Rigging dead bait to catch pike is one of the more popular methods used to catch these fish. When northern pike just won’t rise for spoons or crankbait using bait fish can be a great way to land a few fish. There are a number of different methods depending on the technique you are using from bottom fishing, float fishing, casting, trolling or even ice fishing.

Pickerel Rig

This is probably one of the best known and most commonly used dead bait rigs for pike and also walleye. Very inexpensive ( a few dollars) and hardy, you will land a number of fish with one before needing to replace it. These rigs consist of a length of monofilament a few feet long with two steel arms to hold the bait away from the mainline.

At the top is a barrel swivel with bearings to stop line twist. Below that are the two metal arms, these also incorporate red beads as a way to attract the pike’s attention. A snelled hook on a short (4 inch or so) monofilament leader is then added off these arms.

Lastly on the very bottom is a snap to add fishing sinkers. This makes it great to use in lakes or even targeting a pocket of water in faster moving rivers where pike may be hunting.

I use the pickerel rig a lot as a dead bait rig for pike both in open water and ice fishing season. I will often use two different baits on them. Something like an anchovy on one and then a green or yellow smelt on the other.

Quick Strike Rigs

The quick strike rig consists of two or three treble hooks with monofilament leader. The commercially available rigs can have a wire leader instead. In there most basic form you can just make your own with the leaders going up to a central loop. Additionally you can add red beads as an extra visual attractant. A barrel swivel at the top is also a good idea as pike love to roll after they feel a hook set.

I have used quick strike rigs for a few years now when ice fishing with tip ups and, they are absolutely deadly. My usual tactic is to use a much larger bait such as an 8 inch herring, looking to land a solid 3 foot+ northern pike.

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Jackfish Rig

Jack fish rigs are quite similar to Pickerel rigs. Instead of the monofilament leaders holding the hooks in this case there is a solid steel leader. Jackfish Riggs still incorporate the red beads to help attract pike. These rigs normally have larger hooks then the pickerel rigs. Another thing I will do with a jack fish rig is swap out one of the hooks for a jig head.I find yellow or green jig heads particularly effective in this case. There is a little spring holding the hook in place on a jack fish rig that makes this modification quick and easy.

Snelled Hooks

Standard snelled hooks will work fine for applications such as float fishing. Suspending a deadbeat underneath the float is ideal for some situations such as heavily weeded areas where you don’t want to get snagged constantly. Also can be good if you know fish are holding in a certain depth. This will work with a standard bobber and with a slip bobber.

Big is ok as far as hook size is concerned. For decent-sized smelt and anchovy try a 2/0 or 3/0 size snelled hook. If the pike are only small hammer handles ( 12 or 16 inch fish) you may want to downsize a bit and go with a 1 or 1/0 size hook. Again this will depend on your bait size as you don’t want a massive hook for small shiners.

Rigging Jig Heads with a Minnow

I’ll often use just a standard jig head paired with a dead bait instead of a soft bait. This technique will work great with anchovies or colored smelt. I seem to have great success with yellows and greens. There are even jig heads with a small propeller that seems to work well if you’re moving them in the water for extra Flash.

You have to make sure to use a steel leader when using a jig head. Pike are notorious for severing through fishing line.

Tipping Spoons with a Minnow

Another great way Of using dead bait is tipping the end of your artificial lure with a small piece of bait fish. A small piece of belly meat from a bait fish added to a spoon introduces scent to an already flashy presentation.

