Northern Pike on Soft Plastics

Lunker northern pike can be caught on a jig with a large plastic trailer. A half- to one-ounce jighead with a 4- to 6-inch plastic shad body, lizard or grub just might take the biggest pike in the lake. Fish along deep weed edges, old creek channels and submerged points and islands. Move the jig along by hopping motions without letting it hit the lake bottom or, in cold weather, let it rest on the lake bottom for a few moments before resuming the slow, rhythmic motion. Another way to catch trophy-class pike on soft plastics is to rip it quickly through weeds as though it were a panicked baitfish. At times this will trigger a strike when slower movements won't.