Video tip: Why the biggest pike are found in clear water

Do you want to catch more and bigger northern pike this season? Maybe your new personal best? Then target the clearest lakes—or the parts of lakes that offer the clearest water. Because all else being equal, clear water rules for producing the biggest baddest fish.

The reason for the super strong relationship between the condition of the big toothy critters and clear water is because it allows them to feed so much more successfully. How much better? Well, in water with one- to three- metres (3 to 9 feet) of visibility, with every one-metre (three-foot) increase in transparency, the body weight of the fish increases 6 per cent.

It’s well known that pike like to use weeds as cover to ambush their prey. Well, something else to remember is that these weeds are typically much more lush and vibrant in clear lakes. And the same holds true in the clear-water sections of lakes that offer a range of transparencies.

This tip is the subject of this week’s short Fish Talk With The Doc video that I recorded for the boys at the Fish ‘N Canada TV show, and that you can watch by clicking on the link below.

Now, go catch the pike of a lifetime.