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See also .223 Remington vs .30-30 Winchester Ammo Comparison - Ballistics Info & Chart Caliber Ballistics Comparison 07 Dec, 2018 Posted By: Foundry Outdoors The following ammunition cartridge ballistics information and chart can be used to approximately compare .223 Remington vs .30-30 Winchester ammo rounds. Please note, the following information reflects the estimated average ballistics for each caliber and does not pertain to a particular manufacturer, bullet weight, or jacketing type. As such, the following is for comparative information purposes only and should not be used to make precise predictions of the trajectory, performance, or true ballistics of any particular .223 Remington or .30-30 Winchester rounds for hunting, target shooting, plinking, or any other usage. The decision for which round is better for a given application should be made with complete information, and this article simply serves as a comparative guide, not the final say. For more detailed ballistics information please refer to the exact round in question or contact the manufacturer for the pertinent information. True .223 Remington and .30-30 Winchester ballistics information can vary widely from the displayed information, and it is important to understand that the particular characteristics of a given round can make a substantive difference in its true performance. Caliber Type Velocity (fps) Energy (ft-lb) .223 Remington Rifle 3150 1250 .30-30 Winchester Rifle 2370 1890 [Click Here to Shop .223 Remington Ammo] [Click Here to Shop .30-30 Winchester Ammo] VelocityAs illustrated in the chart, .223 Remington rounds - on average - achieve a velocity of about 3150 feet per second (fps) while .30-30 Winchester rounds travel at a velocity of 2370 fps. To put this into perspective, a Boeing 737 commercial airliner travels at a cruising speed of 600 mph, or 880 fps. That is to say, .223 Remington bullets travel 3.6 times the speed of a 737 airplane at cruising speed, while .30-30 Winchester bullets travel 2.7 times that same speed.Various calibersEnergyFurthermore, the muzzle energy of a .223 Remington round averages out to 1250 ft-lb, while a .30-30 Winchester round averages out to about 1890 ft-lb. One way to think about this is as such: a foot-pound is a unit of energy equal to the amount of energy required to raise a weight of one pound a distance of one foot. So a .223 Remington round exits the barrel with kinetic energy equal to the energy required for linear vertical displacement of 1250 pounds through a one foot distance, while a .30-30 Winchester round exiting the barrel has energy equal to the amount required to displace 1890 pounds over the same one foot distance. As a rule of thumb, when it comes to hunting, muzzle energy is what many hunters look at when deciding on what caliber of firearm / ammunition to select. Generally speaking, the higher the muzzle energy, the higher the stopping power. Again, the above is for comparative information purposes only, and you should consult the exact ballistics for the particular .223 Remington or .30-30 Winchester cartridge you're looking at purchasing. [Buy .223 Remington Ammo] [Buy .30-30 Winchester Ammo] Please click the above links to take a look at all of the .223 Remington and .30-30 Winchester ammo we have in stock and ready to ship, and let us know any parting thoughts in the comment section below.Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. Our website lists special deals on 9mm Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 45-70 Ammo, 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, 300 Blackout Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 5.56 Ammo, Underwood Ammo, Buffalo Bore Ammo and more special deals on bulk ammo.We offer a 100% Authenticity Guarantee on all products sold on our website. Please email us if you have questions about any of our product listings. 1 Comments Bruce Barbaro - Jun 02, 2022Why have a web sight for ammo when YOUR OUT OF STOCK ON EVERYTHING.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Leave a commentComments have to be approved before showing up Your Name * Your Email * Your Comment * Post Comment

Can you use “Bait” from the Grocery Store?

The grocery store is great place to get bulk bait fish to use as pike bait. You can often get several times more smelt or anchovies for the same price as a package from your local bait shop.

Can Pike Smell?

They can indeed, pike will follow a scent trail a fair ways underwater. Their sense of smell is not as well developed as some species. For this reason its good to use high oil bait fish. I prefer anchovy for this reason. During ice fishing season I will thaw anchovy overnight in a Ziploc bag to make them extra juicy and stinky.

Pike will eat carrion naturally so smelly dead fish is their thing. If you are going for larger pike consider a much larger dead bait on a quick strike rig. Herring are a good choice for this again as they are an oiler fish.

How do you make Dead Bait Rigs for Pike?

You can easily make a quick strike rig for pike fishing with dead bait. In its simplest form all you need is a few feet of monofilament and a few treble hooks. The exact size will vary depending on the bait fish you are rigging from smelt all the way up to foot long white sucker fish.

Should Dead Bait Hang Horizontally or Head Down ?

When you were rigging a dead bait for Pike with a quick strike rig you have a couple of options on how to orient the bait. A very popular way is to make sure your folks are set of equal length so the bait hangs horizontally in the water. Another popular option is with a shorter leader on the dorsal hook and a longer one on the head hook so that your bait will hang head down in the water. Many fish will take a bait head first which is why this is also advantageous.

