How to fish deep-water pike

In early June, as the sun stays above the horizon longer, so begins the incredible Canadian summer. But as the shallows and surface temperatures start to warm up in many lakes, big pike are forced to seek out deeper, cooler water—and that makes them much more difficult to find. It also means it’s time for a change-up from those shallow-water tactics you’ve come to rely on.

Once you discover where the fish migrate to—and how to get to them—summer can be a prime time for targeting big pike. The key is figuring out what deepwater habitat best suits the pike in your lake, then attaching just the right lure to get into the strike zone. To catch giant summer pike, all it really takes are a few alterations to your fishing technique.

Where & when

With plenty of direct sunlight, it doesn’t take long for most of our waterways to warm up, usually by early June. By then, big pike will have completed their annual spawn and enjoyed a productive stay in the shallows to rebuild their energy reserves. Now’s the time they head for deeper, cooler water.

Such seasonal movements can make these fish hard to locate, but with a little experimentation and some technical help from maps and sonar, anyone can catch the big pike that otherwise seem to disappear during the peak of summer.

Start by looking for deepwater habitat adjacent to the shallow mud bays, creeks, rivers and south-facing shorelines that hold pike in the spring. Use a hydrographic map to quickly narrow your target area. Highlight rivers, creeks or other sources of flowing water with nearby deepwater structure. And look for tight contours, which indicate steep drops or long points extending into the lake, as well as wide contour gaps, which denote deepwater flats.

Rocky points, in particular, are midsummer pike favourites. Whether you’re fishing the main shoreline or areas adjacent to islands or shoals, look for cobble- to boulder-sized rocks to hold fish. The rocky drop-offs provide easy feeding zones for big pike, allowing them to trap their prey against the vertical substrate. The structure also acts like an elevator to take actively feeding fish to their food supply, then back to the cool comforts of the deep. Big fish like big easy meals, and the deep water is home to a variety of prey, such as whitefish, tullibee, smelt and even burbot, which mature pike key into.

As well, prey species will often be disbursed on deep flats, which in turn become prime feeding locations for pike. Flats near windswept shorelines are always a good bet, as the wave action washes baitfish toward land. Large waves make these flats even more productive by reducing water clarity, giving pike an advantage over the baitfish and triggering them to feed.