Hey Pitchy! You ever do this?

[Bill in Oregon]

Looks like a great way to gather pike for a fish fry! You Minnesoty boys sure know how to have winter fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy2D-gEjjac

[Pitchy]

Been there done that, have or used to have I gave it too a buddy a 16 pounder.
It`s a lot of fun but I don`t get out there anymore , my neighbor does a lot of it and I`ve made him a few decoys.
Also built quite a few spears for guys, great vid Bill.

[Pitchy]

A few of the decoys I made.







And spears.

[RIHMFIRE]

that is very cool.....never ate pike....do they have a lot of bones

[GunnyMack]

Depends on how they are cleaned. If filleted you can remove the bones easily, but you lose some meat.
Pike are white flakey fish. I find them great fresh but not real fond after it's been frozen.
Pike are great fun, very user friendly unlike musky, seems like pike are always willing to eat. I'd rather catch 20,30, or more a day then make a thousand casts before hooking a musky.

[Bill in Oregon]

Pitchy, nice work on the decoys and the spears! I assume the lures are weighted with lead and balanced to sink and then remain horizontal?

[TWHBC]

Pitchy, very nice looking pike decoys and spears.
Spears and pike decoys are a popular item at antique stores up there.
When living in Mn. I watched others in their dark houses spear for pike!
Interesting but I never did it myself. Saw several large pike on the ice next to shelters.
Used to ice fish Square Lake for trout. Square Lake has incredible visabilty, so from your shelter looking into the hole, it was like watching TV as the trout cruised in and went for your lure/grub or minnow or just darted by.
Occasionally a large pike would show up and seem to just sit there for a while. No trout around then, and it was quite a while before any trout showed back up.
As for pike on the ice, 'hammer handles' was the catch for me!

Never seen a frog decoy before! Hinged for greater action, very nice!

[Pitchy]

Pitchy, very nice looking pike decoys and spears.
Spears and pike decoys are a popular item at antique stores up there.
When living in Mn. I watched others in their dark houses spear for pike!
Interesting but I never did it myself. Saw several large pike on the ice next to shelters.
Used to ice fish Square Lake for trout. Square Lake has incredible visabilty, so from your shelter looking into the hole, it was like watching TV as the trout cruised in and went for your lure/grub or minnow or just darted by.
Occasionally a large pike would show up and seem to just sit there for a while. No trout around then, and it was quite a while before any trout showed back up.
As for pike on the ice, 'hammer handles' was the catch for me!

Never seen a frog decoy before! Hinged for greater action, very nice!

Thanks, the lake I speared the 16 pound northern in we were in 18 feet of water, would put egg shells on the bottom so ya could see where it was.
Usually put my decoy at about 6-8 feet, lot of times the northern would slide in and stop nose too nose with the decoy and drop the spear on him.
Some times ya would sit for hours and have a big one laying off to the side where ya couldn`t see him, then give the decoy a twitch and he`d come in like a locomotive running high ball and all ya had time to do is pucker.
The frog decoy was kinda a invention, the guy I gave it too only tried it once so no good stories on that.
My health has kept me from spearing for years but I loved it in the past and may get out one of these days and now have the cameras to get some video.

[TWHBC]

Cool idea about the egg shells!
Wonder if one of the underwater cameras has ever been attacked by a pike?
The ones I seen have protrusions that look like a tail fin.
Some paint and a Jonah video would be possible?

[Pitchy]

Most spear in a lot shallower water but I believe northerns are territorial and run route`s so if ya get along a drop off ys might get lucky.
Was sitting for four hours once with nothing moving, gave a 6 inch red and white decoy a twitch and the biggest northern I`ve ever seen came in like a bullet.
Had a three foot long hole cut in the ice, he grabbed that decoy and headed out of the hole and his tail wasn`t even visible yet must of been 8 inches wide.
All ya could do is sit there and watch it happen, life used to be good.

[Bill in Oregon]

Pitch, it can be good again. I know you have faith.

[KirkD]

Pitchy, those are real nice spears you made. Good to hear your experiences spearing Northern Pike through the ice. I've never tried it myself, but I've read about it.