![]() The more sound and vibration coming from the harness, the better your chances of it attracting a roaming pike. I do not use sinkers, preferring to let the sucker do its job and swim around and flash the blades and beads around to attract the pike. ![]() At first light, I like to put big live suckers down on a flashy harness equipped with glow beads. Pike like to hunt and cruise these edges of drop offs in transition zones where shallow water drops off to deeper water. I like to set my tip-ups in the mouths of shallow bays where there is structure like stumps and rocks and on the edges of known weed beds. I have seen this rig put some big pike on the ice. He runs a small Swedish Pimple, a foot above the bait attached to the line with a barrel swivel. One serious pike fisherman, Bob Film, who uses fluorocarbon, makes a deadly rig. Two-hook quick strike rigs also work well and I assemble them the same way. This allows the rig to have more action when the bait swims. I always attach the hook to a split ring, then to the wire with a crimp. A heavy-duty barrel swivel is a must for attaching the harness to your mainline. I like to use size 4 and 6 trebles on most of my rigs. When building my pike rigs, I prefer to run a minimum of 24 inches of steel leader. Fluorocarbon can also be used, but I do not recommend it if you are targeting the big boys or if you are fishing over structure with logs. I prefer to use black-coated multi-strand wire leaders on my rigs. When glow beads came on the market our fishing changed dramatically. Different colors work better on some lakes than others. Over the years, I have built many pike rigs and harnesses and have done lots of experimenting with different colored beads, blades, and hooks. Large suckers are my usual bait, but big cow shiners will also work well, when available. When ice fishing for pike I like to use large bait. The Great Sacandaga, Lake Champlain, Lake George, Indian, Schroon, Cranberry and Tupper Lakes are some of the bodies of water that hold trophy pike. Trophy pike can be found throughout the Adirondacks. We are truly blessed to live in an area with some of the best pike fishing in North America. ADK Legend John “Hillbilly” Zeis with another monster pike.
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