In a hunt for pike - Spruce

[Andrushkin33]

Instead of chasing the nestle quick bunny in the chocolate waters of the Passaic once again returned to the Spruce in a hunt for the monsta, that I know is waiting for me.

Meet up with Ryan and off we went to a different spot that looked to be productive based on well you know my fish sense.

You couldn't ask for a better night to be out fishing. Surface was flat with barely a ripple and all the conditions were in our favor. Except one. No pike.

We waded in and spent the next 3 hours waiting for that sweet sound of the screaming line that would not come.

Throughout had one solid hit but got overly excited to finally see the bobber going down and ripped bait right of the mouth of whatever that wanted it.

Ryan saw one pop his head out and laugh at us but we could not get any to commit.

Skunk was avoided by both of us with me pulling out a cookie cutter smallmouth and Ryan hooking up with a healthy sweet looking cat.

Spot was marked for future exploration and pike will come out from there mark my words.

Overall a beautiful night to be out with a buddy.

Ryan ,

No liquid courage and I released the first fish I caught. Seems like my superstions held up. Damn it.

Tight Lines

Andre

[Jigman13]

Do some research on pike and their feeding habits. They are sight feeders and aren't equipped with eyes as sharp as, say, hybrids or walleyes... Or most other predators that feed through the nite. Outside of a huge full moon, your chances of hooking a pike at night are extremely limited. Factor in that you're fishing at Farrington and your odds continue to decrease. If you notice, muddy P pics of esox are predominantly taken during daytime hours. There's a huge reason for that. Plus, the population of fish in the P far exceeds the numbers in the middlesex watershed you frequent. Food for thought...

[Andrushkin33]

Jig,

Actually was at Spruce again last night and I think population of pike there is better than the one at Farrington.

Farrington pike is my ultimate goal no matter the size.

I do agree with night fishing for them. It is hard to get them during the day and fishing for them at night is making it even harder.

That being said out of 3 that I pulled out from Spruce this year, 2 were caught during midday and one was caught at 10pm.

While chances are slim, they are still there and as long as I have it, why not try it. I get only limited amount of sunlight after the work day so just trying to use as much as I can.

Thanks for advice, always found it to be helpful.

Tight lines brother.

Andre

[RyanMac14]

Jigman I knew I had heard that before which is why we called it a night shortly after 10. But from 6 to 9 that spot just felt like it was going to produce. Might just have to hit it solo tomorrow Andy and manage taking my pike picture alone. And it was both a little scary and insulting when that pike decided to slowly surface about 10 feet from where i was wading. My foot is getting closer to my mouth, but I still have faith that I'm gonna get this pike.

[Skunk City]

Nice effort guys, still plenty of time left.

As for the Pike after dark topic, my experience has been on par with what Jeremy said. Can they hit after dark? Yes. But will they frequently hit after dark? No. I have landed 2 Pike after dark in my life and have seen 1 other caught after dark on a big black jointed jitterbug.

[Jigman13]

Originally Posted by Andrushkin33

While chances are slim, they are still there and as long as I have it, why not try it. I get only limited amount of sunlight after the work day so just trying to use as much as I can.

Thanks for advice, always found it to be helpful.

Tight lines brother.

Andre

I hear ya on the daylight stuff. I don't get to fish much when the sun is up. Look at my last bunch of posts lol. All nighttime... Gotta take what we can get!

[Andrushkin33]

Originally Posted by Skunk City

Nice effort guys, still plenty of time left.

As for the Pike after dark topic, my experience has been on par with what Jeremy said. Can they hit after dark? Yes. But will they frequently hit after dark? No. I have landed 2 Pike after dark in my life and have seen 1 other caught after dark on a big black jointed jitterbug.

Rob,

The way I see it, if fish is hungry it will make a run at whatever is available. Granted you can entice it more during the clear weather but the only body of water close to my work is Rahway river and I am not catching anything there besides Hepatitis B or something. LoL.

That being said we still got faith and it will smile on us when the least expected.

Andre

[slider]

Just my 2 cents worth on chasing pike at night..night fishing for pike can be time consuming and not really productive..You might try slow rolling large spinner baits worked slow so if a hungry pike is nearby he mite tune in..problem is being sight feeders and doing most feeding during daylight hours not to many pike are hungry enough to attack blindly at night..Better chance would be to go real early so u can be set up at first light..Thats if work hours don't get in the way..Good luck in your ventures..Btw that slow rolling big spinner bait at night mite just get u a shot at a nice size largemouth....

[Andrushkin33]

Thank you Sli.

For some reason I just want to duplicate my first one that was caught at night. It is like chasing your first high I guess.

I will try throwing some art at them next time. Just when it comes to it I will be first to admit that I am terrible and that's why pretty much stick to live bait.

But anytime is a good time to learn so I should start working on it.

Andre

[slider]

AND: I hear ya on getting that same type high again..Thing that I would check is the area you are setting up..Strange your not getting any other activity on your life bait presentations..May a change to be near a drop off, or near a large weed bed..Set a live bait line out and work the big spinerbait nearby..Get a beer can or soda can put a few pebblles in it and put reel in free spool then warp a few turns of line around the stick,if u get a hit the can will get pulled over alert u to the hit..Warning don't go to far away from ur bait set up..