Catching pike in winter using a spoon from ice, tactics and fishing techniques

By the beginning of winter, every angler is preparing for ice fishing. Fans of hunting for predatory fish begin to sort through old gear and are faced with the eternal question - which lure should be preferred? New baits are released every year, and it’s not so difficult to get confused about the choice.

Many people prefer to use old, proven spinners. Others like to experiment. Winter spinners for pike differ from spinners for other river predators. But how do you understand which lure will be the most effective in a given period of time and where to catch it?

Which winter lure for pike to choose

When to catch pike in winter?!

November and December for pike

In the cold season, one of the main predators is pike. When going hunting for this voracious fish in November-December, you need to remember that the colder the weather becomes, the less chance you have of catching it, since during this period of time the pike is intensively preparing for the winter.

The best fishing period is early morning. When choosing a spoon, it is better to give preference to large spoons - it is to them that the pike will first turn its attention.

The color of the spinner can vary from plain to bright acid depending on the lighting. During the day and evening, good fishing will be guaranteed in stable weather.

January is a pike month

The main responsibility of the spoon when fishing for pike in January is the ability not only to oscillate in the water column, but also to slowly glide, attracting the attention of a predator. Wide winter spoons or vertical lures perform this role perfectly. The castmaster also works well.

Read also: Large pike on dead fish in winter

As in November, with the onset of winter, pike take lures better in the morning. During the day and evening, in order to catch a “toothy” fish, you will have to pay attention to the colors of the spinners. Don’t forget - with the arrival of January comes the time of deep winter.

February and March are the best season for pike

In February-March, the spoon should not be large and too bright, so as not to scare away the pike. It would be better if it had a natural coloring. During this period of winter, the small size of the spoon does not at all affect the size of the predator. The main thing that a spinner should do well is work on slow retrieves.

Non-snagging lure for catching pike in winter

The next bait that can be used to successfully catch winter pike is a non-snagging spoon. This kind of bait shows very good results in catching pike. As a rule, a hook is rigidly attached to them, to which two antennae made of steel wire go.

These spoons are convenient to use when pike fishing takes place in snags, since in snags it is not possible to fish with spoons without losses.

The influence of weather on the choice of spinners on pike in winter

Advice! In bright sunshine, it is better to use lures of dark and natural colors. When it’s cloudy - multi-colored or “acid” (yellow, green, red). How to understand what winter weather is “pike”?

Weather plays a significant role when fishing for pike, especially in winter. And therefore it influences the choice of spinner - its shape, color, size. Worth remembering:

No matter how frosty the winter may be, any warming, even slight, can significantly improve the bite of pike, which reacts to any change in temperature in one direction or another;
The sunnier the weather, the more active the pike;
It is best to fish for pike with stable pressure. If it is higher or lower than normal, then the pike becomes lethargic and inactive.

Errors when fishing

Beginning fishermen make the following mistakes:

Passivity. You should not linger for a long time on one hole. Pike, if it is present in the space under the hole, as a rule, immediately responds to the bait offered to it.
Inexperience. Catching pike in the wrong place, at the wrong time and with the wrong bait leads to a fiasco.
Incorrect fishing technique. Although pike is not as picky about bait animation as perch or pike perch, you should improve your fishing technique.

Where to catch pike with lures in winter

On the first ice, it is best to look for pike not far from the shore, near a dump overgrown with algae. At the beginning of winter, pike prefer to stay close to places where fry gather, which feed in shallow water.

A couple of weeks after the freeze-up, the fish go deeper. This also applies to lakes and rivers. In closed reservoirs, unlike rivers with strong or medium currents, death occurs much more often.

Features of equipment for trolling pike in winter

When fishing for pike with lures in winter, an important step will be the correct configuration of the gear. There is standard equipment for pike fishing, which should contain the components described below:

rod To catch a predator, a long rod about 50 centimeters is suitable. Its handle should be made of a material that does not freeze in the cold. It is necessary due to the fact that fish have to be searched at different depths. The depth itself is determined by moving the rod from one hole to another. It must be strong so that toothy fish do not break the fishing rod. The Dolphin E 90 brand, which includes a 30-centimeter fiberglass whip and a 12-centimeter long handle, is recognized as the best among anglers.
coil. Each rod should be equipped with a reel with a diameter of 10 centimeters and have a ratchet brake, which will help cope with a predator’s attack.
fishing line It should be strong with little stretch and have rigidity. The thickness is selected according to the expected weight of the fish. The reel should be approximately 50 meters, and the fishing line should be 0.3 mm.

