NORTHERN PIKE
Big Sandy Lake
Northern pike are plentiful in Aitkin County's Big Sandy Lake. And every so often, when you pull hard on the tip-up line and set the hook, a pike with some wide shoulders will pull back. It's one of those 10-pound females that's going to be dumping a load of eggs in about six weeks in a shallow back bay full of vegetation.

A good spot to set up your tip-ups on this lake is on the 15- to 20-foot breakline on the northwest corner in front of the bay where the Sandy River washes in. If the fish aren't moving, I may even move a bit shallower to try and find some on that weedline in 10 to 12 feet of water.

I like catching bigger pike, so I use bigger suckers. That means more time between bites, but I can live with that.

Big Sandy is actually known for its high numbers of northerns rather than its trophy fish, but when those bigger pike congregate at the mouths of the bays, you can count on some lunkers being there. In a situation like this, I believe higher numbers of pike means more big ones, and I prove this whenever I venture out to the staging areas on Big Sandy.

A couple of other great staging areas are in front of the two big bays on the west side. Anywhere the vegetation tapers off into a weedless muck bottom is a good place to set a sucker minnow about 2 feet off the bottom. It's a waiting game when you fish like this, and the only thing a sonar can do for you is help define the bottom content you're looking for.

Lake Alexander
When I'm looking for big pike, I often find myself on lakes that are not bulging at the seams with populations of this species. I'm more often on a lake where there are decent numbers of fish, but the ones there are going to be respectable in size and put up a good fight. It's a tradeoff. Where there are fewer pike, there are often bigger ones. On Lake Alexander in Morrison County, that's the program.

One of my favorite pike spots on Alexander is on the west end at the narrows where it goes from the small western basin into the main lake. There is a pronounced inside turn in the main basin that pokes into the narrows. There's a small shelf between the narrows. and then the bottom drops off quickly into about 25 feet of water. Big northerns move back and forth from the main basin to the hole, so if you drop a minnow down on a tip-up, you'll ambush a few during this migration.

The water clarity is very good on Alexander, so I enjoy dropping the camera down a hole near the tip-ups and watching for pike that are cruising. Sometimes just one will be slowly meandering around the minnows, while other times I can see a group of four or more pike circle the wagons before they feast. It's fun to watch.

CRAPPIES
Moccasin Lake
My favorite crappie lakes are those that have some deep holes where the crappies will stage during the late season. But I also want a lake that is somewhat fertile, so the fish have good growth rates and provide some quality angling. I've found this on Moccasin Lake just south of Leech Lake. The deepest hole in the lake is just south of the access, but my favorite two holes are the 50-footers to the north.

Crappie fishing shouldn't be a hit-or-miss situation right now. Schools of crappies show up real well on the sonar, so you know you're on fish. It's just a matter of getting them to bite.