-powered rod is lifeless and not much fun to use at all, while an underpowered rod would be like a wet noodle.
The rod action is simply the point along the rod at which it bends under load and is dependent on the taper of the rod. Rods are typically classified as slow (S) [bends closer to the base in the bottom 1/3], moderate/medium (M) [bends in the center], moderate fast (MF) [bends in the upper 2/5], fast (F) [bends in the upper 1/3] and extra fast (XF) [bends in the upper 1/4]. The faster the action of the rod, the closer to the tip the rod will bend and the more sensitive the rod will likely be. Also, since the rod tip bends closer to the tip of the rod there is less leverage to load the rod. This is great for quick hook sets and when you have a lot of line out as the energy is quickly transferred down the line instead of into the rod. Faster rods are often used for jigging and where single barbed hooks are used, while moderate rods are good for casting crankbaits and treble hooks, and slow rods are good for long gentle casts with live bait rigs. One instance where slower rods [and fiberglass!] are ideal is when you need to fight the fish close to the boat, such as in a canoe or kayak. When targeting trophy Northern Pike, rods of moderate fast to fast action will cover the majority of applications.
The line weight and lure weight ratings on rods are strongly tied to the rod power and are usually manufacturer recommendations based on their experience and not industry standards. For both specifications, an ideal range is provided. The minimum weight is generally what is required to sufficiently “bend the rod”, so a line or lure that is too light will not transfer enough energy into the rod before the line breaks or to effectively cast the lure. This just makes for a very inefficient combination. However, the maximum line or lure weight does not necessarily indicate the point at which the rod will break. Still, it is a good idea to pay attention to this rating as rods have been shown to break anywhere from 1.3X to 2.5X the maximum line weight rating. Of course, that was using a fixed weight attached to the rod without a reel. This is a very important consideration, as the reel drag is incredibly important and is what regulates transferring energy from the line to the rod. So, if for some reason you are fishing with 50lb test line on a rod rated for a maximum of 12lb test, be sure to have your drag set properly so the rod does not get overloaded (i.e., in this situation base the drag setting on the rod rating and not the line rating) or use a light leader! For most medium-heavy and heavy rods, the line weight ratings will be between 10-20 lbs and 20-60 lbs, respectively, which is perfect for trophy Pike fishing.
While you do not necessarily have to stay within the recommend line weight ranges, you will have a much more efficient setup if you do. While I see no good reason to use line much below the recommended minimum, I would have no problems going 50% higher than the maximum rating as long as I have my drag set properly and I use an appropriate leader. Besides, the accuracy of line test strength is highly variable across line manufacturers and braid is often rated lower than the actual breaking strength. So, your 20lb test braid may actually have a breaking strength of 30-40lb! Not to mention the variation in the actual overload limit of a rod relative to the rating across manufacturers.
In some situations you will also see a different line weight rating for monofilament and braided lines. Why is the rating for braid higher? That makes no sense based on what I just read! Well, again, this is a manufacturers rating system. In this particular case the line weight range is selected based on the optimal diameter of the line to get the best results out of the rod. For example, if you compare how 20lb mono loads a rod compared to something like solid steel wire line of the same tensile strength, the thicker mono line likely loads the rod easier. Since braided line has a smaller diameter than monofilament line of comparable tensile strength, the listed lb test range will be lower for mono line. Regardless, this just emphasizes how these specifications are general guidelines.
The recommended lure weight range is where the manufacturer considers the rod will perform proper energy transfer from load to release. Too light a lure and it will be difficult to load the rod and transfer that energy into an efficient cast. Ever try to cast a fly with a spinning rod? It is nearly impossible. Too heavy and you are overloading the rod which also leads to an inefficient cast, potential damage to your rod and possibly a snapped line and lost lure. Obviously going a little over or under the range is not going to be detrimental. I think a rod performs just fine 25%, and even up to 50%, outside of the specified range. You just need to do some testing. Too light a lure, it won’t cast very far. Too heavy and the rod will be very spongey on the cast and if you go way too heavy, SNAP! Nonetheless, you will get the most out of your rod if you use lures that are 25% within the listed range. For example, if the listed lure weight range is 1/2 to 1 1/4 ounces, that rod is probably ideal for 5/8 to 1 ounce lures, but 3/8 to 1.5 ounces should be just fine and is a far more practical range. Over time you will learn how much you can exceed the recommendations for your given setup as the rod action, power, length and line diameter all play a role and the outcome will likely vary by make and model even for the same spec rod.
