Dead Bait Fishing for Pike

[mcfly]

(12-17-2013 02:59 PM)tweedwolfscream Wrote:  The dead bait setup OldTimer describes from the Bustards has a loyal following among ice fishing types, some swear that pike will take dead bait over live in the winter. I'm going to try something like that on the ice next week, but with whatever I can find in a grocery store instead of a sucker.

I was fishing off a dock in November and a pike came in to check out a small preserved minnow I had on a single hook hanging from a wabler. It was really watching that thing but I think I moved it too much and spooked the pike.

Be careful as some grocery type products are illegal to use as bait!!

As for yesterday, we had some nice size suckers on some tip-ups but none of them went off all day while we were slaying the perch. One decent pike came up to check out a bait but didn't strike.