[420*NightCrawler]

I'm not a walleye fisherman although I've caught a few, but as far as pike, 99% of my catches have been on #4 silver spinnerbaits or top lures like Jitterbugs or fake frogs/lizards on weedless hook setups. They're almost always hanging in the weeds or along the edges, and sometimes surprisingly shallow. Run a spinnerbait along the edges of the weeds and floating or weedless lures thru the masses of weeds. I've also had the most luck in late May thru June. I typically fish them in lakes, so the guys that pick them up in the rivers may have different approaches, but I doubt they vary that much. I'm in NNJ and have never fished central Jersey waters, so I can't help with what's in your area, but the fish will definitely hit the same baits. You can definitely catch these guys from the shoreline easily as well. Just look for water that carries pike and find yourself some weeds to cast. Each cast is a cast closer to catching one. My go to spinnerbait is the Blue Fox Vibrax #4, silver with a white bucktail. I tie in 2 strands of red thread with the white bucktail as well.