Below I will provide what I consider to be the ideal rod and reel combination for methods used to target trophy Pike at a fly-in camp. While I won’t cover every brand and model of rod and reel, I will provide suggestions at a few price points. Keep in mind that in some cases quality is very important, especially when it comes to reels. For example, you need a strong reel chassis and an efficient drag system for casting big baits. So, either throw within the limits of your gear or make an effort to invest in the proper gear for the job. Unless of course you want to replace your reel every year!
Throwing the “Small” Stuff – 1½ Ounce Baits
The small stuff I am referring to is not really small at all. It just spans the majority of what many anglers would throw for Pike without worrying too much about a Pike-specific set-up. Baits like 4.5” casting spoons, 4” to 5” paddletail swimbaits, 5” bass sized spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, surface baits, #5 and #6 bladed in-line/double-bladed spinners or 4” to 6” jerkbaits/crankbaits. Much of this could be thrown with a Walleye setup, but if you are targeting big Pike a Pike-specific setup will provide a better experience for you and the fish as well expand what you are capable of doing.
Plastics
What falls into this class of baits include your typical solid and hollow bodied paddletail swimbaits, jerkbaits, worms, tubes and larger single tailed grubs. Early in the season these are thrown weightless, with a 20lb titanium or 125lb solid wire leader, for a slow descent and retrieve. As the water temperature warms up past ~64 F you can start to use weighted jigs to speed up this presentation.
Weightless presentations are typically ½ ounce for a 5-6” hollow bodied paddletail to about 3/4 ounce for 5-7” solid body paddletail or 8” single tail grub. Add on a weighted jig and the maximum weight increases to ~1 ¼ to 1 ½ ounces. Of course, the overall weight will vary dependent on the brand and length of the bait as well as the jig you use, but an estimated range of ¾ to 1 ½ ounces is good enough to decide on a rod.
This type of slow fishing early in the season often relies more on long pauses than a slow retrieve. Even with a slow retrieve you are often using the rod to pull the bait and not the reel for a steady retrieve. Later in the season you are usually just twitching faster with much shorter pauses. Also, as with a lot of Pike fishing, there is the reaction strike on hitting the water or as the bait descends or pauses.
For this style of fishing the rod is probably more important than the reel. A fast action rod is ideal so you can quickly twitch your bait with the rod tip and have the sensitivity to detect light sluggish bites. A medium heavy power will get you into a good weight range and not be overpowered for fishing lighter baits. You also want the rod to be 7′ in length, and maybe up to 7′ 6”, to be able to have long controlled casts of the lighter baits without impacting the ability to jerk or twitch them.
For methods in which you are using your rod to impart action onto the bait, and not relying on a steady retrieve, a faster reel is better. A faster retrieve allows you to quickly reel up the slack line after you have twitched the bait and improve your chance of a hook set. So reels with an IPT 30”+ are a good choice. You do not need a low gear ratio for these baits since they do not create a lot of drag in the water. However, there is no detriment to going with a lower gear ratio if the IPT is acceptable and the reel balances with the rod well.
For this type of fishing I prefer a spinning set-up. A 4000 series reel spooled with 20lb braid and a 20lb titanium or 125lb solid wire leader. I prefer a solid wire leader for fishing plastics, but a titanium leader can be a better choice at times since it weighs less and is more subtle. I would not use a fluorocarbon or mono leader for unweighted plastics as it is just too bulky. My current go to reel is the Shimano Stradic CI4+, which has an IPT of 39”, a 6.2:1 gear ratio and a max drag of 24 pounds. I would choose the 4000 or 5000 series reels over the 2500 and 3000 series simply because they hold more line and are better balanced with the MH and H rods. There are many other great options for spinning reels ranging from $60 to $800+.
