Hunting Minnesota's pike is more than just a clever play on words. It describes how anglers need to approach this elusive predator.

Northerns are the most widespread game fish in our state, but almost all of them are 24 inches or shorter. Pike are a very eager species to bite, but most Minnesotans who spend a lot of time on the water have yet to catch one over 30 inches. The reason is because pike in the 20- to 24-inch range are the highest proportion of fish caught, versus those released.

"The rule of thumb seems to be that if it's over 24 inches, it's coming out of the lake, and that makes it tough to grow big fish," said Rod Pierce, a fisheries research scientist in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Grand Rapids office.

The way to grow large pike is to have plenty of habitat and high-protein forage base, such as tullibees. Lakes with a large basin and cool-water forage base are best for growing big northerns, and all the lakes listed in this article fit that description. Also, all are located in the northern half of our state, which is where Minnesota's native pike population originated.

Pierce said that while lakes in northern Minnesota are well known for their pike production, there are a lot of lakes throughout the southern portion with big fish. The trouble comes with pinpointing these lakes.

"These lakes don't have good natural reproduction, but the ones that are produced grow fast, though they don't usually exceed 30 inches," Pierce said.

Managing Minnesota's pike is difficult because a lot of anglers consider it to be a second-class fish, said Bob Halvorson, president of the Minnesota Darkhouse & Angling Association. "Almost everybody in the state loves to catch or spear them, but not enough people seem to appreciate them," he said.

Both Pierce and Halvorson said the difficulty in managing northern populations is dealing with the diverse ways that people view pike. Some see the fishery as meant for catching mostly for consumption, while others see it as a fishery that should be totally protected once the fish reach a length of 24 inches. Still others feel that protected slots are critical, but are willing to yield a trophy fish for the wall over a set length.

Either way, there's a boatload of lakes in Minnesota where trophy pike can be found. These are some of the finest around.

UPPER RED LAKE
Jason Boser guides out of Upper Red Lake. Most of his clients go for the crappie fishing, but more are asking about the tremendous pike population.

"It's amazing how big these fish are on average," said Boser. "And they are getting bigger."

His average pike last year on Upper Red Lake was between 36 and 43 inches. "I'd like to see that average stay high, and the only way it will is if anglers throw back the big ones," Boser said.