Pike Movements Under The Ice

Pike spend most of their days cruising around slow enough to get close to the baitfish they’re trying to catch. Once pike do get close, they surge, slash, and strike with a fury—that’s just their nature. But pike movements aren’t always so bold and swift. When pike are active, they generally move into key locations, slowly patrolling the area for food. Pike even have scavenger tendencies, willing to eat dead baitfish or anything else they deem edible.

“Pike are characterized as ambush predators, but that’s rarely the case,” explains In-Fisherman Editor In Chief Doug Stange. “When pike get active, they roam prime spots where baitfish tend to gather. Slowly swimming along weededges is a classic pattern, though they may swim through heavy weedgrowth attempting to flush baitfish out into the open where they’re easier to catch. They also may hold along a weededge or weed point waiting for baitfish to emerge out of the cover. And pike commonly roam flats, following schools of perch and other baitfish.”

Another interesting tidbit about bigger pike is that they’re a coldwater fish. In fact, they’re one of the most active fish under the ice. During summer, for instance, pike, particularly big pike, abandon shallow water and head for deeper colder water. During winter when water is cold everywhere and the places pike can go are limitless, the best locations remain near the best spots near favorable habitat where pike can find food.

Pike Locations

Depending on the structural dynamics of any given body of water, several pike patterns can exist. In lakes, spots like bars, sunken islands, points, weedlines, and submerged timber are classic places to find pike. Distinct weedlines or submerged timber always seem to attract and hold both baitfish and pike. Some pike also follow schools of perch or baitfish on flats, while others may be patrolling current areas.

In lakes without much structure, like rockpiles, weeds, or drop-offs, pike don’t have the luxury of keying on specific spots to find food. But they still have similar hunting habits and can often be found meandering along shorelines and back bays, roaming flats and chasing schools of perch, or keying on current spots like lake inlets. Finding pike in structureless lakes can sometimes be easier because there are only a few prime locations where pike can find food.

In a reservoir with large creek arms, primary and secondary points within creek arms seem to host the best pike action. In reservoirs without major creek arms, the best spots tend to be bays, bars, and points near bays or small creeks. In rivers, pike hold on or near bars within river lakes, backwaters, or side channels.

“The best spots to find pike in winter are near favorable habitat and classic spots where they search for food. Once you learn a bit about pike behavior and how pike find food, finding areas that should hold pike isn’t that difficult,” Stange offers. “Locations that look like good pike spots on the map almost always produce pike—whether it’s a lake, river, or reservoir. Of course, once you get out there and start fishing, you always can expand or narrow your search. On structure, distinct spots always seem to hold more pike.

“I generally start searching the larger and more prominent structures. These primary spots host a combination of weeds, rocks, or other underwater cover. Weedgrowth attracts forage. So does rock-rubble and other rock combinations. Weeds and rock in combination with sand transitions in shallow water tend to draw pike shallow, at least at first-ice and late-ice. Rock-rubble drop-off edges and especially deep rock humps near shallow cover typically hold pike, too.”

Bays connected to the main lake often host good pike action. Bays with pockets of weedgrowth, even shallow bays with cattails or flooded timber, can host good pike action. The best bays have a combination of a variety of different elements that attract and hold pike.

Stange: “I know a bay spot with a one-acre sunken island that rises from 45 feet of water to 10. A 25-foot-deep saddle connects the island to shore. The top of the island offers lots of rocks and a few weeds. This combination of the saddle and hump stretching across the bay serves as a gathering point for wandering baitfish and pike.”