Isle Royale Forums

Planning a trip and was wondering if anyone had any recommendation on some of the good pike lakes.

Check out the Park Service list of fish species for each lake : http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/brochures.htm.

There is minimal fishing pressure on IR inland lakes so you should have good luck. How do you plan on
moving around on the island (Lake superior boating, canoe, hiking)? What part of island do plan on visiting?

So far, I have caught my best quality (best avg size) and biggest pike right in McCargoe Cove. Chippewa harbor, Whittlesey and Wood are all loaded with pike also. All my trips have been early in the year.

Brady Cove (at the head of McCargoe) is loaded with huge pike.

We've had some success with pike in the little bay behind Birch Island at the mouth of McCargo Cove. Caught a few there and had several others following the hooked one to our boat. We were kayak fishing at the time. It's been a few years, but there was a big beaver dam back there. It goes back a pretty far way.

We caught quite a few nice sized pike in Lake Richie. We just drifted along the edges of the weed banks and caught one just about every 20 feet (where there was good cover).

Last spring/early summer Wood Lake was just nuts with Northern. (I'm from Minnesota. That's what we tend to call them. That or Northern Pike.)
I was reeling one in on every tenth cast or so, both from shore and the canoe. Only problem is that there was only two of us, and we couldn't land one small enough for dinner. It would have been totally wasteful to filet one of them up. (It sure was fun, though!)
I did fight one for nearly thirty minutes, and when it surfaced near the canoe, we realized we couldn't get it in the boat. It had great length and impressive girth, and was just too awkward and heavy to try to haul over the side. I eventually was able to get the lure out and let it go. (It's probably waiting for you.)

Lake Eva!

chickenbone lake has some monster northern

nice fish irgrads!