I’ve been able to go on some very good fishing trips in Canada over the years, but they were always multi-species ventures, where pike were just one of the targets, and usually not the primary target.  Trips were made to Lake Minnitaki, Lake of the Woods, the English River, Georgian Bay – all great fun, with lots of memories, but no real trophy pike.  For sake of discussion in this article, I call a 40” / 20 pound pike a trophy.  Trophy sizes are relative to where you fish for them, as are all fish.  While a 10 pound largemouth may be the benchmark for a trophy in that species, you will likely fish the rest of your days on earth, if you fish exclusively in PA, and never come close to that mark.  A 6 pound northern largemouth from PA is every bit as much a trophy as a 10 pounder from FL.  Now – back to the pike fishing.As it is with every other species of fish as well, you stand the best chance of catching a trophy if you put yourself on the waters with the most trophy fish available – it’s really that simple.  It doesn’t mean you can’t catch great fish on marginal waters – the PA state pike record of 35 pounds from Kinzua is a monster in anyone’s book!  Still, most trophy seeking pike fishermen won’t be booking trips to upstate PA anytime soon.  The area surrounding the 60th parallel is often regarded as the premier area in North America to chase big pike.  These waters are generally home to lake trout, pike, whitefish, and grayling, with some being the northernmost waters where walleye are found.  The names are legendary as “Big Fish” producers – Athabasca, Reindeer, Wollaston, Kasba, Nueltin, and Selwyn, among countless others.  My experience is with Athabasca, so I’ll start there.

Spring in the North Country
There are 4 seasons in the North Country near the 60th parallel – Spring (June), Summer (July), Fall (August), and winter  (Everything else).  Of course this is an over exaggeration, but not by much.  My trip to Athabasca in 2006 was June 20-23.  This is still very early in the season for these northern climes.  The lodges generally open around June7, and some years they have to cancel the earliest parties because they are still iced in.  2006 was a very early ice out year (mid-May), so ice on the water wasn’t a problem.  But, the early ice out did have an effect on the fishing.  Pike are very early spring spawners – as soon as the ice is out, they flock to the mud bottomed bays that warm up the most quickly.  If you time this period right, and get lucky and have a “normal” year [is there any such thing as a normal weather year???], you can enjoy sight fishing to huge pike in these shallow bays.  That doesn’t mean it’s like shooting fish in a barrel – these fish can be fairly lethargic, and at times will ignore your offerings.  The water is still frigid, and they are rather sluggish.  This is the time when fly fishing shines for these big guys.  Think about it – most pike-sized baits need to be retrieved fairly rapidly – spinners, spoons, Rattletraps, … But a big fly can be cast in front of stationary pike, and a lot of movement can be imparted on the fly with out moving it very far at all.  Whether it’s the fact that the fly stays in the strike zone longer, or it is the right size (most of the pike’s foods in early spring are relatively small – 2” – 4”), flies are at their peak of effectiveness in the early spring.  In addition, pike will take suspending jerkbaits (Husky Jerks, Pointers, Excalibur’s) and jig / trailer combos at this time of the year.

But – June 2006 was different.  The ice had been out for nearly 5 weeks when I got there.  There were still some fish of all sizes in the shallows, but the fish were scattered.  Some were shallow, some were deep.  Weeds were beginning to emerge – early again – and weeds in these waters are pike magnets.  But they were scattered weeds.  So, for my first Athabasca pike trip, it was a little of everything – fish some bays, fish some river mouths, fish the few emergent weeds, …  The one part of the puzzle that held true (sort of ) was the bait size – smaller bucktail spinners produced my biggest fish of the trip – a 45” pike.  Still, the day before that fish, I landed over 40 pike on a Mepps Marabou tandem hook musky bucktail – not a small bait by any standards.  My 45” fish came on a Mepps Musky Killer, single hook.  Would that fish have eaten the tandem hook bait??  We can only speculate.

So, there are advantages to fishing early spring – the fish might be shallow, and big fish in shallow water or, better yet, so shallow you can sight cast to them, are a rare treat.  Another advantage to the early season is that the water temps are still very low, and the resident lake trout are still shallow.  While you might not be specifically targeting the lakers, you’ll catch some as incidentals while fishing for the pike.  If you specifically target them, you could catch the biggest fish of your life.  A laker weighing over 100 pounds was netted from Athabasca in the mid 1960’s.  Trolling a t-60 Flatfish or huge Dardevle could mean the fish of a lifetime on Athabasca.

August 2007 – Fishing the Weeds
I made plans to return to Athabasca in August 2007.  I wanted to target the biggest pike in the most concentrated areas – deep weed edges.  Weed growth in the far north is a very limited time affair – late June until September.  And, unlike lakes I’ve fished in middle-to-southern Canada, and all across the states, the weed beds are not everywhere.  There are some vast weed beds in the bays with rivers emptying into them – the increased nutrient load provides better nutrition for the weeds, I guess.   But in bays located off main lake structure, the weed beds are isolated.  And, as I mentioned before – they are absolute pike magnets.