See also .30-30 Winchester for Black Bear Hunting? Best Ammo (Round, Load, Cartridge) for a Successful Black Bear Hunt Hunting Calibers 04 Apr, 2020 Posted By: Foundry Outdoors Is the .30-30 Winchester a viable caliber/load/round/cartridge for black bear hunting? The accurate answer is “it depends”. However, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether the .30-30 Winchester is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest black bear. As with anything, the devil is in the details. To answer the question completely, we would need to evaluate the downrange distance to the black bear, the bullet type, the grain weight of the bullet, the physical condition of the firearm, the size of the black bear in question, the shot placement, the local wind conditions, the expected accuracy of the shooter, the ethics of the ideal maximum number of shots – the list goes on. [Click Here to Shop .30-30 Winchester Ammo]What we can do is provide a framework to understand what average conditions might look like, and whether those are reasonably viable for a shot from the average shooter to harvest a black bear in the fewest number of shots possible, i.e., ethically. Let’s dive right in. In the question of “Is the .30-30 Winchester within the ideal range of suitable calibers for black bear hunting?” our answer is: No, the .30-30 Winchester is UNDERKILL for black bear hunting, under average conditions, from a mid-range distance, with a medium grain expanding bullet, and with correct shot placement.Let’s look at those assumptions a bit closer in the following table. Assumption Value Caliber .30-30 Winchester Animal Species Black Bear Muzzle Energy 1890 foot-pounds Animal Weight 340 lbs Shot Distance 150 yardsWhat is the average muzzle energy for a .30-30 Winchester? In this case, we have assumed the average muzzle energy for a .30-30 Winchester round is approximately 1890 foot-pounds. What is the average weight of an adult male black bear? Here we have leaned conservative by taking the average weight of a male individual of the species, since females generally weigh less and require less stopping power. In this case, the average weight of an adult male black bear is approximately 340 lbs. [Click Here to Shop .30-30 Winchester Ammo]What is the distance this species is typically hunted from? Distance, of course, plays an important role in the viability of a given caliber in black bear hunting. The kinetic energy of the projectile drops dramatically the further downrange it travels primarily due to energy lost in the form of heat generated by friction against the air itself. This phenonemon is known as drag or air resistance. Thus, a caliber that is effective from 50 yards may not have enough stopping power from 200 yards. With that said, we have assumed the average hunting distance for black bear to be approximately 150 yards. What about the other assumptions? We have three other primary assumptions being made here. First, the average bullet weight is encapsulated in the average muzzle energy for the .30-30 Winchester. The second important assumption is ‘slightly-suboptimal’ to ‘optimal’ shot placement. That is to say, we assume the black bear being harvested is shot directly or nearly directly in the vitals (heart and/or lungs). The third assumption is that a projectile with appropriate terminal ballistics is being used, which for hunting usually means an expanding bullet.Various calibersA common thread you may encounter in online forums is anecdote after anecdote of large animals being brought down by small caliber bullets, or small animals surviving large caliber bullets. Of course those stories exist, and they are not disputed here. A 22LR cartridge can fell a bull elephant under the right conditions, and a newborn squirrel can survive a 50 BMG round under other specific conditions. Again, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether .30-30 Winchester is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest black bear - and to this question, the response again is no, the .30-30 Winchester is UNDERKILL for black bear hunting. [Click Here to Shop .30-30 Winchester Ammo]This article does not serve as the final say, but simply as a starting point for beginner hunters, as well as a venue for further discussion. Please feel free to agree, disagree, and share stories from your own experience in the comments section below. Disclaimer: the information above is purely for illustrative purposes and should not be taken as permission to use a particular caliber, a statement of the legality or safety of using certain calibers, or legal advice in any way. You must read and understand your own local laws before hunting black bear to know whether your caliber of choice is a legal option.Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. Our website lists special deals on 9mm Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 45-70 Ammo, 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, 300 Blackout Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 5.56 Ammo, Underwood Ammo, Buffalo Bore Ammo and more special deals on bulk ammo.We offer a 100% Authenticity Guarantee on all products sold on our website. Please email us if you have questions about any of our product listings. 