Alaska Pike Fishing Set Up?

[PredatorSlayer]

Heading to AK for 10 days on a DIY River Moose hunt. I am planning on taking a Fly Rod and a Spinning rod. Looking for recommendations on rods, reels, line, lures etc…entire sets ups for pike.

This is what I currently have, but if it won’t work, I can upgrade or buy something different:

Fly Rod - Orvis Clearwater 9ft5wt combo

Clearwater® Fly Rod Outfit

Hands down the best fly rod you can buy for the money, the well-appointed Clearwater series includes options to cover every angler.

www.orvis.com

Eagle Claw Trailmaster Combo

4 Piece 6'6

IM-7 complex composite rod, graphite body spinning reel with an aluminum spool and handle, 5+1 ball bearings, beautifully engraved bronze reel seats that complement the guides and custom silk winding, contoured cork handle finished with a durable rubber cork foregrip and fighting butt -Includes...

www.eagleclaw.com

 

[thinhorn_AK]

A 5wt fly rod is light for pike but as long as you aren’t getting into huge ones you’ll be ok.

For the fly rod, you’ll want steel leaders for sure, rio makes them. Alaska fly fishing goods makes a good pike fly selection that I have had good luck with.

For your spinner, you’re also going to need steel leaders, any type will work, I get 12-16” ones. Scum frogs and kodiak custom skirt spinners will usually work on pike.

 

[Htm84]

A medium weight rod worked fine for me. I think I had 15-20 pound test mono line. A Krocodile lure worked great. We fished a slough off the main river. It was a blast watching the pike shoot out of the weeds.

 

[2531usmc]

Hard to talk about pike fishing and not mention Johnson Silver Minnows and Daredevil spoons……

 

[topher89]

8wt is the usual rod for pike fishing. If you want to throw giant flies or think you will be getting into 50 inches, you could go with a 9 or a 10wt.

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

I don't have Alaskan pike experience but here in Illinois, I have a lot of success using white or red spinnerbaits, whopper ploppers, and Stanley Ribbit top toads/frogs. Definitely use steel leaders if you aren't using braided line. Number 4 and 5 mepps lures are good too if you're not fishing the weeds.

 

[Broomd]

Grab a few packs of Berkley power grubs in the 3-4" size with some good 1/4oz- 3/8oz jig heads. These should be the twisty tail style in white, yellow and pearl.
Nothing better for pike imho, and I've caught many thousands everywhere, including Alaska. They can't resist them.

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

I would recommend spooling the reel with 15 lb braid instead of mono. All I fish is rivers and braid works better in current than mono does. Still use a short steel or nylon leader with it though. Tie everything with a Palomar knot and you'll be good to go.

 

[Rich M]

We used to catch pike on rapalas with 10# mono tied directly to the lure.

Alaska, id throw a spoon of some sort and have some trout sized ones too. 15-20# braid and 8-15-25 pound leader material depending on what i was fishing for, trout, salmon, pike….

 

[summs]

I fish for pike in the North East, fairly easy fish to catch. In order id say spoons/metals > jerk baits > chatter bait > inline spinner over typical bass spinnerbait.

As for flies, a nice shiny 3-6" streamer. Id get a few silver holographic, chartreuse, and black. I throw 'striped bass' flies for pike. Clouser minnows, lefty's deceiver, and surf candies

I'd say no to metal leader. It's a pike, not barracuda. Spinning rod i'd do 20-30lb braid and 20lb fluro leader.
I also throw 2' of 15 or 20lb fluro as tippet on a 7.5' 0x leader(~14lbs)

 

[Nick Muche]

I can't tell you how many pike I've caught in Alaska, both through the ice and open water but the overwhelming vast majority have been with a simple silver spoon.

I would absolutely use a steel leader.

 

[Macintosh]

