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The Pike is a highly sought-after freshwater game fish. They are extremely powerful, can grow up to three feet in length, and weigh up to fifty pounds. The Pike has a long torpedo-shaped body, with a greenish-blue dorsal region and yellow or white on the belly. So what are the best pike lures for summer?
Glad you asked! Here are our top 7 best pike lures for summer!
Top 7 Best Pike Lures for Summer
1. Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper Topwater Lure
The Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper is a topwater lure and is ideal for targeting Pike. It is made from durable plastic and is available in a 6 inch or 7-inch option.
It sits tail down in the water due to the additional weight in the tail section. This allows the lure to make the sound of fleeing baitfish, simultaneously creating a bobbing target for Pike to attack. It is equipped with two high-quality rust-resistant hooks and is available in 20 different colors.
Some of the options available include mullet, black gold back, and bone. Some rely on their high shine and flash, while some are painted with beautiful gill plates, fins, and scales.
2. Booyah Pike Spinnerbait
Pike frequent areas with heavy vegetation, so spinnerbaits are a popular choice amongst anglers. Their “framed” design allows less chance of your lure getting snagged by helping to keep weeds away from the hook. The Booyah Pike Spinnerbait was specially designed for targeting Pike.
It includes a 12-inch steel leader and the super-tough Vibra-Flx wireframe. Additional quality features include the Silo-Tex skirt and double willow blades. These features create irresistible shine and vibration and imitate baitfish in distress.
The head of the Booyah Pike Spinnerbait’s head is exceptionally realistic. It sports an over-sized eye and beautifully painted gill plates. They are available in a variety of options, including sunfish, perch, luminescent glowtreuse, and crawfish.
3. Eppinger Original Dardevle Spoon
This classic lure is made in the USA and has been catching Pike for over 100 years. Most anglers consider the Eppinger Original Daredevil Spoon to be the go-to spoon when targeting Pike. It offers a unique swimming action with loads of vibration and flash. This is due to its concave shape.
The Eppinger Original Daredevil Spoon is made of metal, weighs ¾ ounces, and has a single super-sharp treble hook. The red/yellow diamond pattern is deadly, but the original white/red is also effective. Newer versions include mackerel and rainbow trout. This spoon is quite versatile and can be trolled or cast.
4. Rapala X-Rap Jerkbait XR10 Fishing Lure
The Rapala X-Rap Jerkbait XR10 Fishing lure is another “must have” lure for your tackle box. It is manufactured with a stainless steel through wire. They also offer two VMC black nickel treble hooks. You can achieve the classic Rapala wobble or an aggressive slash bait action by manipulating the jerk bait’s movement.
The Rapala X-Rap Jerkbait XR10 is 4 inches long, aerodynamically shaped, and offers the internal long-cast system, allowing anglers to cover more water. The diving lip allows this lure to reach a running depth of between 4 and 6 feet.
Some of the options available include olive green, glass ghost, and clown. They have 3D holographic eyes, a translucent body, and a flash foil teaser tail. The lure has realistic scales and a lateral line that catches and reflects light.
5. Johnson Silver Minnow
The Johnson Silver Minnow is an outstanding spoon, and it is not surprising that you can find it in most anglers’ tackle box. It is manufactured out of metals such as silver and gold. They are extremely effective when targeting Pike because they are easy to cast and easy to bite onto.
The heavier materials work really well in thick vegetation. It doesn’t snag easily and can be fished in fresh or saltwater. The body is thicker in the middle and offers a 35-degree angle, which allows the angler to retrieve with a back easily and forth rocking action.
This action imitates a real fish, and the Pike finds it irresistible. The spoon is extremely versatile and can be twitched, jigged, or even trolled. These spoons are available in many different sizes, weights, and colors.
6. Northland Tackle Bionic Bucktail Fishing Jig
The Northland Tackle Bionic Bucktail Fishing Jig is really a special lure. It’s extremely versatile and is ideal for weddings and drop-offs. A realistic jig head and genuine hand-tied bucktail replicate the shape and size of forage species. The forward tie-eye can be used for trolling and casting. Use the center tie-eye for vertical jigging.