Worth knowing! During the thaw, a braided cord is used, and in the cold winter, only monofilament is used.

When all the components have been selected, it is worth thinking about the equipment of the fishing rod. It includes a nod and a leash. It is worth noting that the nod is not used, since it does not play any role when playing with fish when trolling pike in winter. How to fish without it? Yes, it’s very simple: you will feel the bite with your hand. But a metal leash must be equipped. This is due to the fact that the bait moves in a vertical direction, and the fish only grabs one part of the line. Although the leash slightly worsens the performance of the bait, it leaves the fishing line intact for the angler.

For many years, anglers have been using summer spinners for ice fishing, as well as varieties of lures. And fishing differs at the beginning of winter and in the middle, so it’s worth knowing how fishing for pike with a lure should take place in a given winter period.

Light shakers are used on the first ice This type of spoon is useful in shallow water. If you sharply lift the spoon to the surface, it will glide slowly. They also use some kind of bait that makes sounds. In shallow water they are held at different horizons, and they are effective in such reservoirs where you have to fish next to aquatic vegetation.
Deaf winter is famous for the fact that it is necessary to use heavy baits. These include balancers and rattlins, as well as triangular spinners. One of the popular spinners for this period is a spinner with a length of 90 mm and a width of 30 mm. It’s not uncommon for fishermen to use spinners with a shifted center of gravity, which allow the bait to perform maneuvers that are interesting to a predator when gliding.

Video: catching pike in winter with vertical lures

Winter lures for pike

Pike lures differ from lures for catching other predators - they are usually larger, rounder and shorter than, say, a pike perch lure. Its dimensions, depending on the time of winter, can range from 35 to 90 mm.

And it’s not necessary that a trophy specimen will be used on a large lure. You can also catch a decent pike with a small spinner. The thickness of winter spinners usually does not exceed 1-1.5 mm.

The hook on the spoon should be selected in such a size that it does not protrude beyond its edges - this can alert the pike. In addition, a tee that is too heavy or too light can ruin the action of the bait, and as a result, cause a lack of catch.

The main materials from which winter lures for pike are made are brass, copper, cupronickel, bronze, zinc, stainless steel. The color depends on the weather and, probably, the tastes of the fisherman, for most of whom a beautiful and high-quality spoon means more than for the toothiest predator.

Video: Pike using lures in winter. Underwater photography

Winter lures for pike come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes, but every avid angler should have at least a few proven and most effective lures. Having such a set with you, you significantly increase the chances of successfully completing your fishing trip. But, on the other hand, the less you experiment with gear, the greater the chance that the most catchy baits will remain on the shelves of fishing stores.

Rating of the top 5 best winter lures for pike

Read also: Fishing gear for catching roach
Rapala Bergman Original. It is considered one of the best vertical spinners in the world for catching pike. Even with the slightest swing of the rod, the bait begins to play. At the same time, it creates a strong vibration in the water, which cannot go unnoticed by the predator. In winter, they use models whose length is from 30 to 50 mm, and their weight is 4-8 g. The spinner has earned special love among fishermen because when biting on it there are practically no slips.
Vertical spinner “baby fish”. It is made of non-ferrous metals, after which it is plated. It has a unique game that attracts even inactive pike, which prefers not to move and wait for the prey to swim right in front of its nose. The model with a length of 50 mm and a weight of 8 g has proven itself best when fishing for pike.
"Triple-sided". One of the classic lures for vertical trolling. Despite the fact that it has an elongated “body”, more suitable for catching pike perch, however, pike does not disdain it. Thanks to the “convex” edges, the spoon plays well not only in calm water, but also in the current. Its dimensions are about 70 mm. Weight - up to 12 g.
Castmaster. Many people mistakenly believe that this lure is only suitable for catching asp, but, as practice has shown, pike also do not disdain this bait. The castmaster for winter lure has proven itself at great depths. The game of such a bait is stable, although not gliding. The fishing technique is similar to playing with a jig - tapping on the bottom, shaking, small pulls.
Oscillators “spoon” and “atom”. These versatile lures can be used both for ice fishing and open water fishing. Since the times of Soviet power, these spinners have been the most common among domestic spinners. Their catchability could always compete with the best foreign models, and their simplicity made it possible to make a “spoon” at home - any fisherman could make it from an ordinary cutlery.

