Most big pike hunters arm themselves with the same baits muskie fishermen use -- big crankbaits, jerkbaits and tandem spinnerbaits. But while these monster baits will catch the odd monster 20-pound-plus pike, they're just too big for the many 10-pound trophies out there.

That's why I use minnows. Time and time again, I've found that there's nothing like the real thing to bring in 10 to 20-plus pounders. My favourites are suckers or chubs from 6 to 12 inches. The exact size varies with they day -- whatever seems to get the most action.

But live-bait fishing with big minnows has its drawbacks. For one thing, it isn't always easy finding big minnows. And for another, a 10-inch minnow is strong enough to swim off, even when attached to your hook, and hide from any pike.

But the biggest problem with live-bait fishing is the way pike grab this presentation. For a lively, natural offering, you have to hook the minnow through the head. But big pike usually bite down on a minnow from the side, leaving the head outside of their mouth. They then swim off 10 feet or so, stop and quickly turn the minnow around so they're swallowing it head first. Then they swim off another 10 feet and swallow the whole meal.

When I first started to fish for pike with live-bait, I set the hook hard immediately when I saw my bobber move, only to get the head of my minnow back for my efforts. It didn't take me long to realize that I had to wait for the pike to get the minnow in its mouth, and the longer I waited, the better my my hook setting percentage. The only problem was that if the fish did swallow the hook, it made catch and release difficult.

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