The biggest challenge is finding an appropriate spinning rod for this application. A heavy rod is just too overpowered and probably not fun to fish these types of baits with. A medium-heavy rod is a good compromise, but to find an appropriate rod you have to look at those made for salt water fishing – the inshore spinning rods. These rods are perfect with a 10-20lb line weight and 3/8-1/2 to 1 ¼ – 2 ounce lure weight ratings. Although, the rod butt tends to be a bit longer than typical freshwater rods, that has never been a big issue for me. My personal favorites are the Inshore Rods made by St.Croix. They have 7′ medium-heavy fast rods rated at 10-20lb test and a ½ to 1 ¼ ounce lure weight range in the Mojo, Avid, Legend Tournament and Legend Xtreme lines. A perfect combination for throwing plastics. A 6’6”, 7’6” and even up to an 8’6” rod would work as well, even better in some cases, but I chose a 7′ rod because it works well for all the plastics [and it easily fits into my travel case and car!] and I also want to use it for other lures, which I will get into later. On a fly-in, broader utility is always the smarter way to go. For example, this setup would also work well for tossing paddletails and crankbaits for Walleye or Smallmouth Bass.
If you prefer a baitcasting version of this setup for throwing plastics, a fast to hyper-fast low profile reel with an IPT 30”+ would be a good choice. Most of these will have a gear ratio of 7.1:1 to 8.1:1. For example, the Daiwa Lexa 300/400 or Tatula 200, Shimano Curado K 200HG/XG or Tranx 200/300/400 in HG/XG, Abu Garcia Revo Beast 40/50HS, Revo STX-HS/SHS or Revo Toro S50 would all be good choices. However, a medium speed reel at 6.1:1 or 6.4:1 with an IPT close to 30” would also work. You just speed up and slow down your retrieval rate as needed. Casting rods with the same specifications mentioned above are made by St.Croix and other manufacturers.
Crankbaits, Topwater, Spoons, Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits and In-Line Spinners
For smaller casting spoons, typically 3 to 4.5”, such as Yellowbird Doctor Spoons, Eppinger Daredevles, Johnson Silver Minnows or Len Thompson’s, crankbaits in the 4”-6” range, such as the Live Target 4 3/4” Yellow Perch, smaller 3/4-1 oz. spinnerbaits, such Northland Reed Runner Magnums, and inline spinners with size 5-6 Indiana blades, such as Mepps Aglia or Blue Fox Vibrax, I use the same set-up as I use for soft plastics. The rod has a good backbone and length for long accurate casts and can readily handle the weight of these lures. The spinning reel has a high IPT, but I can slow down my retrieval rate manually if I need to and the gear ratio provides enough torque for these types of lures. Although, typical casting spoons do require a reasonably fast consistent retrieval rate to maintain proper steady movement so you cannot slow them down too much. When you fish flutter-type spoons, such as Salmon trolling spoons or something like the Williams Whitefish, you are still able to slow down retrieval when you need to and following a pause you can quickly reel up the slack line for a hook-set. My only hesitation would be some of the heavier weight spinnerbaits with larger Colorado blades. For those, I would use a different baitcaster set-up which I discuss later.
Soft and Hard Jerkbaits
Hard jerkbaits, slashbaits and twitchbaits comprise a group of crankbaits that can be lipped or lipless, often suspending and have very little action on their own when they are retrieved. The action is imparted onto the lure by you and your rod. Pike LOVE jerkbaits and they are one of the most commonly thrown lures earlier in the season when the fish are still shallow. These smaller 4.5-6.5” lures, such as the Rapala Husky Jerk HJ14, Rapala X-Rap 14, Smithwick Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue, Bomber Long A, Lucky Craft Pointer 128 and Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow, are killer all year long, especially in early spring, and do not require heavy gear to throw. The soft bodied jerkbaits, such as Zoom Super Flukes, Yum Houdini Shad or Z-Man Streakz, rigged on a weighted or unweighted swimbait hook are equally as deadly. While you could fish the soft plastic versions slow, as I talked about for other plastics, they really come alive when you work them faster with your rod.
