Pike tactics. What is your approach?

[Acristickid]

Big bright flies in shallows with dark bottoms at ice out??

Is that basically it?

I have a reservoir not too far away that has warm water species and gonna give it a try. I don’t have a boat , so it will be fishing from or wading close to shore.

Any advice? I didn’t do any research at this point. Figured id make a dozen casts while walking the dog.

 

[Dave_W]

acristickid wrote:
Big bright flies in shallows with dark bottoms at ice out??

Is that basically it?

Pretty much.
About the only time I target pike in PA is in very early spring: look for coves and creek arms on the north side. If there is any vegetation or cover, better yet. The game is usually up by about mid-April.

 

[RLeep2]

Basically what Dave said. The only things I would add is that, during the spawn, it can pay to go slow and watch for the fish. Often times, they will be doing their thing in barely enough water to cover their backs and will be making a noticeable commotion. Watch for this and take your time making an approach as they will spook, although being pike, they don't stay spooked for very long.

A couple of the places I fish them in early Spring are smaller reservoirs with a path/access road all the way around them and a number of culverts that allow the water to rise and fall without flooding the road. Probably 80-90% of the pike I catch out of these reservoirs are taken in the sloughs and puddles on the far side of the culverts, away from the main body of the lake itself. So, if your reservoir has a similar system, it would probably be worth checking these places out. These situations are very, very shallow water fishing with a lot of sticks and last year's sawgrass. So, big unweighted flies with mono weed guards are a help. You won't believe some of the places these fish set up to spawn. They're dry ground or at least spongy shoreline 90% of the year...