Outdoors: Pike and the dead bait connection

Ask most anglers, and they’ll admit that typically live bait produces better fishing results than artificial lures. It’s a foregone conclusion among anglers who target both popular and aggressive species that live bait is the Holy Grail of fishing more days than not.

So, if live bait is that good, is there a time and place when dead bait rules? Surprisingly, the answer is a resounding yes.

Dead bait works so well on one particular species that even live bait and the best artificial lures can’t compete. Sound too good to be true? Read on.

Northern pike are a popular species found throughout Ontario’s Algoma Country. This species has earned a reputation for being aggressive. Pike are also a species of fish that literally chase down lures or live baits and attack them like a wolf on the prowl.

To say that pike are high energy predators is an understatement, but this unique species also scavenges food more often than you might realize.

The highly aggressive nature of pike during the open water periods of the year suggests that these fish are predators first and foremost. That’s true to a degree, but there are times when dead bait will produce more strikes from pike than artificial lures or even a bucket full of frisky live minnows.

- Mark Romanack

Read more about pike fishing with dead bait and how to use it.