Anyone seeing pike activity?

[somersetian]

I'm pretty much on a quest to catch Pike on the fly this summer. I've been fishing Laurel Hill Lake, the Quemahoning Res. Both hold Pike but talking to the spin guys I encounter I don't think people target them very much on those bodies of water. Everyone I talked to says they have caught them but always while bass fishing. Yesterday I skipped work and was on the Que about 1 right after the rain stopped, I went straight to a cove where I thought might be a good spot for Pike. There was underwater vegetation that had grown up over the past week and based on my reading about pike it looked like the prime spot. Water was about 8-10 ft deep and my streamers were only getting down maybe 4 ft. I have a 5' 7' and 10' sink tips I attach to my flyline but my 10' was with my lighter rod and gear at home. Should I be stripping those streamers right down past that vegetation or if there were Pike there would they have come out of hiding to chase my streamer? Besides that I fished the structure around the bank on the way back to the boat ramp, wind got to the point where I called it after 5 hrs.

 

[Dave_W]

While I'm not familar with the waters in question, I'm assuming they have decent pike populations (some PA waters have pike but not always in fishable populations).

Anyway, what you describe sounds like exactly what one ought to be doing. Frankly, I think it is getting a bit late in the spring for targeting pike in the sahllows but with the recent colder weather I would imagine there are still fish in weedy bays at the depths you describe, maybe shallower. Smaller fish usually hang around in the shallows later and even into summer. Pike are aggressive and will move out of weeds to hit a fly/lure, when they're in the mood (which is more often than muskies). They like flashy flies, lots of bass guys get 'em on spinnerbaits. Some large, flashy weedless flies should allow you to pll thru that vegetation and if pike don't cooperate, you should at least be able to stick some bass.

I dunno. I'd say stick with it and if you don't move any fish after another effort, it might be worthwhile to explore a different section of the lake or different waters altogether.

 

[afishinado]

Looks like your fishing in the right lake here:

http://fishandboat.com/images/reports/2011bio/8x07_05que.pdf

and there at least 2 to fish for in this lake:

http://fishandboat.com/images/fisheries/afm/2005/8x06_20laurel.htm


I've always thought it's a shame we don't have more northerns to fish for in PA. Not many lakes or rivers have any kind of decent population of them. The PFBC has tried planting them for years, but I guess we are a little too far south for them to become prolific.