Hey this is my first post on my fishing pals Im from Iowa and fish for bass all the time. Well Im heading to the brainard lakes area and the boundary waterers to go fishing at the end of July early August. I was just wondering what you guys would suggest to catch some northern pike, what tecniques you guys use. In the past when I go up there I would fish the weed beds casting a spoon in it, I would have pretty good luck doing that. I would also troll with a mister twister along the weed beds or drop off. I want to see how everyone else does it thanks.
Sounds like you are on the right track. Spoons or spinner baits will get you into the pike.
Trolling or casting along weed edges will be the best place for numbers. In the warmer months the big boys seem to head to deeper water so if you can find some weed edges near deep water you'd probably be setting yourself up for a chance at a few bigger fish.
The best pike lure I've found is the 3/4 ounce rat-l-trap in blue/chrome. Second best is black/chrome. They cast a mile and you reel them in as fast as you can right above underwater weeds. If they hit weeds, you can usually rip them through.
They're also great trolling lures at semi-fast speeds. It's a good idea to put a small piece of tape on your reel (open faced reel) when you get a hit so you can easily return to the same depth after landing the fish. And if you're trolling, don't forget to sweep the rod. You'll get a lot more hits doing that.
...trout that doesn't think two jumps and several runs ahead of the average fisherman is mighty apt to get fried. ~ Beatrice Cook, Till Fish Do Us Part, 1949
