Dead Bait Fishing for Pike

[zippyFX]

It's that time of the year for us non-ice fishers.... Time to do reading and research and "sharpen the saw" (or hook so to speak). This year I picked up some used coarse fishing books from Amazon and have been working my way thought them. They generally focus on the UK. Very interesting to see the techniques they use. I guess many of them driven from the fact their fisheries seem to be more pressured.

I have fished for Pike here and have either used lures or live bait. Dead bait seems to be popular for pike in the UK. Has anyone used it here?

I never thought Pike would eat off the bottom but I guess they do. I can see this technique being successful in the spring when the pike may be gorging on winter kill during ice out but what about the rest of the year?

If it's good enough for Pike what are the chances of getting Musky (assuming the season is open).