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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
The Challenge Of Summer Pike FishingBy Mike Guarino
Last week my good friend and local guide John Hassam, owner of Maine Excursions here in Belgrade Lakes, called and asked if I wanted to go fishing. John and I have been friends for quite a few years and are both blessed because we get to fish a lot — perhaps too much, depending on who you ask, like my wife, for example. Neither of us had much time, but we wanted to troll Great Pond for a few hours early in the morning, then race home to finish our "honey-do" lists so we could get back on the lake that afternoon. The trip was an ideal chance to catch up on how the season has been going, talk a little fishing, and check out John's new boat. Then, as so often happens, the fish and the weather got in the way of some good conversation. The weather was challenging, with winds blowing over 20 miles-per-hour directly out of the north. If you've ever fished Great Pond you know that a north wind can create some pretty big waves, but the cooler north winds made the temperature comfortable. Many Mainers call 2-foot waves a "salmon chop" and folks who love to troll get excited when a blustery north wind blows in the middle of summer. So off we went, prepared to fish regardless of the conditions. The first fish hit about ten minutes into the trip, a nice smallmouth that fought hard and danced on the surface. During the summer months, many visitors ask about the smallmouth, complaining that they are only catching smaller fish in shallow water. It's true, the bigger bass are difficult to come by on occasion, but that's because the big bass have a tendency to suspend over deep water. Our lakes are full of bait fish (alewives for the most part) and when the water heats up and the fishing pressure peaks, the big boys head out to sea and chase suspended bait. Our minnow imitations were at the right depth to catch that smallmouth and the one that hit shortly thereafter. The next fish was a hefty northern pike that hit about 15-feet down. We marked some bait on the fish-finder just moments before the pike hit. The pike, like the smallies, was chasing a suspended ball of alewives. We landed this pike and another about the same size a little while later, followed by a couple of hump-backed white perch. John and I joked that we needed a big brown trout to complete the morning, but the wind picked up even more, and we were forced to leave the lake after catching a bunch of beautiful fish in a little over an hour. Summertime pike fishing can be extremely frustrating for anglers looking to target that species. The pike are often thought of as a shallow, weed-bed-dwelling critter that ambushes prey with ferocious strikes. That's a true statement — sometimes. In the heat of July and August however, the bigger fish spend most of their summer vacation suspended in cooler water, chasing the same bait fish as the trout and the bass. Trolling is definitely the number one tactic if you want to target pike. As a bonus, you'll have a chance at the other fish keying on the alewives too. Keep in mind when trolling that the alewives average anywhere from 4-6 inches long, so you need to troll similar sized baits for constant action. There is an exception that we've noticed over the last few years when it comes to summer pike. Immediately following a hard rainstorm you can often find feeding pike in the shallows and around sunken weed beds. Over the last few years, we've had some of our best summer action when casting spoons and spinner baits to pike that are cruising shallow areas right after a downpour. On Thursday of last week, immediately after a pounding early morning rainstorm, we caught a bunch of good sized northen pike by casting to the edge of a weed bed that was in about eight feet of water. The pike were feeding heavily for about an hour and then the bite slowly faded away, proving that good timing and a little bit of luck really made a difference. Good luck! Mike Guarino can be contacted at | ||
