[Brad Anderson]

Has anybody encountered the never ending schools of pike on DL this year. I'm sure if you've fished on DL this year you've caught a couple at least. The last 3 outings to DL have produced at least 100 northerns a day, thats only what I caught. How can a walleye even get a chance to bite when there a literally 1000's of northerns swimming around?? I thought that spearing would bring the population down, but now am fearing that all spearing is doing is getting rid of the real big pike and leaving the lake infested with 5 pounders. Any insights??

 

[cootkiller]

The game and fish raised the limit to five northerns a day in the devils lake chain to combat just this problem.
Thing is most boat fisherman and alot of shore fisherman just throw all the pike they catch back. This is not helping in controlling the population. Last night my fiance and I caught five at a little secret bridge. We caught one that was maybe six pound and it had a 9 or 10 inch perch in it.
I love pike, and those 100 pike days are awesome, still waiting for my first century mark this year.

cootkiller

 

[Miller]

Could also help explain why there isn't the perch population like there was a few years ago.5 pound pike are good eating,very similar to a walleye.Might be time to promote taking these class of fish.

 

[jig head]

They took all my jigs

 

[Brad Anderson]

Well my theory proved to be true after all. A person can catch pike in the worst of conditions, all day long. Saturday was probably the worst day, weather wise, of fishing yet this year. Even with the terrible weather the northerns continued to be ferocious. I watched a guy next to us, fishing specifically for pike, catch 6 pike out of 7 casts. All were 5-6 lbs

 

[Brad Anderson]

"Pike" was the catch phrase yesterday. Minnows=lotsa pike. It seemed that as soon as the minnow would hit the water, that a pike had already made dinner of it. Out of all the poeple I saw fishing, only one group was keeping pike. Walleye fishing has to pick up one of these days. With devastating combinations of a east wind, front after front, clouds and rain; no wonder walleyes haven't been biting. Well its back to fleet farm to replenish the tackle box. I might have well just threw my lures in the lake yesterday, since the northerns were stealing them that fast. I did see one pike that weighed approx 20 lbs, which was released. Otherwise 5 ponders all around.