The Canadian Esox Association will be holding its annual Bud & Spud on April 13 at the Canad Inn Polo Park. Tickets are $12 and it should sell out quickly. The event has one of the best Chinese auctions you have ever seen. You can get tickets by e-mailing me at stapon1@mts.net. The club helps raise money for the Kids Fishing for a Cure.

Post-spawn pike are easy pickin'
By CRAIG STAPON
      
Hunting for jumbo pike is my favorite pastime in the spring. The big toothy critters stack up after spawning and are fairly easy to locate. I have had a number of occasions where we easily put a few hundred pike in the boat in a day.

Most experts will tell you to use small bait as the fish will be more willing to strike a small offering. I believed this to be true until a few years ago. I now toss big baits, eight to 10 inches in early spring, and have been rewarded with all kinds of trophy pike. My thought is that the fish don't want to waste any energy looking for a meal, that is why bigger is better in the spring.

Spawning tuckers out the big fish and they will often sit in eight to 10 feet of water while they recover from the ordeal. As the sun warms the water, fish start to seek out shallower areas. It is funny how different parts of a bay can vary in temperature by two or three degrees. Warm water is like a magnet, drawing not only baitfish but large predators. If you hit it right, the fishing can be better than flying up north to a lodge.

The tactic that works best is the same strategy you use in late fall. Slowing your presentation down is the key to success. As the day wears on and the sun warms the water you may want to vary your speed on retrieve to see what will be most successful.

My favourite type of bait at this time of year is a suick or reef hawg. Both of these are classified as jerk baits and can be tossed and worked at just about any speed. I have found pike to be very aggressive in early spring, almost never missing the hook set on a strike.

The key is to find a good shallow bay with a mud or sand bottom (these areas warm up quicker) and work the area completely. Once you find out what colour and speed the fish are reacting to, the fun begins.

Last spring, I had to stop tossing baits at 5 p.m. as my arms were too sore. My friend Earl Allen was as bushed as I was but wouldn't quit until I had had enough.

The use of large baits seems to eliminate the smaller hammer handles. Husky-jerks work awesome but I found the pike inhaled the bait too far. The bigger baits were also easier to remove.

My favourite spot for early season pike is Rush Bay, just over the border in Ontario. The Winnipeg River has some spots that are just as good. In Ontario, there is no closed season for pike so you can get out as soon as the ice is off.