Pike dead bait question??

[a brickhead]

I'm heading up to Southern Ontario next month for some Pike fishing. Being an American, I can't bring any bait, nor am I ALLOWED to fish with live bait (so I'm told) I was wondering if anyone had any success with the pre-packaged shad (you know...the kind that says "dont squeese me!!" on the zip-lock bag) I dunno how effective dead-bait on a quickstrike rig will be this time of year.

 

[Bass Man Bruce]

Re: Pike dead bait question??

Can't answer your question directly brick but I've made many trips to Iron Bridge area of Ontario and buying live and dead minnows from the locals has never been a problem. I've never seen where you can't use live bait there and I always get the regs and check them out. They do have a rather thick book of rules though.

 

[burroak]

Re: Pike dead bait question??

Get yourself some salmon hooks and tie up a mondo worm harness, use 40# test and snell 3 hooks just short of the length of your frozen shad. Put a large willow blade either side of two red beads. Hook up your shad like you would a worm on a regular set up. Note how it tracks in the water. Play with different hook positions on the rear hook; you can get it to "swim". Go back into the bays and throw that thing at anything that looks like a log. Take a "tire checker" with you so that you can bring a docile pike into the boat.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Pike dead bait question??

We buy and use live minnows from the resorts we stay at in Ontario.

The resort traps them in the lake, scoops them into our minnow bucket, and charges us $5 a dozen.

I fish pike mostly with bucktails and some spoons.

Never had much luck with live bait unless I was ice fishing.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Pike dead bait question??

Is the pike season even open up there?

Doesn't open till May 15th in the western part of Ontario.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Pike dead bait question??

We've tried to take live bait into Canada a couple of times and they always make us dump them out. Once in Canada, the resorts have all you need and there is no rule about using live bait -- it just can't be brought across the border. For pike/musky there is no substitue for large bucktails, and stick baits. If you are still fishing, a sucker minnow works. These are agressive fish and anything you use to anger them is a good bait.

 

[deancf]

Re: Pike dead bait question??

We've tried to take live bait into Canada a couple of times and they always make us dump them out. Once in Canada, the resorts have all you need and there is no rule about using live bait -- it just can't be brought across the border. For pike/musky there is no substitue for large bucktails, and stick baits. If you are still fishing, a sucker minnow works. These are agressive fish and anything you use to anger them is a good bait.

+1 we have used suckers with good results on overcast days

 

[a brickhead]

Re: Pike dead bait question??

Thanks guys...I'll see if I cant find a baitshop once we are over the boarder. I'll try some live, and bring some preserved deadbait....try both at different times and see what happens.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Pike dead bait question??

New info: Due to some new fish disease, you may not even be able to take the preserved baits across the border.
The are also restricting the transport of live bait into certain regions within Ontario.