Northern Pike with a demeanor unmatched, are one of the most aggressive and hardest fighting freshwater gamefish.  Pike are abundant in all of the lakes throughout the Clearwater-Pipestone chain of Lakes.

Most pike average 2 - 8 pounds, although trophy pike in the 40" or 20 lb plus class are caught each season. Our lake's have a slot size of 27.5 - 35.4 inches, pike in this length range must be released. Northern Pike fishing season is open year round. The Ontario record Northern Pike weighed 42.12 pounds!

Early season pike are found near their spawning grounds in shallow weedy bays close to creeks and rivers. Northern's summer and fall habitat consists of weedlines, points and humps. Generally early spring and late fall produce the largest fish. Casting or trolling over weed beds and along weed lines is a popular method to catch these aggresive predators.

Think bright colors when fishing for these toothy critters. Your tackle should include a wide range of artificial lures including: Tandem spinnerbaits in the 3/8 to 1 ounce size with gold, silver or orange blades matched with white or florescent skirts. Larger spoons, including the five of diamonds and red/white Daredevil are a Canadian tradition.

Inline spinners such as the Mepp's Musky Killer. Imitation minnow lures such as Rapala Husky Jerks and Storm Thunderstick. Rat-L-Traps in larger sizes, emphasis on red, blue, silver and gold. Large jigs 3/8 - 3/4 oz tipped with 4-6 inch twister tails. Under most conditions, Northerns will eagerly attack just about every kind of live and artificial bait presented to them.

A good rod and reel combination to pursue lunker gators with is a 6 - 7 ft medium heavy action rod with a bait casting reel spooled with 12 - 30 lb test line. Braided line such as Power Pro is an excellent choice with a 6 - 12" leader attaching your lure. This 39 inch waterwolf was caught close to the lodge still-fishing with a bobber and live sucker minnow. It was safely released after pictures.

Many anglers prefer to use spinning rods and reels, which is fine. Many huge pike have unintentionally been caught while jigging for walleye using lighter equipment. It is suggested to use at least a 10 lb test line with wire leader.

If you and your fishing party prefer to be the only ones on the lake, we have a boat and motor cached on Panarama Lake. The portage adventure begins by boating into a small bay on Clearwater Lake, about 2 miles from the lodge. Moor your boat and hike in about 75 yards to our boat cached on Cedar Lake. It takes 10 minutes to cross Cedar Lake to the trail entrance to Panarama Lake.

The hike into the boat cached on Panarama Lake takes about 10 minutes. This catch and release lake is a deep clear waterbody dotted with many islands, bays and weedbeds. Panarama, one of our most beautiful lakes, provides the best opportunity to not only catch a lot of pike but trophy-class pike as well. Guests can fish for pike, small and largemouth bass on Cedar Lake, normal fishing rules apply on this lake.

Many of our guests request a pike shore lunch rather than the traditional walleye lunch. We entertain you to come see for yourself and possibly to catch that dream fish of a lifetime! Northern Pike from our cooler Canadian Shield Lakes make excellent tablefare when properly cleaned with the Y-bones removed.