The Northland Tackle Bionic Bucktail Fishing Jig is equipped with a steel leader, a single super sharp jig hook, and a cleverly hidden treble hook in the bucktail. This quality lure weighs ¾ ounces, is available in several different color options, and is made in the United States.
7. Rapala Super Shad Rap
The Rapala Super Shad Rap is a larger version of the legendary Shad Rap and is deadly when targeting Pike. This lure weighs in at 1-5/8 ounces, a length of 5.5 inches, and can achieve a running depth of between 5 and 9 feet.
The Rapala Super Shad Rap is a heavy-duty lure and is manufactured with a stainless steel through wire (this technique protects the crankbait’s integrity when hit by a large fish). It can be trolled or cast and is designed to get big fish. It comes standard with two ultra-sharp VMC black nickel treble hooks.
The body of this lure is made from the best quality Balsa wood. It is hand-tuned with extensive Research and development and has an eerily realistic swimming action. If the weather and water conditions are off, try bright colors like the firetiger or redhead.
How Do You Clean Pike?
The most important thing to remember when cleaning Pike is to try and keep the fish alive for as long as possible. This will produce a better product. But you will also need to be careful of its teeth! Be sure to use a pair of pliers to remove the hook.
Place the Pike on its belly, using a blade that is at least 6 inches long, make a cut from behind the head (just behind the gills) and cut straight down the backbone. Angle the blade toward the tail and cut along the backbone all the way to the tail. Remove the first fillet.
Author Note: Remove the skin by placing the blade between the skin and the flesh, angle your blade slightly against the skin. With your non-cutting hand, grab a tab of skin and simultaneously pull the skin and slice it free from the flesh.
Next, you will need to locate the Y-bones of the Pike. You can do this by running your finger along the flat surface where you removed the first fillet. The Y-Bones protrude straight up from the ribs. From there, they run towards the back.
Place your knife along the outside edge of those bones (away from the spine) and slice down until you get to where the Y Bones bend out slightly. Turn your knife slightly upward and follow those Y-bones out, cut through the skin on the bottom of the fillet. Slice through the skin from head to tail and remove the fillet from the skin.
Is Pike a Good Eating Fish?
Pike is delicious to eat if prepared correctly. They are full of bones but can be filleted in a way that eliminates this problem. The white meat is flavorful and has a flakey texture. Pike is extremely popular in German dishes.
Tips for Catching Pike
Pike is a highly prized freshwater gamefish and great to catch. They are big, strong, and offer a fantastic fight.
- Use minnow type lures and large shiny spoons. They hang out in heavy vegetation and are expert ambush hunters, so look for holes and structure and fish every inch of that spot. They are down there waiting for something to swim past them.
- If you have the ability to use live bait, then that’s what you must use. Suspend a large live golden shiner (or any other live bait you may have) a few feet below the surface. You can do this by attaching it to a bobber or float. The vibration should lure a hungry pike out of the shadows.
Use Proper Release Tools
Pike have very sharp teeth and you can easily get injured when trying to unhook one.
Be sure you keep a needle nose piers and fish friendly jaw spreaders with you to unhook these fish.
Trying to unhook a pike by hand when a lure has treble hooks is very dangerous, as a pike can thrash and writhe and there is a very high chance you will get a hook in your hand, and then you will be connected to a very angry pike via barbed hook, and this is no fun and can very well result in a trip to the emergency room.
Conclusion
Pike are beautiful fish. They are fantastic to catch and are delicious (and not to mention nutritious) to eat. With the correct equipment and enough time on the water, there is no reason why all types of anglers shouldn’t be able to catch one.
Spoons, spinnerbaits, stick baits, jig heads, paddle tails, and live bait can all be used to target these beasts. Pay attention to bag limits and practice catch and release where possible. we hope you enjoyed this article on the best pike lures for summer.
Happy Hunting!