Ideally you want a shorter rod to work jerkbaits as it gives you better control and the action is quickly transferred into the bait and not absorbed by the rod. Now, the difference between a 6’6” and 7’6” rod is probably not noticeably different for these smaller baits. Nonetheless, the best choice for jerkbaits of this size would still be a 6’6” MH fast action rod. Personally, I use the same 7′ set-up that I use for soft plastics, spoons, small spinnerbaits and in-line spinners as I do not want to bring three different setups when one is reasonably good enough to replace all three. What I suggest is that if you have a preference for one technique over the other you lean in that direction for your rod and reel combination. For example, if you are focusing on soft plastics or spoons, a 7’6” MH rod might be a slightly better choice. If your focus is primarily tossing jerkbaits, go with a 6’6” MH rod. All three types of baits equally? A 7′ rod is a great choice. The most important specifications are that your rod is medium-heavy power, fast action and is rated to cast 3/8-0.5 to 1.25-1.5 ounce lures with 20 lb braid as all three lengths [or longer] will be just fine for throwing soft plastics, spoons, spinners and jerkbaits.
Upping The Game – 3 Ounce Baits
When it is time to up your game you will need to move to a heavier set-up. We are talking about 5” to 6” spoons, 6” to 9” crankbaits, 4” to 9” topwater baits, double 8 bucktails, Mag10 inline spinners, big 10” spinnerbaits, 4” to 8” jerkbaits and 5” to 7” paddletail swimbaits. These lures typically will range from 1.5 to 3.5 ounces. To handle throwing out these baits you want to use heavier braided line in the 50-80lb test range and a rod most likely designed to handle lighter musky baits.
The problem, once again, is that the ideal set-up will differ depending on if you are using jerkbaits, double-bladed bucktails or big plastics. A shorter stiffer rod is generally preferred to impart the action onto jerkbaits and a low ratio reel is preferred for that extra torque to retrieve double-bladed baits. However, a longer rod is better suited for casting bucktails and plastics, while a faster reel is better for jerkbaits. The choice of rod length also often has to do with personal preference. You will find a lot of Musky fisherman who prefer the shorter 7’6” extra heavy rods for fishing jerkbaits, while others like the longer 8’6” to 9′ heavy rods. For bucktails and plastics, a longer rod in the 8′-9′ range is preferred because the added length provides for easier casting of these heavier baits. I think a good compromise for an all around set-up would be a medium heavy 8’6” rod. Yes, I did say we want to keep the rods under 8′ in length for a fly-in trip. Luckily, there are some options in both telescopic 1-piece rods, which shorten to 7’6”, and 2-piece rods. The problem is there are not many that are medium heavy as most of these longer rods that can handle these larger baits are rated heavy to extra heavy. That being said, you can still opt for a 7′- 7’6” medium heavy rod and it will handle these baits without any issues, or simply go with a heavy power rod. A heavier power rod is not too bad in terms of usability (i.e., not a pool cue!) when they are 8’6” or more in length and you are throwing heavy baits. A moderate, moderate-fast or fast action rod is fine. If you are primarily focusing on crankbaits and plastic swimbaits, lean toward the moderate or moderate-fast rod, while a fast rod is better for jerkbaits and spinners. Nonetheless, a fast action rod will always be a solid choice for everything.
As for reels, a round or low profile baitcasting reel with 28 to 34 IPT would be a good choice for fishing any of these baits. Fast enough to burn bucktails and spinnerbaits as well as quickly retrieve slack line when working jerkbaits. A gear ratio from 6.1:1 to 6.4:1 should be sufficient for anything but really big double-bladed bucktails. If that is something you think you will be throwing often, you should look at reels with gear ratios 5.0:1 to 5.8:1 for that extra torque. For throwing these bigger baits I use a 7’6” MH St.Croix Premier Musky or Mojo Musky with a Shimano Curado 300E. However, there are a number of great rods and reels to choose from.
Although I do not personally use one for baits this size, a spinning set-up is still an option here if that is what you prefer. Of course, you will need to use a larger spinning reel in the 50/55 or 5000/6000 series and be sure it can hold at least 150 yards of 50 to 65 pound test braid. However, you may have drop down to 40 pound test braid, and likely use 50 pound test, if you plan on using a spinning reel in this size range. Daiwa, Penn and Shimano all make great reels that should handle these baits. The reels designed for saltwater use in particular, as they have large spools and lower gear ratios. As for a rod, there are not a lot of options, but there are a few inshore and musky spinning rods that have the right specifications. The 7’6” MH Tooth Tamer rod by Big Game Tackle is probably the best choice unless you can manage a one piece 8’+ rod on a fly-in trip.
