"Go big or go home" Winter isn't an easy time to fish, but if you're up against the cold weather, you can be generously rewarded! The pike are fat now and the chance to catch a 10+ is better than in any other season! I now bet on big baits to entice the ladies out of their territory! You can read how I approach this in this blog.

In cold conditions, the feeding phases are very short, so choose you lure with care. If the pike have a choice, they prefer to eat a big prey instead of chasing a lot of small fish. Often you only get one or two strikes a day, but that one strike is more often a big fish than a small one!

The 3D Burbot and the 4D Herring Shad are my favorite baits at the moment. Both lures can be used very slowly and work seductively. The pike are now relatively lazy and don't want to waste any energy. Only when they are sure that they can strike the prey one hundred percent, they will start an attack.

In order to be able to fish all day long I used the Custom Predator rod with 170g and 240g casting weight. These rods are nice and light, very handy and strong enough to take on big predators! For me only a Baitcaster like the Okuma Komodo Low Profile can be used. This reel type has an excellent strength to weight ratio so I can fish all day long without getting tired. I also love the higher casting frequency compared to a spinning reel. This allows me to search much more area and hit my target faster!

Before catching, I must find the fish and here I stick to a simple rule, find the food and there are also the big ladies. Every water has its local variations, which needs to be understood. In some waters the baitfish are in harbors or deep holes in others they move into the shallows or river inlets. The water temperature is the crucial point here! If you find areas with warmer water, you have often found the fish! Therefore, I invest a lot of time in research before I start fishing. This tactic paid off on my last trip and I caught two very nice pike!

Cold finger, but hot action. The 4D Herring Shad did its job.

Pikes are looking for an easy meal with a lot of proteins, so going bigger is better during winter.

When the dark started to creep over the lake, this pike became active and could not resist the 3D Burbot.