Northern pike
Also called pike, Esox lucius
Northern pike are large, toothy freshwater predators that hunt by ambush along weeds, reeds, and drop-offs. They are a common fly-rod target across much of the northern U.S. and Canada.
- Group
- Warmwater & exotic freshwater
- Category
- Species
- Level
- Beginner
- Water
- Freshwater
Last updated
What Northern pike means
Long, torpedo-shaped body, duckbill head, and a mouth full of sharp teeth, northern pike are built to grab and hold prey. They live in lakes, reservoirs, and slow rivers, especially where there is cover like cabbage weeds, reeds, timber, and shallow bays.
Pike fishing is usually a streamer game. Flies are bigger than typical trout flies and built to push water and show a clear profile, often with flash. Leaders are commonly finished with bite protection, either a short wire bite tippet or heavy fluorocarbon, because pike will cut lighter material quickly.
Strikes can be violent, but pike also follow. Boats help cover water, but plenty of pike are caught wading shorelines and casting to edges, pockets in weeds, and transitions from shallow to deep.
Why it matters on the water
Pike are hard on gear and on fish handling. Bite protection, a solid connection knot, and a landing net that can control a long fish reduce break-offs and shorten the fight. Long forceps or pliers are standard for safe hook removal around teeth.
They reward a different kind of casting and retrieve than trout. Being able to put a large streamer tight to cover, then vary speed and pauses, is often what turns follows into eats.
Read next
- Articulated streamerA streamer built in two or more connected sections so the fly hinges and swims with a wide, lifelike motion.
- Clouser MinnowA weighted baitfish streamer with lead or brass eyes that make it ride hook-point-up. It’s used in fresh or salt water to imitate small fish and move quickly through current.
- StreamerA streamer is a fly meant to be moved to imitate a baitfish, leech, sculpin, or crayfish. It is often fished with strips, swings, or a steady retrieve, but it can also be dead-drifted.
- TippetTippet is the thin, level line tied to the end of your leader. It’s the section you cut back and replace as you change flies and re-tie knots.
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