Throwing BIGGER Baits – 6 to 8 Ounce Baits
If you are interested in casting some massive baits, we are probably talking about large 8”+ plastics and jerkbaits for fishing later in the season. Big 10” to 12” paddletails and maybe even mag bulldawgs. It is not unreasonable to bring some of the biggest plastic swimbaits available in the 4 to 8 ounce range. Baits like the Live Target 8” Perch Swimbait, Westin 11” Shadteez, Westin Percy the Perch, Svartzonker 10” and 12” McRubber, Waterwolf Shadzilla and the Savage Gear 10” Line Thru Trout are all amazing baits. Some of the larger 8”-10” jerkbaits and crankbaits, such as those from Phantom, Sledge, Jerko, Jake and Grandma are also killer in the fall. This makes a great double Mag8 to Mag13 bucktail set-up as well.
The set-up to throw these baits is not much different than the one discussed above, with the exception you want a heavy to extra heavy power rod and a really solid round or lower profile baitcaster reel. These are Musky baits and you need a Musky setup to throw them. An 8’6” to 9’6” length rod would be ideally suited for these oversized baits. There are a number of great rod choices that would fit the bill nicely. The one issue here is that you essentially have two, maybe three, basic options: a MH or H rod rated for 1 or 2 to 6 ounce baits or a H to XH rod rated for baits from 2 to 8 ounces and up 10 ounces in some cases. Either would be a good choice, but if you really want to throw some of the larger 10” to 11” swimbaits and jerkbaits or 12” to 14” crankbaits the 2 to 8 or 10 ounce rod will be the better option. This is definitely true if you want to throw 12” bulldawgs. Although in that case, I would probably recommend stepping the rod up to an XH or XXH that can handle at least 12 ounce and up to 16 ounce baits, which I discuss below.
As for the reel, you need something that will withstand the constant cast and retrieve of these baits. Either a solid round baitcaster, like the Shimano Calcutta 400B/400D or a lower profile Shimano Tranx 400A/500HG, Daiwa Lexa HD400H-P/WD400H/CC400H, Abu Garcia Toro S50/S60 or Revo Toro Beast 50-HS/60-HS is what you will need. If you are leaning more towards larger jerkbaits, look for reels with an IPT of 30+ and keep the gear ratio lower if you plan to throw those big plastics. Load up your reel with 65 to 80 pound test braid and a 36” or 48” 80 pound test titanium leader and make that water splash!
The added benefit of this set-up is that it should also be good for jigging large baits, such as the Original Bondy Bait, Waterwolf Shadzilla V or the Drifter Vertical Hellhound, and large tubes like those made by Red October and Waterwolf. While a shorter and faster rod is typically what comes to mind for jigging, the type of jigging for Pike involves wider vertical sweeps instead of short rod twitches as you would typically jig for Walleye and is more similar to vertical jigging for Lake Trout. The strikes can also be heart stopping and you need a rod that can adequately absorb that shock. So, a longer rod will typically be the better choice when jigging for big pike or musky with these large heavy baits. If you want to jig some of the biggest baits, like the Bondy Bait Magnum or King Daddy Royal Orba, you will have to step the rod power up to a bit more to handle these 11 to 12 ounce baits. Also, while a fast action rod should generally be fine, I would consider a moderate-fast action if you plan on jigging a lot. I have seen enough rod tips break when jigging these huge chunks of plastic to warrant it.
The Biggest Baits – 10 to 16+ Ounce Baits
Now we are talking some serious musky baits. Crankbaits and jerkbaits in the 10” to 14” range, massive jigging baits, magnum to pounder bulldawgs, 11” and 12” swimbaits and even some of the largest 11”+ topwater baits. These massive baits need some serious backbone that can only be offered by some of the strongest XH to XXH rods. Once again, I would go with something in the 8’6” to 9’6” length if possible paired with a solid reel, like the Shimano Calcutta 400B/D or 700B or the Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Beast; or a lower profile Shimano Tranx 400A or 500PG, Daiwa Lexa HD400H, HD400PWR-P or WN400H or the Revo Toro Beast 50 or 60. Spool your reel up with 80 to 100 pound test braid and a 36” or 48” 80 pound test titanium or 150-200 pound test fluorocarbon leader and smash that water!
