Most every man dreams of being out on the water on a beautifull fall day in anticipation of catching a giant Northern Pike. Feeling the line shoot off your reel like a cannon shooting while your hanging on for dear life, as you get the first glimpse of the monster Northern Pike that sucked in your bait. If you have ever desired to land your trophy Northern Pike of a lifetime and you would like to learn and understand more, than this is for you.

You need to find a lake that has and is known for big pike fishing. There is nothing quite like the lakes of Northern and central Manitoba because they are abundant with trophy pike. Once you arrive to the lake, the next question is where do you start? I'm sure you've heard of the rule, 80% of the fish are caught in 20% of the water, and this rule especially applies here. In late fall the cabbage weeds have established full growth and as fall and winter approach the pike are looking for a large meal that will sustain them for the grueling winters that this portion of the globe has.

When you find a good looking cabbage weed bed, fish the outer edges of the weeds. Approach the weedbed slowly so you don't spook the large pike. After you have worked the outer weed edges, start fishing the center and then the backside of the weed bed.

Although it's fun, if you are catching smaller pike, it usually is not a good sign of finding the giant northern pike there. If the smaller fish are around, that means they feel that they are not in any eminant danger of being eaten by larger fish, therefore the likelihood of a big pike being ther is not very good. Trophy Northern Pike are very territorial and usually live in the "prime real estate" of the weeds. Prime cabbage real estate can be best described as transitional edges of the weed beds such as drop offs or rocky terrains next to the weeds, which sometimes can be inside turn areas as well.

As we get later into the fishing season, the key for catching larger northern pike is to use bigger fishing lures. No lure is too large. I have had numerous twelve inch fishing lures inhaled all the way down. Large buck tails or jerk baits usually work the best.

One of the most exciting things is to see a monster northern swimming right after your fishing lure, but seeing the fish bite also can be one of the biggest pitfalls. The worst thing a fisherman could do is to set the hook before you feel the fish hit. Most of the time if you set the hook and you didn't feel the bite; you'll not catch the fish. Feel the fish bit before you set will eliminate many heartbreaks.

The greatest sign of a good cabbage weed bed is when you have set the hook on a giant northern pike and you see numerous weeds getting cut off with your line. This is when you know that you probably have hooked a trophy northern pike of a lifetime.