Best Bait for Fishing Pike

Pike are not you’re ordinary fish. The truth is, most people tend to catch pike on accident. However, fishing for just pike is also very common because it makes a great trophy fish. Pike are holartic – they can be found all around the world in freshwater. Pike can grow to very large, it’s common for pike to be 10+ pounds. Pike are all around fish, meaning they feed on a lot of different things – mostly in the spring but pike fishing is also very popular in winter. The best bait for fishing pike seems like it would be easy to find, which holds some truth, but using certain best baits can increase your odds of catching a pike dramatically.

  • Smelt – According to most pike fishers smelt is by far the best bait for fishing pike. Smelt are a very small fish (similar to a minnow). It’s not uncommon to see people freeze smelt before using them, but it is simply not needed. You must be careful while casting with smelt, one bad cast and your smelt will fly off the hook. It is best to use unprocessed smelt.

  • Salmon Tail – Salmon tail is considered the “secret best bait for fishing pike” by many. Simply put, a lot of people don’t know about using salmon tail for catching pike. There is several reasons why salmon tail is considered the best bait. 1) It’s cheap and easy to find – You can buy the salmon from the supermarket, cut off the last 6-8 inches of the tail and split it in half. 2) You can use it all day. The salmon tail is very tough, if hooked properly you shouldn’t have to re-bait for a long time. 3) It works. Pike love it.

Best Bait For Fishing Pike: Tips

Finding the right area to fish for pike can be a hard task. Generally small pike will be found in the back of bays, heavily weeded areas are always a plus for catching pike. Larger pike will be found in deep-water areas, or the entrances to bays. While looking for a spot, think of where smaller groups of fish will be migrating. Pike like to sit and wait right in the middle of these paths, waiting for something to bite on. Pike fishing requires patience. Like many other fish, pike will play with baits, meaning they will take a hit at it, before actually taking your bait.  

For your convenience we have put together a great selection of the best bait for every kind of fish on this site. You can make your choice from the BestBaitforFishing store right here: Bait and Tackle Shop