My Top 5 Lures for Big Northern Pike

Catching big northern pike over 40 inches is a standard for a trophy fish. I was blessed to catch two pike over 40 inches and many over 30 this year. I attribute this to the blessing of God and to using the right bait.

I use a bunch of different baits for northern pike. These range from spinners to plastics. Here are my top 5 baits that drive northern pike crazy.

Savage Gear 3D Bat

I’ll be honest, the first time I saw this bait, I thought that it was dorky. My brother-in-law brought it up from the lower 48 to Alaska to fish with me for a month. We fished near McGrath and Takotna off of the river system in sloughs where the water was clear. These pike were hungry and attacked this top water bait. Because it floats, you can cast over grass beds where the pike are hunting. Since he was getting bites on this bait almost every cast throughout the day, I bought some for myself. We caught a mixture of sizes with this bait—mostly in the mid 20-inch range into larger 30+ inch pike.

Mepps #5

I originally thought of this as a lake trout lure, but one day, I decided to try it while pike fishing. I started catching pike in the 30-inch range and caught a 42-inch pike that was nearly 20 pounds. I cast this along edges of weed beds or steep banks with good success.

Rapala Jointed, Gold Fluorescent Red

I use the longest lure length available. Pike go crazy over this lure in the mid-morning. I caught three pike over 34 inches and a 41-inch pike in one morning using this crankbait. I reel the bait in slow, partially to prevent it from diving too deep but also that seems to work the best. I use no jigging movement and retrieve the bait steadily. This bait performed best in semi-murky water.

“Pinky” Matrix Shad Monster Matrix 5 Inch

I bought this bait after fishing with a good friend of mine that was using similar baits and catching 35-inch pike left and right. I used it late in the season while on a moose hunt in Alaska and caught a number of large pike on it when they wouldn’t bite anything else. Hook setup is key. This bait can be rigged to be weedless. By placing two hooks inside the bait with one located near the tail you will have better success when you get a bite. Otherwise, you will likely be setting the hook and coming up empty. Creativity is necessary to set this up with two hooks, but the catches are worth the effort. Also, stock up on this bait because after I caught six large pike on this soft bait, mine was shredded.

Savage Gear Suicide Duck

I recommend the six-inch size. My friend caught a 47-inch pike on this lure. Reeling in at varied speeds makes the water-impeller make noise that the pike seem to find irresistible. This floating bait worked well in the evening.

Conclusion

Using these five baits can greatly improve your experience as you seek a big pike. There are many other lures you can use, but these were the ones that have performed the best for me over the years. These are my top 5 northern pike lures that I will always take with me.

Using these baits in the right locations will greatly improve your chances of landing your dream pike!

If you liked this post, checkout Where to Catch Monster Northern Pike.