I'm not a great fly caster but I'd personally have a hard time hucking much of a fly with a 5weight--if you'll be throwing big fluffy flies that catch wind it'll be a lot easier with a 7-9weight. Not sure what else you'll get into for fish--if you run heavier mono or floro as your main line it'll really limit what you can do with any smaller lures. When I fished some rivers in central AK we caught some pike and some grayling on the same river, not too far apart--but I'd second the suggestion above to use braid rather than mono line on the spinning reel. You can run 15 or 20lb braid with a rod-length florocarbon leader tied to the main line with an alberto knot and you can tailor that setup for just about anything. The braid is still light and flexi enough that it'll cast a much lighter lure if you get into some grayling or something like that, and you just change your leader between like 6 or 8lb floro and 15 or 20lb floro. You can use the same spool of floro line for leaders for both spin and fly as long as your using a shorter leader setup that doesnt need to turn over. The braid is also much less susceptible to abrasion from logs and alder roots and junk in the water and it'll cut through aquatic weeds without getting wrapped up in it, if you have a light rod it's likely you'll get wrapped up in all sorts of stuff with some frequency. Also second the leader--doesnt matter steel or heavy florocarbon, but if you dont you're guaranteed to lose the one lure that really works on the first day of your trip. You can get some nifty knottable bite leaders for fly fishing too if you want. Even if you arent catching giant pike, without a leader you'll get bitten off eventually, I just hate leaving hooks in a fishes face if I can avoid it.
Also in the "pike 101" section, it's worth mentioning ahead of time to simply use a reasonable dose of caution around pike if you're a long ways from anywhere, if you dont bring a net dont forget some sort of fish handling gloves and make sure you have good pliers with cutters, and brush up on removing larger hooks from YOURSELF. I can tell you from firsthand experience there's nothing quite like the exhilaration of having a 3+-foot-long, slimy, thrashing pike attached to your right hand via 2 ends of the same lure to add some focus to your "moment of zen", so just keep that in mind and be prepared to deal with it if that or something similar happens. Also why I really like lures with one, single hook!

 

[marcbateman]

Heading to AK for 10 days on a DIY River Moose hunt. I am planning on taking a Fly Rod and a Spinning rod. Looking for recommendations on rods, reels, line, lures etc…entire sets ups for pike.

This is what I currently have, but if it won’t work, I can upgrade or buy something different:

Fly Rod - Orvis Clearwater 9ft5wt combo

Clearwater® Fly Rod Outfit

Hands down the best fly rod you can buy for the money, the well-appointed Clearwater series includes options to cover every angler.

www.orvis.com

Eagle Claw Trailmaster Combo

4 Piece 6'6

IM-7 complex composite rod, graphite body spinning reel with an aluminum spool and handle, 5+1 ball bearings, beautifully engraved bronze reel seats that complement the guides and custom silk winding, contoured cork handle finished with a durable rubber cork foregrip and fighting butt -Includes...

www.eagleclaw.com

10wt with toothy critter leader is always a safe bet

 

[dmc]

Last year I went on a great fishing trip disguised as a moose hunt. I took an 8 weight and was glad to have it - windy conditions, 6+" flies, rio's wire tippet. Used a floating line. Caught most of the fish on Ehler's Gator Done (red/white), Big Fish Deceiver, Tomahawk Warpath (in some deeper holes).

Would recommend a jaw spreader and a filet knife. My brother hammered them on some 130 whopper ploppers and spoons.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

i would have atleast a 8 weight rod just to be able to throw the bigger flies easier like most have said. I also run braid with 2 or 3 feet of mono at the end.

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

Every year, I lose at least one lure while fishing for smallmouth because a pike bites it off. 6-10 lb mono does not hold up to pike in my experience. These aren't even big pike that bite thru em. They're mostly skinny pike ranging from 16-30". So unless you like throwing money away, wasting time, and leaving hooks in fish mouths, ignore anyone who tells you direct tying mono is a good idea.

 

[Rich M]

Every year, I lose at least one lure while fishing for smallmouth because a pike bites it off. 6-10 lb mono does not hold up to pike in my experience. These aren't even big pike that bite thru em. They're mostly skinny pike ranging from 16-30". So unless you like throwing money away, wasting time, and leaving hooks in fish mouths, ignore anyone who tells you direct tying mono is a good idea.

If he's tossing a 4-5 inch rapala/rebel, there is no need for a wire leader unless the fish are very large. If he's running braid, he can run a 6 ft length 25# mono and be in good shape.

Throwing a 3-inch spoon or a swimming shad kind of jig, yeah a leader is preferred, they are likely to swallow those.

 

[Macintosh]

I'm not sure I've been anywhere with a reasonable pike population that didn't have at least a solid handful of bigger ones swimming around, even on some very small creeks.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

Every year, I lose at least one lure while fishing for smallmouth because a pike bites it off. 6-10 lb mono does not hold up to pike in my experience. These aren't even big pike that bite thru em. They're mostly skinny pike ranging from 16-30". So unless you like throwing money away, wasting time, and leaving hooks in fish mouths, ignore anyone who tells you direct tying mono is a good idea.

especially when you cant go to the tackle shop that night to get more. Pike are not leader shy especially where there is basically no pressure. save your lures, use a leader.

 

[AkRyan]

Just a heads up for anyone coming to Alaska that wants to catch pike.....it is Alaska State LAW to remove pike from the water and not return if caught. These are invasive in most parts of Alaska and they reek havoc on salmon/trout populations. Please do your part and kill any pike you catch.......it's the law.