Now, I also mentioned throwing pounders. If you think pounders might be too much for trophy pike, think again! However, throwing these requires one of the heaviest power rods you can get for freshwater fishing. These rods need to handle 16 ounces or more of big rubber. Although, since you are flying-in you might consider bringing the regular 12” 8 to 9 ounce dawgs instead of the 16 ounce pounders. Nonetheless, there is no argument that these big baits will land you some serious trophies, so if you are keen on bringing these along there are definitely some great telescoping and two-piece rods to choose from.
Trololololling
There will always be times you will want to troll simply to cover more water and try to locate those big fish. You can easily get away with trolling using the rod and reel combinations I already mentioned above for the given baits. However, in the instance you do not want to bring a heavy duty rod and reel set-up for casting those big baits in the fall, you can opt for a less expensive trolling set-up. Let’s face it, throwing those big heavy baits takes a toll on your arms and back. So, why not just troll them?
For trolling, since you are not casting these baits out too far and not repeatedly retrieving them, you can get away with a much less sensitive rod and a less sturdy reel. A designated trolling rod from 7′ to 8’6” with a moderate to moderate-fast action that can handle baits up to 6 to 10 ounces and a round line counter reel is a solid set-up. For my own set-up, I’ve taken a page from the Lake St. Clair Musky fishermen and use a Shakespeare Ugly Stik 7′ Medium Tiger rod paired with an Okuma Convector CV-30D line counter reel. I think this is a great value set-up for trolling baits up to 6 ounces. I find the 7′ rod is a good enough length for trolling, but a longer rod is always an option and helps get the line further away from the boat. The round baitcasters also have great line capacity for high test braid and the line counter is always useful for getting your lure down where you want it to be while trolling.
When working with the 8-10 oz. baits, a heavier power rod will obviously be required. For example, the medium-heavy Ugly Stik Tiger goes up to 8 oz., but as far as I know they do not offer a heavy or extra heavy version. However, there are a lot of great rod options from Daiwa, Fenwick, Shimano, St.Croix and Temple Fork that will handle this big baits just fine. As for reels, Daiwa and Shimano both offer some great round baitcaster options for trolling. Spool the reel up with some 50 to 80 pound test braid, a 3′ to 6′ 150-200lb fluorocarbon leader and you are good to go!
For those who want to stick to a spinning reel set-up there are a couple of options. You will need a reel that will hold at least 150 yards of 50+ pound braid and a beefy rod. Thus, you will likely have to look at the saltwater spinning reels, such as the 4000, 4500 and 5000 size Daiwa Opus, BG or Saltist models, the 5000 and 5500 size Penn Battle II, Conflict II or the Spinfisher V models, and the 6000 size Shimano Socorro SW or Spheros SW models. These reels will have large enough spools and plenty of drag to handle trolling these baits. As for a rod, the choices are limited, but Shakespeare makes a spinning version of the Tiger rod that will be more than fine for the job.
Conclusions
Well, there you have it. Perhaps a bit confusing, but since most manufacturers* do not offer Pike specific gear you have to pick and choose from all the other line ups. Thankfully, we figured out plenty of set-ups that will cover the majority of trophy Pike fishing. Ultimately, I think most anglers flying into a camp and spend some time targeting trophy Pike will be quite satisfied with a spinning set-up and throwing lighter Pike baits. If you also decide to bring along a baitcaster set-up for the slightly larger stuff, you are covering >90% of the fishing you will be doing the majority of the time anyway. If late fall fishing is your thing, then going big is worth serious consideration. So, if you have trophy Pike on your mind for your next fly-in fishing trip, definitely consider a Pike dedicated set-up or two! It is well worth it for you, and for the fish, and it will make your fishing that much more enjoyable.
*There are plenty of options on the European market from BFT, Daiwa, Fox Rage, Savage Gear, Strike Pro, Svartzonker and Westin, to name a few, if you are interested in ordering your Pike rods from the UK or Europe.
Click HERE to Download a PDF copy of the Rod Lists.
Click HERE to Download a PDF copy of the Reel Lists.
