With the constant influx of new pike fishing lures, it can be hard to keep up with what’s hot and what’s not. In this article, we will be giving you an insight into the hottest pike lures and what has made them so successful.
1. Rapala Super Shadow Rap Glide
The Rapala Super Shadow Rap Glide is the Finish lure building giants first commercially produced gliding swimbait and if you are new to the swimbait game, then you are in for a real treat. Swimbaits are probably one of the most versatile lures on the market. Providing a realistic profile and swimming action. Glidebaits can be worked many ways from a subtle S-swimming motion to being erratically fished to produce a sharp left and right darting action.
The Rapale Super Shadow Rap Glide is an easy to fish lure that beginners will have dancing through the water in no time. The Rapala Glide also comes equipped with swivel hook hangers, which reduces the chance of predators using the weight of the lure as leverage to throw the bait.
Pro Tip: Swap out the factory trebles for UV coated trebles to add additional attractors and strike points. Add a split ring to the front eyelet to enhance the lures action.
2. Strike Pro Miuras Mouse
The Strike Pro Miuras Mouse has become a staple in all lure anglers arsenal! With its unique deer hair sculpin design and soft plastic twin tail, this makes the Miuras Mouse a very versatile hybrid tail bait.
Brought to fame by Strike Pro staff, Pierre Monjarret in the final day of YouTube series PikeFight, Pierre secured victory for CWC by landing a behemoth 30lb plus pike on the Miuras Mouse! Since then the Miuras Mouse has been taming large pike all over Europe and has accounted for a 45lb UK specimen.
So what makes the bait so special? The bait itself moves a lot of water thanks to its flat nose and deer hair mane. This mane pulsates whilst being worked in a jerking of jigging style manner. This in itself creates a large profiled bait that can be easily spotted in clear or murky water conditions.
The soft plastic twin tail provides additional movement and vibration and with the narrower tail design, provide the bait with an exceptional hook up ratio.
Pro Tip: Add a 7mm split ring on the front of the lure to help reduce the chance of pike using the lure as leverage to detach itself from the lure. Double up the split rings on the front hook hanger to improve hook up rates. Replace the twin tail with a pig shad to add another dimension to the action of the lure.
3. Westin Bullteez
The Westin Bullteez is no stranger to most predator anglers that know the Westin brand.
Last year we placed the Shad Teez in our top pike lures for obvious reasons, however, the Bullteez offers something a bit different. It incorprates the iconic Shad Teez paddle tail but has a wider body profile. This combination provides the Bullteez with a more aggressive body roll than the Shad teez and the wider body profile moves a lot more water.
The bait can also be slow rolled (retrieved at a slow pace) or retrieved fast without the bait keeling over. If you're looking for a big pike bait, then the 23cm is a must have.
Pro Tip: Add a shallow screw to the nose of the bait to increase the lures versatility, by doing this you can fish your lure shallow and by clipping a tungsten fastach weight onto the shallow screw you can have the Bullteez run deeper without having to replace the shallow screw with a weighted cork screw - increasing the longevity of your lures.
4. Strike Pro Buster Jerk
A truly classic bait that always makes a comeback appearance year after year. This ABS moulded plastic jerkbait, has all the attributes of a great pike lure. At the end of each jerk/twitch the lure produces a mesmerising body roll which looks like a distressed fish. It darts left to right in a very unpredictable manner and to top it all off, it sports an internal rattle that acts as an extra trigger mechanism. The Buster Jerk is a classic jerkbait that should be part of every lure anglers armoury.
Pro Tip: Not a lot anglers know this, but the buster jerk has two internal rattle chambers, to engage the the second rattle chamber, try and jerk the rod up and this will engage the vertical rattle chamber adding another dimension to the baits rattle.
5. Salmo Slider
The Salmo Slider was created in 2002 and since then it has become one of the best selling jerkbaits in the European market, often copied but never bettered. The Slider has become a confidence lure for many lure anglers around the UK. It's unique profile and its erratic left-right darting action seems to tame pike in every water it's cast.
Pro Tip: The Salmo Slider comes in both a sinking and floating model. The floating model can be extremely versatile, swapping out the split rings and hooks for a slightly heavier gauge will see the Slider run a foot or two under the surface.
6. Rapala Super Shad Rap
The Super Shad Rap is probably the most iconic crankbait on the market. Having tamed multiple species worldwide, the balsa constructed Super Shad Rap has never changed since being designed in the early 80’s. This very versatile lure that can be either cast or trolled and has claimed many specimen pike. Including pike of 39lb plus!
7. Rapala Soft Olio
The Rapala Olio, is Rapala's new twin tail offering. These shad profile baits come equipped with two tails that displace a lot of water and can be worked on the slowest retrieve due to the supple plastic - making them ideal for targeting lethargic pike.
Pro Tip: If you combo up the Olio with a VMC Mustache Rig you can have a more affordable version of a Miraus Mouse.
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