Hey there! If you’re looking for the best pike lures, you’re in the right place.
Pike are known for being aggressive and putting up a fierce fight. At times, they’ll eat almost anything while other times, you’ll need more attractive lures. This is why you’ll need a variety of lures that can reach different depths, go through thick weeds, and of different colours. The main lures that work for pike are spoons, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and jerkbaits.
My favourite is the Johnson Silver Minnow. Great for long casts, able to glide through weeds, and attractively coloured, you can’t go wrong with it.
Even the best lures don’t work all the time though, which is why you need to check out the 11 other pike fishing lures on this list. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I’ve actually used each of them and caught pike with ease, which is why they’re on this list.
Let’s get started.
Our Top 12 Picks
- Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon (Best Overall)
- Eppinger Original Daredevle Spoon (Best For Sunny Days)
- Guideline Spoon (Best For Cloudy Days)
- Berkley PowerBait Ripple Shad Swimbait (Best Scent)
- Storm WildEye Live Pike Swimbait (Best Lifelikeness)
- Mister Twister Double Tail Swimbait (Best For Deep Waters)
- Savage Gear 3D Hard Pike Swimbait (Best Swimbait Durability)
- Rapala X-Rap Peto Swimbait (Best For Large Pike)
- Booyah Pikee Spinnerbait (Best Spinnerbait Durability)
- Rapala Super Shad Rap Crankbait (Best Crankbait)
- Rapala X-Rap XR10 Jerkbait (Best Action)
- Rapala Husky Jerkbait (Best Buoyancy)
Best Spoons
Spoons are a must-have for northern pike anglers. These northern pike fishing lures may not be the sexiest lure, but they will put big fish in your boat. With spoons, it’s simple. As long as it’s big and flashy, it’ll be good for catching northern pike.
Best Overall
1. Johnson Silver Minnow
This lure earned its spot as our number 1 lure for its well-roundedness. It’s equipped with a brass blade designed for long casting and plated with pure silver for the flashiest lure you’ll ever see. Come rain or shine, the bright reflection won’t be missed by any pike. Most importantly, it’s weedless. The metal weed guard allows it to cruise through thick vegetation with ease, where the big pikes are. Finally, the natural wobble imitates baitfish flawlessly. The Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon is one lure that won’t disappoint for northern pike fishing.
Best For Sunny Days
2. Eppinger Original Daredevle
Next up is one of the best northern pike lures for sunny days. The red and white design is very visually appealing not just to humans, but pike too. On sunny days, you’ll need colours like red and white that contrast with the sun to stand out in the water. And while not as smoothly as the Johnson Silver Minnow, it’ll still pass through weeds unscathed. Pike anglers who like to go northern pike fishing under the hot sun need to give this lure a shot.
Best For Cloudy Days
3. Guideline
Featuring one of the oldest lure designs in fishing history, the Guideline Spoon is a classic in any angler’s tackle box for targeting northern pike. The Five Of Diamonds design makes itself seen by pikes with no effort on cloudy days, where there are no sun rays to reflect. You can’t afford not to have this lure for northern pike fishing on cloudy or rainy days.
Best Swimbaits
Never mind pike, no fish can resist the temptation of a realistic and lifelike swimbait. Make sure you have at least 1 or 2 of these in your tackle box.
Best Scent
4. Berkley PowerBait Ripple Shad
This lure will constantly give off the sweet scent of PowerBait that pikes are suckers for. A large surface area enables this lure to emit more of the scent. And the special segmented body provides more vibration and lifelike action.
Best Lifelikeness
5. Storm WildEye Live Pike
Some things can’t be put into words. This lure’s realistic look can’t be described with words, but can only be seen by the naked eye. Firstly, the internally weighted body makes it swim in an incredibly lifelike manner. On top of that, the realistic colour patterns and shape are reinforced with 3D holographic WildEye, holographic swimming flash foil, and a tough yet soft outer body. The result? It looks no different from a live pike, making it irresistible to the cannibalistic pike.
Best For Deep Waters
6. Mister Twister Double Tail
The double tail twister enables this lure to swiftly cut through the water and reach deep water. During hot seasons like summer, pike prefer deeper cooler depths. When that time comes, you’ll be glad you got this lure.
Best Swimbait Durability
7. Savage Gear 3D Hard Pike
Pikes have one of the strongest bites and will tear into your lure with no mercy. Not only can hard lures better withstand those sharp teeth, but its durability is further enhanced by the heavy-duty treble hooks and tough wire joining the sections.
Best For Large Pike
8. Rapala X-Rap Peto
Made to target big pike, the wide sweeping motion of the tail along with the body roll of this lure is especially attractive to larger pikes.
Best Spinnerbait
Spinnerbaits are popular among anglers for pike fishing in thick weeds due to their framed design which helps prevent weeds from getting onto the hook. While not as effective as spoons in keeping weeds away, they offer much better action.
Best Spinnerbait Durability
9. Booyah Pikee
Created with giant bass, muskies, and northern pike in mind, the ultra-tough Vibra-FLX wire frame can stand up to powerful jaws. During retrieval, this lure will put out lots of flash and vibration, beckoning even the most sluggish pike to come out from the weeds and see what juicy prey is making this ruckus.
Best Crankbait
Crankbaits, like swimbaits, will work for any species of fish. The crankbait wiggles and wobbles in the water like baitfish. To the unsuspecting pike, your crankbait looks no different from baitfish. That’s why it’s one of the best lures for pike fishing.
Best Crankbait
10. Rapala Super Shad Rap
The Rapala Super Shad Rap mimics baitfish perfectly, with the colour scheme closely resembling baitfish. The sturdy Abachi Wood construction also helps the Rapala Super Shad Rap to take on the powerful bites from aggressive pike.
Best Jerkbaits
The stop-and-go action of jerkbaits never fails to attract pikes. If on a particular day, all the other lures don’t seem to do the trick, try a jerkbait.
Best Action
11. Rapala X-Rap XR10
The streamlined body enables this lure to slice through water and dart around, similar to how a distressed fish would panic and move in a frenzy. Coupled with the rattle action to draw pikes’ attentions to this “struggling fish”, it’s one of the best actions you’ll find in a jerkbait.
Best Buoyancy
12. Rapala Husky
When you need a lure that you can put at any depth and not have to worry about, this is it. The Rapala Husky Jerkbait can stay suspended at any depth, conveniently allowing you to go pike fishing in both shallow and deeper water with just one lure.
Pike Feeding Habits
As mentioned above, pikes are aggressive and predatory. They like to conceal themselves in vegetation and ambush their prey. They eat just about anything smaller than them. This includes frogs, other fish species, and on occasion, their own species.
Still, some meals are more delicious to them than others, which is why you’ll need these pike fishing lures.
My Verdict
We’ve gone through plenty of great lures, and perhaps one reason why there are so many lures that work well for pike fishing is because of the wide variety in its diet.
Nonetheless, I maintain my stand that the Johnson Silver Minnow is the best lure you can get for pikes. And lucky for you, since lures don’t cost much to make, even a top-notch one like the Johnson Silver Minnow won’t make a dent in your wallet.