Andy Perrotto (from Pittsburg) and I told our guide the very first morning that we were after big pike, not numbers.  We wanted to fish only the deepest weed areas in whatever part of the lake we were on.  We were geared for, and targeted, pike only.  7’, heavy action rods, reels loaded with 40# braid, 10” bucktails,  and 1 ¾ oz. spinnerbaits – we were ready for big fish.  And, we caught some big fish.  6 pike over 40”, including 2 BIG ones – 46” and 46 ½”.  Our criteria for big fish vs. BIG fish changed when we got these two – 40” to 42” pike could be handled with one hand for photos.  The BIG ones were 2 handers.  While we were specifically targeting big fish, no one told the little fish.  24” – 30” routinely hit and /or follow huge baits meant for trophy sized fish.  We had a number of fish on our shore lunches whose stomachs were stretched with previous meals, but they still aggressively attacked our baits.

The size of the prey that these smaller pike will eat is astonishing.  When you take that size meal, and upsize it for a big pike, the truth is that there are no lures on the market that are too big for these pike to eat.  A 14”, 2 ounce bucktail is a HUGE bait the throw all day, but it isn’t too big for even medium sized pike.  No matter what you think about big lures, think bigger for trophy pike in the early fall.  A 25 – 30 pound trophy pike thinks nothing of eating a 5 pound whitefish.  Have you ever seen a lure the size of a 5 pound whitefish??  Only if you look at trolling baits for marlin.

One of the aspects of the deep weed fishing that truly intrigued me was the times when the fishing slowed to a standstill, even though we were on great looking water.  The only logical explanation, at least to me, was that there was a BIG fish or 2 in the area, and smaller fish had left the building, so to speak, or they would be lunch.  These times I felt a heightened level of expectation with each cast.  To verify this theory, my largest fish came from an area where we didn’t see any other fish or have any other hits.

My 46” pike, caught on a Rapala Jointed X-Rap

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So – a recap is in order.  If you make a trip to one of these northern locations, , do your homework.  Early season – downsize the baits.  Late season – throw big stuff.  BUT – in either case – be prepared to change up if needed.  If you go into this with some degree of preparation, you will be far ahead of many of the people who take these trips, at least in my opinion.   The people I’ve known and observed on trips like these have generally fallen into the category of casual fishermen who enjoy the beauty of the north country, the conveniences of the lodge, and the total experience of the trip.  It’s not just a fishing trip to most people.  When I’ve been on these trips, the main purpose is to fish.  We  plan the trips for months in advance, plan our tackle assortments,  …  Many people come to lodges like Blackmur’s Athabasca and spend the week throwing a Dardevle or Mepps #5 while sitting in the boat and talking with their buddy.   And – they catch fish, usually a lot fish, and occasionally some BIG fish.  The relatively unpressured waters and limited access ensure that there are plenty of fish to suit everyone’s needs.  But, if you go with the intent of fishing hard for big fish, your efforts will pay off..

A 41” August pike from deep weeds – note that the girth carries all the way to the tail.  This fish weighed over 20 pounds

A few final tips or recommendations for making a trip like this:

1. Get references.  Ask specific questions of the references – were they on a pleasure trip or a hardcore fishing catching trip?  How many hours each day were actually spent fishing?  Is there any flexibility?
2. Gear up for the fish you’re going after.   Yes, anyone can catch a 50” pike with spinning gear, 10 pound test and a Silver Minnow – it happens every year.  But it is mind-boggling to me that so many people will take a trip like these, and never pay attention to their tackle.  Sharpen your hooks.  Put on fresh line.  Check your reels.  Get a heavier outfit if heavy gear is not something you usually use.  The trips are not cheap – why risk ruining them with cheap, un-maintained gear?
3. Speaking of line, I strongly urge you to use one of the premium braids available today.  We fished nothing but 40# Power Pro, and it performs flawlessly.  It shines even more in the weeds – the diameter is thin enough that it will cut the stalks of the stalks of the weeds when being dragged through them by big fish.
4. Another item whose value was exceptional is the Titanium Leaders from Terminator.  Standard steel leaders work well, but get crimped and knotted from the hits taken by these pike.  Those crimps become weak spots in the leaders.  The titanium leaders we finished with were the same ones we used from day one, and they look and feel like new, even after a few hundred pike.  I strongly recommend the 75# leaders – not because you need the75 pound break strength, but because the crosslock is a little larger and easier to use than the 30# ones. At least they were for me.
5. Finally – don’t be afraid to throw bigger baits than you would ever imagine throwing anywhere else, particularly in the late summer.  You’ll be amazed at the results.

I hope everyone reading this has the opportunity to take a far north trip sometime in the ir lives.  It’s an experience you’ll treasure forever.