Picking Michigan’s Top Pike Waters

Amazing boats and electronics, high-end rods and reels, hundreds of pretty lures even if we just use five of them – all of this matters in our fishing. But it’s all secondary to what matters most – where we choose to fish. Getting on the best quality waters for our target species is the first and most important step, so let me present some top Michigan bets for nice pike, along with strategies for finding others.

Digging into the Data…

It only took me a few decades to get the hint and use it more, but lots of invaluable data is available from fisheries professionals to help us narrow our search for quality fish of any species. Some of it is basically hiding in plain sight like published waterbody surveys of lakes and rivers near where you live or vacation.

This information is readily available by county on the Michigan DNR website, where ideally, you’ll find surveys that are not too dated, show quality pike sampled, and/or indications of at least decent pike growth. Realistically, while waters with numerous, slow-growing pike can still produce a few big ones, your odds are much better on waters where pike reach a nice size without having to live as long.

So, speaking of growth, for a book project I worked on, and for this article, I dug deeper into that important factor. I was fortunate to obtain a list of top Michigan pike waters by growth rate and note it’s far from all-inclusive, considering not all that many waters were surveyed and waters under 500 acres in size are not shown to avoid drawing too much attention to favorite small, vulnerable waters some of us know.

Also, waters listed had a minimum number of fish sampled over time, to consider the population substantial enough for fishing purposes. Credit for the data goes to the Michigan DNR Fisheries Division, along with the Institute for Fisheries Research at the University of Michigan, who teamed up to provide ample pike growth data in statistical form for this purpose, drawn from year 2000 to 2023 waterbody surveys: See the table on page 60 for the… Michigan’s Top 20 Northern Pike Waters by Growth Rate (waterbody and county with growth in inches above state average)

Additionally, our state has improved how its Master Angler fish of any species are depicted on the DNR website, which is now through an interactive map approach. I used it for northern pike Master Angler trends, namely where documented great fish weren’t just the rare trophy. Consistency over time was the prerequisite. Not surprisingly, these waters, while not necessarily in the top growth rate waters, had growth within 1-inch of the state average where it was available in the data, which fisheries managers find acceptable. That, coupled with being large and diverse enough for some fish to live longer, seems to be why these waters more consistently produce trophy fish over the long haul. Therefore, here’s a current list using Master Angler Awards with some supporting basis: See the table on page 60 for the…Michigan’s Top 10 Northern Pike Waters by Master Angler Awards (MAs).

One more consideration with Master Angler fish is there’s no way of knowing how high of participation rate is involved. My hunch is it’s low, probably a small percentage of the trophies caught, especially on the largest waters that tend to have lots of people fish them annually. Some likely don’t have that much targeted pike pressure, though, like coastal Lake Superior areas, which could make them more noteworthy.

I’ve never submitted Master Angler pike, but that’s also because my qualifying fish have been from smaller, more vulnerable waters not on those lists. I’ve been fortunate to fish most of the places shown above, but mainly a trip or a few, only a couple more significantly. No 40-inch plus brutes for me from them yet, a few over 36 inches before the Master Angler standard was changed to that in recent times. Regrettably, I don’t fish them much since probably like most anglers, I mostly visit waters within an hour of my home.

My southwest Michigan town isn’t close to any of those, but it sure has some big pike around. Four of my local, small, favorite quality pike venues also have fairly current waterbody surveys, and not surprisingly, their findings were a lot like mine; some darn nice fish were sampled. Decent to good growth shown in their data was evident too, such as a recent 40-inch, 10-year old fish.

So, I share this aspect to encourage you to look closely at any surveys on smaller waters near where you live or vacation in our state. My area sure wouldn’t be considered a top big pike destination, so if they are available near me, you might be pleasantly surprised. You can also reach out to your area’s Fisheries Biologist; no one knows more about the fish populations in a given area. Our state’s professionals have been very responsive over the years when I’ve inquired.

Additional Strategies…

This would be better covered by another article sometime, but let me offer a few suggestions on finding your own sweet spots for quality Michigan pike. Despite all the great data mentioned, budget constraints and other factors allow for a relatively small number of waters to be surveyed as a percentage of all the potentially pikey places we are blessed with in our state.

Therefore, and this is a tough duty, but someone has to…we simply have to get out and fish promising bets for quality pike.

A couple of main factors to consider are tougher-to-access waters and readily accessed but overlooked or all-but-forgotten pike waters. The tough access places tend to have the most potential, in my experience, with kayaks or canoes usually being the best way to sample them. The small river stretches alone that I’ve stumbled on in my efforts have brought my favorite, long-term quality pike fisheries.

They simply don’t get fished much for pike because they can be a pain in the bass. Downed timber blocking entire creeks or rivers, oftentimes no improved landings, just dragging in and out at bridge crossings, it sure can be a work out. But it’s also a fun adventure; even if you don’t find a given river stretch to show much pike potential, you’ll probably deal with other fun river predators like smallmouths.

For better pike prospects, though, look at satellite view maps for frequent river turns to offer more depth and areas with adjacent marsh along the stream or up a tributary for spawning habitat. Examples of great finds are too numerous to share here and too small to publicize, but let me share one example to help motivate your search.

Last spring, I discovered a new small river stretch in my region that I’d overlooked since it was beyond my preferred one-hour drive radius. The very first half-day visit brought 17 pike, though that’s not too unusual. What was a rarity, okay more like epic for me at least, was an average size over 30 inches, with three of them over 36 inches, and one of those the elusive, coveted 40 inch plus beast. I almost slapped myself with the paddle a couple of times, thinking I was dreaming of a top Canadian wilderness pike trip. But I was in southern Michigan with busy interstate traffic roaring in the distance.

Another consideration is fishing easily accessed, even heavy pleasure boat traffic lakes that seem to be no longer recognized as good pike waters. In my south Michigan region, it’s mainly due to overdevelopment, removing or limiting spawning habitat, and sadly in more recent times, overuse of aquatic herbicides. Recruitment of pike is low; few may remain, but they grow well, even to very impressive sizes.

These busy lakes sure don’t look good for pike, but they can offer very pleasant surprises, including some true Michigan monsters. The best times to get a read on them can be early in the season when the nice fish that remain collect near wherever they are trying to use to spawn, such as a limited marshy area up a boat channel, the rest of the lake completely developed. Or, and this may sound unconventional for pike, but the very hottest weather of the summer when they are squeezed just above the thermocline where it intercepts quality structure, which is often just a very small percentage of a lake’s area.

Again, more coverage on finding your own great pike bets can be in another article here some time or in a new pike book I know. For now, I hope this helps in your quest for our state’s very best pike waters!

The author’s new book “Diary of a Mad Pike Fan,” with a focus on quality pike fishing in Michigan and nearby states, is available on Amazon and other online retailers.