Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

Facts and the myths surrounding the torpedo-shaped northern pike have become interwoven through the years, and the truth about the “water wolf” is sometimes tough to know. But one thing is certain: The northern pike is one of the most exciting game fish Michigan anglers will ever take from under the ice.

Pike are sometimes classified as a cold-water fish. Smaller pike prefer the warm shallows associated with bays and weedbeds, but once they reach adult sizes, their preferred temperature range drops into the 50s and 60s, forcing them into deeper water to escape the summer heat. When the temperatures dip again in winter, the lunkers are back in the shallows, where anglers can have a chance at them.

The belief that pike kill simply for the fun of it is probably rooted in their inherent aggressiveness and willingness to bite just about anything that moves. There are stories galore of mammoth pike destroying reel drags and breaking lines without effort, of striking muskrats and ducks and leaving nothing but ripples in their wake.

Though pike like these are rarely caught in Lower Peninsula waters, they can be found, and now is the time to find them. One tip to remember on waters where a big northern pike is a possibility is that two or three holes drilled next to each other to make one long hole is a wise investment in time. Trying to bring a 10-pound, or bigger, thrashing pike through a hole designed for landing a bluegill is tough.

Here’s a look at a few of the L.P. pike waters you won’t want to miss this winter. Maps of each are available from the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Box 30235, Lansing, MI 48909.

FLETCHER’S POND
Though hardly a pond by any stretch of the imagination, this nearly 9,000-acre impoundment in Alpena and Monmorency counties is without question one of the top northern pike producers anywhere in the state. Also called Fletcher Floodwaters, the lake is simply loaded with northerns.

“The pike fishing on Fletcher’s Pond has been on fire,” fisheries biologist Tim Cwalinski of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said. He added that the growth rates of northern pike here have been phenomenal, and the pike fishing is the best it’s been in years.

During a 2005 pike survey conducted by the MDNR’s Fisheries Division, personnel found pike ranging from 14 to 35 inches. Many of them were 32 inches and up, and Cwalinski said numerous pike in Fletcher’s Pond stretch to more than 40 inches long.

Dave Robinson of Jack’s Landing, a small lodge and bait shop on the lake near the public access point, is likewise impressed with the quality of the pike fishing at Fletcher’s Pond.

According to him, ice-fishermen can tangle with big northerns just about anywhere, even in water as shallow as 2 feet deep. He said that in 2005, a 48-inch fish came out of the lake -- a size that is almost unheard of in L.P. waters.

Robinson recommends large suckers to draw strikes. Ice-fishing gear that’s heavier than normal is called for if anglers hope to land one of the lake’s bigger pike. Pike will chase the panfish right up to the surface, so a bait under a tip-up or pegged to a small jigging lure can be smashed in shallow water.

According to Robinson, there really isn’t any one best spot on the lake because the habitat is so spread out. However, finding weeds is critical to successful pike fishing in this lake, he added, and the weedbeds are scattered and have been changing locations over the last few years. Stumpbeds also cover much of the lake. An experimental hole or two may be in order to find productive locations, but the north shoreline in either direction of Jack’s Landing is usually a good bet for finding pike.

Fletcher’s Pond averages only 6 feet deep and is shallower in some places. The deepest spot is about 12 feet deep near the dam. (Continued)