So the looks, teeth didn’t scare you off. Good the here is some useful information to know to help you catch that pike.

Give these a shot at bringing in that big lunker!!

White, yellow, and chartreuse are great pike lure colors, probably because they resemble the belly of a struggling fish.

• •  IN-LINE SPINNER – before weed growth becomes a factor, focus on covering water.The bigger spinners are a top choice here because the weight lets you cast them farther and the blades throw more flash. Retrieve the spinner steadily, just fast enough to keep it off the bottom. Think Rooster Tail, Mepps, and Blue Fox spinners in 1/6- to 1-ounce sizes.

• SPOON – Start by steadily and slowly reeling, just fast enough to keep the spoon wobbling. If that doesn’t produce, try a “flutter retrieve,” accomplished by imparting a jigging motion as you reel. Spoons are particularly effective along drop offs because you can precisely control the depth. Try Dardevles, Little Cleos, Thomas Buoyants, and Johnson Silver Minnows weighing ¼to 1 ounce.
• MINNOW-IMITATING PLUG-  Begin with a steady retrieve. If that doesn’t work, try stop-and-start reeling. Early in the season, use a shallow runner. As waters warm up, go to a crank baitor a soft-plastic swimbait that runs in the 10-foot range. You’ve got plenty to choose from here: the Rapala Original or Shad Rap, Rebel Minnow, Rattlin’ Rogue, C.C. Shad, Bomber Model A, Mann’s 1-Minus, and the Storm Wild-Eye SwimShad.
• SPINNERBAIT Draw a spinnerbait past sprouting weeds and stop the retrieve for a three count just as the bait approaches a possible hideout. Add a twist-tail or rubber-wormtrailer for action and color contrast. Models abound. If I had to use only one pike lure, it would be a white spinnerbait with a trailer. If the water is a tall off-color, try a bait with a chartreuse skirt.
• JIG AND WORM As the temperature in the shallows reaches 60 degrees, pike begin to set up shop along 6- to 10-foot dropoffs. These are best fished with a jig in full, 2-to 3-foot hops. Pike often take the jig as it drops; the strike may feel like a nibble or a perch bite. Use bucktail and marabou jigs in the ¼- to1-ounce range.
• SURFACE PLUG In late spring, fish topwater lures over weed beds in the calm water of morning or late afternoon. Over the years the combination of a slim minnow shape and propeller fuss has been most productive for me. Tie on a large (4½- to 6-inch)Jitterbug, Heddon’s Crazy Crawler or Dying Flutter, Storm Chug Bug, SmithwickDevil’s Horse, Sputterbuzz, or Zara Spook.

HOW TO READ A PIKE BAY

Mouths of swampy inlets- make good starting points, but you’ll probably catch more pike in the flats just offshore. Find one where the depth is 3 to 10 feet. Pike might have traveled up the inlet to spawn and will now be drifting out into the bay. These flats serve as staging spots for spawning panfish orbait-fish, or gathering spots for any trout (or juvenile salmon or steelhead) that may swim down following an upstream stocking. Like the local Elks Club ata barbecue, pike may not have the schedule down, but they know where the food is.
Prominent shoreline structures- beaver dams, flooded timbers, downed trees—always deserve at least a few casts. Work your way in, combing the flats in front with an in-line spinner. This is a good spot for lunch; cast out a bobber and minnow while you’re eating a sandwich.

As the spring sun warms the bay, weeds grow and pike orient to cover near dropoffs. Weedy points make particularly good fishing spots, as do mid-bay weed shoals. Search adjacent waters with an in-line spinner, flutter-retrieve a spoon, or stop and start a spinnerbait along the edges of the weeds. If the water is calm, try your topwater lures.
Deeper weedlines with access to deep water are the last spots. Find the 6- to 10-foot break. In general, pike over 10 pounds are the first to vacate the shallows for cooler water. This edge is the spot to try a jig and worm, or perhaps to flutter-retrieve a spoon.