Tactics and fishing techniques

Fishing tactics begin with drilling holes. Pike hears everything perfectly and is afraid of loud sounds like drilling and the auger falling under the ice, especially if there is no or very little snow on its surface. The more snow, the quieter the sound. First, we drill several holes and fish in this order:

We drill 8-12 pieces - this is the first series. The distance between each hole should be within 5-10 meters.
Let's catch them in order.
Let's move on, drill more (as much as possible).
We fish the second series of holes.
We return to the first hole and continue from the first to the second series.

Basically, there is an approximate diagram:

Be sure to take a slotted spoon with you for winter fishing to clear ice and falling snow from the holes (their presence worsens the sensitivity of the gear).

Due to the fact that the pike will hear the sounds of drilling and swim away, you will have to wait a while until it calms down and returns. You may have to wait several hours.

By the way, in the first half of winter, all predators go to depth, sticking to snags and holes along with edges. By the end of the second month of winter, fish move to shallow water, and by the period of last ice, predatory inhabitants, including pike, move to medium depths.

The technique of winter trolling for pike is not as simple as it might seem: after all, the fisherman must remember in which body of water and with what bait he is fishing. On stagnant bodies of water, you will have to literally play with a spoon so that it oscillates like a wounded or sick fish, otherwise the pike simply will not be interested in a simple piece of iron moving up and down.

On rivers, you will also have to imitate it, making sharp swings with the fishing rod and then smoothly lowering the tackle to its initial position. 30-40 centimeters each stroke with pauses of 4-6 s.

We always start from the bottom - cast, then using a reel we should slightly raise our bait above the bottom surface by about 6 cm. Later, we gradually raise the spoon to examine the upper horizons of the water column.

The plume formed as a result of the impact of the spoon on the bottom surface also attracts predatory fish!

The hook is done with a sharp upward movement; the pike should be fished out as carefully and quietly as possible; in no case should you rush in this process. If there is clearly strong resistance, you can let go of the line and then fish further. The fish will still get tired, and its jerks will gradually begin to weaken. Yes, the main thing is to remember that it is better not to make unnecessary sounds when playing. The pike feels everything, and we don’t need its extra excitement.

If no one bites, we change the hole in the order indicated in the diagram. There is also one not-everyone-known fact regarding the hierarchy of pikes within the population of this fish species. When an angler pulls out a large pike in the place where it was walking, after a while a slightly smaller fish will swim into the same area.

Judging by the observations of fishermen, one such pike moves in an area with a diameter of about 10-15 meters. She dominates this place, not allowing smaller individuals to come here.

Tips for catching pike with lures in winter

When searching for pike, it is difficult to get by with one or two holes. Most often, several dozen of them will be needed, which means that when fishing for predators in winter, you need to have a high-quality ice drill, with which you can quickly and without much difficulty drill the required number of holes;
In order not to lose an expensive bait, use a high-quality metal leash that will not spoil the play of the spinner;
You should not linger more than five minutes at each hole. If a pike is swimming somewhere nearby, then it will definitely take the offered bait;
Experiment. It is likely that if the pike is not interested in one bait, it may greedily attack another.

Rattlins for pike fishing in winter

Another type of wonderful bait that pike prefers in winter is rattlin. With this method, there is a minimum number of trips, since rattlins have two hooks and, thanks to its excellent design, the pike is reliably hooked. But using rattlin has its own secrets of success.

The rattlin creates vibration due to the frontal resistance when thrown, and the balls inside make noise, thanks to which the pike can hear it from a great distance and attack.

It is important here that when a jerk is made, you do not need to drop the bait immediately, as you do when working with a spoon, you need to wait about 5 seconds and then let the bait sink freely or in a controlled manner to the bottom.

A good way to attract pike is to raise the rattle with several rhythmic jerks, which makes even more sounds due to the balls moving inside and thereby attracts fish.