Her Mainely Girl Adventures: Ice Fishing

By Staci Warren

My family has avid ice fisherman, so I know the pacing that ensues waiting for ice to become safe enough to fish one of the many lakes in the Belgrade Lakes region where we live. For the past few years, it seems the ice shack spends less and less time on the ice. As of the end of January 2023, Maine’s largest lakes still were unsafe to venture on, many smaller ponds weren’t much better, and there were at least two fatalities according to the Sun Journal. In 2018, nine people across Maine fell through ice within a 24-hour period. If you are fortunate enough to have ice, good thick safe ice, then you’ll need to try fishing for Northern Pike. Patience is the key to safety and ice fishing.

Staci Warren's granddaughter Eloise proudly
displays her pike with her dad Aaron.
PHOTO BY REBECCA SUCY

According to MIF&W Northern Pike Assessment 2008 report (MIFW NPA), pike were initially introduced into Maine in the 1970’s, as the result of an illegal introduction into the Belgrade Lakes. Subsequent migration within the Belgrade lakes drainage and additional illegal introductions are responsible for an expanding distribution within central and southern Maine that now reside in 28 non-flowing waters and an additional 15 waters. I’ve had a difficult time embracing the pike; however, I had another avid pike fisherman declare that the landlocked salmon and brown trout we once caught regularly in Great Pond and Long Pond, are not native. While I cringe at illegal stocking of any fish, several other states stock northern pike for their popularity as a sportfish. Maine, however, does not manage northern pike.

“Northern Pike are generally considered predators consuming prey between one-third and one-half the length of the pike. Spawning males average 26 inches long and weigh 5 pounds, whereas spawning females average 31 inches long and weigh 9 pounds. Diet studies on the Belgrade Lakes indicate that pike eat white perch, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, smelt, landlocked salmon, minnow species, and insects and studies suggest white perch are the most consumed forage fish in Maine waters (MIFW NPA).” With those lengths and weights and its reputation as a major sport fishery, pike fishing has bloomed in Maine, particularly in the winter.

Fishing for Northern pike requires a different technique than that for bass, perch, or brook trout. Pike have large sharp teeth that will razor your line in an instant, and they are strong. A pike puts up a mean fight and regular tackle isn’t advised. It’s not so tough though that kids can’t catch; in fact, my grandkids love to pull up pike from the hole.

You don’t need the most expensive setup that’s available, but pike fishermen attest that bigger gear does help. A good strong tip up. One with a larger reel allows for more line and pike will make runs when you’re fighting them. Also, more line means having traps spaced further apart and bigger traps are easier to spot at distances.

The most popular bait are extra-large shiners on a single No. 2 hook with a two-foot 50 lb. fluorocarbon leader attached to regular waxed ice fishing line. When your flag goes up, be ready to set the hook like any other fish but then be ready to let that fish run for as much as 15 minutes before you land it. Pike will fight, and if you don’t let them run to tire out, you could end up losing the fish.

Where to fish: In early winter, fish shallow weeded areas with drop offs. Larger fish tend to be on the outskirts of these areas, and smaller pike within the weeds. By mid-January, move to deeper water but stay within 20-30 feet of water. If you have bait fish, then you’ll have pike nearby. By March, barring falling through the melting ice shelf, fish close to shore in shallow water for pike heading to their spawning grounds. Some of my best pike fishing have been in late winter, early spring.

There is still a lot of debate about releasing pike back into the water. I personally prefer not to put the pike back and will leave it to feed the raptors, whereas my son-in-law releases them back into the lake. His thought is that it’s not going away, so might as well embrace it. I’m not there yet.

While I do admit that catching pike is fun, I don’t like how they made their way here. I just keep reminding myself that if I’m lucky, I might just land a nice brown trout even though I’m fishing for pike. Stay safe and know your ice conditions before venturing out.

Staci Warren provides a unique woman’s perspective and column on the outdoors every month. She is a freelance writer whose blog, My Mainely Girl Adventures, is about a woman hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging and living in the Maine outdoors. She also loves camping, star gazing, wildlife watching, and hunting for fossils. She’s an active member and board member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and is a monthly columnist and feature writer for The Maine Sportsman Magazine. In her free time, she enjoys mentoring women hunters and trappers. <