Dead bait size

Newbie going out on cooks bay when its ready. Going to try dead bait for pike for the first time. I’m going with frozen store baits.what size do you recommend to use?....thanks again kevin

I’m certainly no specialist on dead baiting pike, however IMO, there is no such thing as too big.

On a trip a couple of summers ago I saw some of the biggest mounted pike I have ever encountered... upon speaking to the shop owner he said “you think those are big, you should see the ones I have in the freezer waiting to be mounted”.

I’m talking about 30-40lb monsters. The guy catching them was the baitshop owner. I asked him what he was catching them on... dead bait, and dead bait only. The suckers he showed me were a solid 16-18”.

He’d bring them out live, and kill them just before dunking them. He was adamant that the big big fish would never hit live bait. Judging by the fish I saw, he knew what he was doing.

Either way, after seeing the size of fish that hit giant baits... there is no question in my mind... nothing is too big! 😁

An example... this pike took this 10” Jake while chasing muskies a couple years back. Bold and ambitious fish obviously. Poor guy got pretty chewed up, so he was lunch for me.

I should add... Simcoe is home to some monster pike no doubt. My biggest was just under 40”, and I’ve lost a few that were much bigger.

Big bait, big fish! Lol

When I was 14 years old my dad would take me pike fishing in the mouth of the Holland River and we used 2 lbs suckers for bait......there were monsters in there. Big Muskie back then too. One measured a inch short of 6ft and weighed 44 lbs.

I am 69 now so 55 years ago.....crappie I am old. That was in 1963.

It is my experience that the Waterwolf will take any size.

Very cool story! Simcoe is so vast it’s ridiculous... you just know there are some pike and Musky in there that are record class, not to mention some lakers that have to be pushing 40+ lbs. I would never have believed it, but after a few 20+ Lb greasers, I have zero doubt I’m just scratching the surface.

We always joke about GB and the Muskies that live in the depths... never seen a lure, and likely never will. The giants that lurk... it’s what keeps us coming back!

ok I'll do it.....71" musky ?

Lol, at LEAST!

In reality, genetic freaks do happen.

Not calling him a freak, but if you look at humans in general and someone said there was an 8’ 11” guy wandering around... you’d think it was impossible too.

Nature does some ridiculous things. 😉

I had a 15 inch sucker minnow hooked up for 2 days on simcoe. Nothing took it a few smaller pike poked at it. Took it off hooked a nice 4 inch on and within minutes had a nice pike on the ice .

Thanks for answering my post guys. I think I’ll go one large and one avg size....now all I need is solid ice for my first ice pike..hoping for some newbie luck...Good luck this season guys

Agree with BlackCrowe13. There really is nothing too big. This summer fishing up north, I saw about a 4lb pike trying to eat a 3lb pike. It had absolutely no chance but it didn't stop it from trying.

That said if you're just hoping to pop a few flags stick with something in the 5-10 inch range. Getting skunked with really big baits is not uncommon, but when you do gef bit...