- Best water temperature
- 66°F19°C
- Active range
- 55 to 77°F13 to 25°C
- Feeds most
- Dawn and duskLow light
- Typical size
- 28 in70 cm
- Big ones reach
- 51 in55 lb
- Water
- FreshwaterAmbush predator
Northern pike feed hardest in water around 66°F (19°C) and stay active from about 55 to 77°F. They feed hardest in low light, around dawn and dusk, with a lull in the middle of a bright day. Start with a casting spoon in chrome/silver, a spinnerbait in white skirt with silver blades, a musky bucktail in silver blade/black body.
The northern pike is the long, toothy ambush predator of cool, weedy water across the northern United States, Canada and Europe. It strikes hard, grows big, and will hit almost anything that moves past its weed bed.
Northern pike water temperature
Northern pike feed best at 66°F (19°C), active from about 55 to 77°F (13 to 25°C). That band comes from the same species model BiteCast scores with, and it is why the Fish Score for northern pike rises and falls with the water rather than the air.
Pike like cool water. They spawn in flooded marshes and shallow bays right after ice-out, feed hard in the 50s and 60s°F, and peak around 66°F. When the shallows pass the mid 70s in summer, the biggest pike move to deeper, cooler water and feed less, which is why spring and fall produce the trophies.
For a side-by-side view of every species, see the full water temperature table or the guide to reading water temperature.
When northern pike bite
Pike are sight hunters that feed through the day, with the strongest windows at dawn and dusk. Overcast, windy days are often best. They are one of the few fish that bite well in the cold, which makes them a favorite ice-fishing target.
Where to find northern pike
Weed beds, drop-offs and creek mouths in cool lakes and rivers across the northern hemisphere.
Weed edges, the mouths of bays, weedy flats and the openings in lily pads. Big pike hold on deeper weed lines, points and rock humps next to baitfish schools once the water warms.
Best baits and lures for northern pike
Ranked from BiteCast's bait data, with the colors to throw as the water gets dirtier. Natural baits show how to rig them instead of a color.
| # | Bait | Clear water | Stained | Muddy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casting SpoonMetal and blades | Chrome/Silver, Brass/Gold, Copper | Red & White, Blue/Silver, Yellow/Black | Fluorescent Pink, Chartreuse/Gold, Firetiger |
| 2 | SpinnerbaitMetal and blades | White Skirt with Silver Blades | White/Chartreuse Skirt with Gold/Silver Blades | Firetiger, Black & Blue Skirt with Gold Blade |
| 3 | Musky BucktailMetal and blades | Silver Blade/Black Body, Gold Blade/Brown Body, Black/Silver | Gold Blade/Orange Body, Firetiger, Black/Orange Double Willow | Solid Black, Chartreuse/Black, Silver Blade/Red Tail |
| 4 | Suspending JerkbaitHard bait | Yellow Perch, Pro Blue, Ghost Minnow | Clown, Gold/Black, Table Rock Shad | Firetiger, Chartreuse Shad, Matte Bone |
| 5 | Jointed SwimbaitHard bait | Rainbow Trout, Bluegill, Shad | Ghost Pink, Gold, Ayu | Matte Bone, Chartreuse/White, Black/Silver |
| 6 | Hollow-Body FrogHard bait | Natural Green Frog, Yellow/White Belly | Chartreuse Frog, Orange Belly | Solid Black, Dark Brown, Purple |
| 7 | Bladed ChatterbaitMetal and blades | Green Pumpkin, Ghost Shad | White/Chartreuse, Bluegill | Black & Blue, Firetiger |
| 8 | PropbaitHard bait | Bone, Ghost Shad, Chrome/Black | Perch, Clown, Yellow Frog | Black/Orange, Firetiger, Solid White |
Spoons, spinnerbaits, inline bucktails and jerkbaits worked along weed edges catch pike everywhere. Use a steel or heavy fluorocarbon leader, because pike teeth cut ordinary line. Slow the retrieve in cold water; burn it in warm water.
What northern pike eat
In the wild northern pike eat roach and other cyprinids, perch, juvenile baitfish, smaller pike, frogs, crayfish. Matching the size and color of that forage is the single most reliable way to pick a bait.
About the northern pike
A large elongated predatory freshwater fish with a duck-bill snout, large mouth full of sharp teeth, and pale bean-shaped spots over an olive-green body.
It is widely distributed across the cool temperate northern hemisphere, favouring weedy margins, bays, and slow stretches of lakes and rivers where it ambushes prey.
Pike are solitary ambush predators that lie still among vegetation and strike with a rapid lunge, eating mainly fish but also taking amphibians and small waterfowl.
Anglers value its hard fighting runs, with fish commonly reaching 5 to 15 pounds and rod-caught specimens exceeding 50 pounds in parts of its range.
Found in: United States, Austria, Åland Islands, Belgium, Belarus, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Sweden, Slovenia, Türkiye, Ukraine.
Common questions
What water temperature do northern pike bite best in?
Northern pike feed hardest around 66°F (19°C) and stay active from about 55 to 77°F (13 to 25°C). Below the band they slow down and feed less often; above it, warm water holds less oxygen and they go deeper or feed at night.
What time of day do northern pike bite?
Northern pike feed hardest in low light, around dawn and dusk, with a lull in the middle of a bright day. Cloud cover, stained water and wind chop stretch the low-light window through more of the day.
What is the best bait for northern pike?
In BiteCast's bait rankings the top picks for northern pike are casting spoon, spinnerbait, musky bucktail. In clear water go natural (chrome/silver, brass/gold); in muddy water go dark or bright (fluorescent pink, chartreuse/gold).
