36 inch pike or musky follow?

[rex.stpierre]

Morning guys,

I just got back from a morning of fishing the Ottawa. I like to cover a lot of ground with spinner baits so that's what I started the morning with.

About 30 mins into fishing and on my second sport, I got a follow from a 33 to 37 incher....he watched my spinner bait come right in, just slowly turned away back into 6-8 feet of weedy waters...

I fished there for another hour and used every musky lure I had brought with me: 3 other spinnerbaits(two huge ones), two bucktail spinners, one minnowbait, one top water, two spoons and one cowgirl... I was in no position to do a figure 8...

I never got another single indication of fish there. I ended the morning with some more power fishing with the initial spinnerbait...The geese started bothering me, the wind picked up and I knew my gf was about to get up so I headed home.

The problem is, I have caught a 40 inch musky and a few over 30 inch pike in that exact spot....Would you guys say I got a follow from a pike of musky, I got a really good look at him from the top, he never let me get a look at the side of him...

Also got a nice pike with that exact spinner bait last week in that bay.

What do you guys think gave me that follow?

[Streamside88]

5-8 inch white swim bait minnow with a stinger right on the tail, slowly retrieve right over the weeds with the occasional twitch.... works for me every time. your basically setting up en ambush situation and that what there built for.... if you can find a 3-4 inch version, take the skirt off your spinner bait and put him on there don't forget the stinger, saw them to many times suck on the tail and turn away, since ive used the stingers my hook up rate drastically improved...

ps. this only works if you get a follower that means hes active, lethargic fish wont react if there's no bright flash....

[MuskieWannabe]

As for pike or musky, could have been either, I have caught both doing figure 8's after a follow, as well as multiple bass on and 1 walleye! Just head back out when you can and keep trying, one day it'll hit and give you the right answer.

[rex.stpierre]

Went back last night and watched a 16 inch pike just swim up and WACK my spinner bait blades like 6-7 times, figure 8 and just dangling the lure beside the kayak...I was 12 feet of water and he was coming straight up and down. I would lose him as he went down..He never opened his mouth once... That little bugger was trying to stun a baitfish I guess...

I've got white gambler swim baits, a few friends swear by them, I'll have to add a stinger hook to one on the tail...

Walleye on a figure 8, that's great!

[RJ]

Likely Musky. Pike follows aren't too common compared to skies.

RJ

[rex.stpierre]

Likely Musky. Pike follows aren't too common compared to skies.

RJ

He wasnt a monster but he would have made my day...i cant say i havent been trying, im there almost every night! Trully is the fish of way too many casts...

[Jimmy_1]

I second RJ's opinion.

Whenever I get a follow from a pike it will smash it or completely miss the bait, comes to a screeching halt, turn and then speed up for it again.

Musky follows (for me) have always been slower and they turn for the figure 8......I haven't had that success with pike.

Fordson will attest to a 48.5" I caught just off Duck Island using the figure 8 presentation.....somewhat,,,,LOL!

[rex.stpierre]

I saw him again, im starting to think there is more than one... Im thinking sucker or big shinner under a massive bobber...god i hate still fishing.... Hes just not active enough to hit my lures...i havent tried soft baits along the buttom yet...

[Jimmy_1]

LOL!

Dude! Its the Ottawa river, fall time and your focused on a 36" musky?!?

I'd be pounding it for 50"+ fish!

[rex.stpierre]

Limited ressources my friend, ill take what i can get...im fishing the downtown area with a kayak... Ill settle with a nice clean 40 incher...

[Streamside88]

my buddys always down there fishing for musky with his yak... hasent had much luck.....

[rex.stpierre]

my buddys always down there fishing for musky with his yak... hasent had much luck.....

Does he wear a cowboy hat when he fishes?

[Streamside88]

no hat, blonde hair, tall, red/black kayak... give him a shout if you see him hes a nice guy..... always looking for people to go out with....

[rex.stpierre]

That's odd, I've never noticed a red and black kayak. I'll keep my eyes pealed.

[Moosebunk]

Seeing your post date...

Same day I was fishing the Mississippi River and had three different pike follows to the boat. Two were in the same area but one fish was about the size you descibed, (maybe 33-34ish) the other smaller. Chucking a spinnerbait as well. Best I could do was get what I believed to be the smaller fish (about 26 inches) and that was after moving out of the bay and a good distance away from the fish. That was an overcast, breezy and cooler day after a warm spell and those fish aren't usually at their most aggressive in that condition.

Probably equal to walleye there's no other fish I haven't chased as much. PIke have their days Rex. Last two trips north we had considerable numbers of follows to the boat, and sometimes it would probably have paid to figure 8 'em. A back-up jig or plastic is handy to have rigged too, casted into the direction the fish had been heading. Many times over, pike are seen following other pike (hooked or not but following baits themselves) and those fish are rarely caught after having come to the surface and seen the boat and angler. And they can be spooky for sure. Mike and I entered a bay and found a room sized space inbetween weeds. over sand/mud, and about 1-2 feet deep that had 6 or 7 huge pike altogether... I caught the 44" but the rest (some bigger) made it out and gone for good.

They're not generally as fussy as muskies, but there are times they could very well be worse. That day, that fish... is anybody's guess.