8 Comments Jon - Aug 18, 2021Why is it that everyone thinks you need a 300 super double extra magnum that fires a 1000 grain bullet @ 5500fps to kill typical medium/thin skin game like deer and black bear? Have we as humans not killed everything that walks on land for the past how many thousands of years with sharp rocks attached to sticks that traveled at half the speed of smell? ! It matters not what you hit them with as much as where you hit them with it.P.S. tell the thousands of bears (black and brown, not to mention elk, moose and deer) that have fallen to the 30-30 that it was not enough to do the job right the first time. Give me a break. Matt - Dec 03, 20213030 has killed more black bears than any of us can count. Some of us believe it is a go to round for black bears, in the north east.Contrary to “popular” (keyboard only hunters) belief, you do not need a 50bmg for black bear.Black bears are harvested with 357mag handguns.. 3030 is way more powerful. Lynn Bear - Jun 09, 2022The ol 30-30 Winchester sure will kill a black bear!! Several years ago, here in Pennsylvania, a hunter killed a 800 plus pound black bear in the Pocono mountains with a 30-30. My son killed a medium size black bear in North Carolina with his 30-30 Winchester model 94 using a 170 grain bullet. Range was 20 yards and they were hunting bear with dogs. I seen the biggest wild boar that weighed 380 pounds drop like a light being turned off using the same bullet (170 grain Hornady Flat point). There have been all kinds of big game animals fall to the 30-30 Winchester. Don’t dare underestimate it, because you would be wrong doing so. I seen it do too wonderful a job bringing home the bacon and back straps. 😃👍 Brad - Dec 20, 2022This article says it’s not optimal, and discusses the assumptions, but never says why those assumptions lead to the conclusion. What are the optimal specs it alludes to but never states? MARK SENEY - Jan 02, 20243030 kills them dead all day, got 6 hanging on my wall to prove it , shot placement is key and develop your tracking skills, they can run a long way no matter what you shoot them with, very little blood traill for most. Jim - Jan 02, 2024 Read and read on what cal. For black bear over bait. Have a 06/ and 270 however after (2) shoulder surgery I went and bought a henery 30/30 sighted in in 50 yards for my bear hunt. The 4 th pm I had a bear come in not a monster but my first 145lbs so put the 30/30 few inch behind ft shoulder and pow. It ran around circle and droped. Granted my shot was only 12 yards was useing 170 gr. Going again this fall—- hopefully see a larger bear try let smalls pass Jim - Mar 04, 2024Shot my first bear last fall. Henry 30/30 it ran around big circle and game over. It was not a 400lb but 163 lb. Waiting for shoulder mount. And there are not many packages of bear meat left in the freezer. Like all game SHOT PLACEMENT Steve Chelewski - Aug 28, 2024Thank you to all who have supported my favorite, the legendary 30/30! Leave a commentComments have to be approved before showing up Your Name * Your Email * Your Comment * Post Comment

Some people will also catch and freeze suckers for this purpose also. Suckers arnt considered game fish so you should be fine to do this in your state or province. As always its smart to consult your local fishing regulations about this.” } },{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “How do you make Dead Bait Rigs for Pike?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “You can easily make a quick strike rig for pike fishing with dead bait. In its simplest form all you need is a few feet of monofilament and a few treble hooks. The exact size will vary depending on the bait fish you are rigging from smelt all the way up to foot long white sucker fish.

I personally will have one side of the rig shorter than the other. This will ensure a “head down” presentation as most fish take bait fish head first. I also tend to go with smaller treble hooks for my quick strikes. Some people also add a third treble hook to the rig, if the regulations in that jurisdiction allow .” } },{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Should Dead Bait Hang Horizontally or Head Down ?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “When you were rigging a dead bait for Pike with a quick strike rig you have a couple of options on how to orient the bait. A very popular way is to make sure your folks are set of equal length so the bait hangs horizontally in the water. Another popular option is with a shorter leader on the dorsal hook and a longer one on the head hook so that your bait will hang head down in the water. Many fish will take a bait head first which is why this is also advantageous.” } }] }

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