Outdoor News‘ Terry Tuma says good duck-hunting weather — cloudy, misty days — is good weather for catching northern pike. With their snake-like shape and dagger teeth, it seems only natural that pike are natural-born predators, and aggressive ones at that. Tuma explains his best tips for catching aggressive pike.

pierre_pike 1 Photo by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

For a tough bite, run live-bait rigs up against the weedline. Construct (or buy) these rigs with wire or the pike will bite them off. If using minnows for your jigs and rigs, shiners are the No. 1 baits, followed by four- to five-inch suckers.

I’ve also caught a lot of pike through the years using jig spins – a jig with a spinner blade and a Power Grub and sucker minnow trolled very slow. And use one with a wide hook gap to really set that hook.

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Photos: Alaska Department of Fish and Game (top); Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (above)