How to catch monster pike

So, you want to join the 100cm club.

You're tired of catching the small "jacks," and you're after a proper krokodil, a true monster. That fish of a lifetime—the one that makes your arms shake and looks like a log with teeth.

Here in Europe, especially in heavily fished waters in Germany, the Netherlands, or Sweden, these big mamas are old, smart, and they've seen every lure in the catalog. Catching them isn't luck. It's a completely different game.

Let's get into it.

Stop thinking like a perch angler

First, you have to change your mindset. A 120cm+ pike didn't get that big by being stupid or wasteful. She is an apex predator, and her entire life is about one thing: maximum calories for minimum effort.

She doesn't "snack." She hunts. And then she rests.

She won't waste energy chasing your tiny lure. She's waiting for a big, wounded, easy meal to swim by. Your job is to present her with that exact meal.

Fish when they're eating

You can have the best lure in the world, but if the pike are full or dormant, you're just getting a casting workout. Timing is everything.

Spring (pre-spawn): This is a top-tier time. The water is cold and the big females are staging near their spawning grounds (think shallow, reedy bays). They are heavy and hungry. The key here is slow. A big glide bait with a long pause, or a slowly retrieved soft shad, is deadly. They don't want to chase fast.
Autumn (the feeding frenzy): This is the other prime window. From September to November, all pike go on a massive feeding spree to fatten up for winter. They follow the baitfish (roach, perch, etc.) as they school up. Find the bait, find the pike. This is the time for big, aggressive lures.

What about summer? Sure, you can catch them. But the true giants often go deep, looking for cooler, oxygen-rich water. You'll need a boat and a good fishfinder, looking for them suspended deep under bait balls.

Find the dinner table

You're not fishing a lake; you're fishing a spot in the lake. Monster pike are lazy, so they position themselves in high-traffic areas where food will come to them.

Stop casting at random banks. Look for structure:

Weed edges: Small pike live in the weeds. Big pike live on the outside edge, waiting to ambush anything that comes out.
Drop-offs: A sharp drop from shallow to deep is a perfect highway for predators.
Points and underwater humps: Anything that breaks the "normal" bottom of the lake will attract baitfish. The pike will be there, too.

In the Dutch polders, this means fishing the intersections of canals or near bridges. In the Swedish skärgård, it means finding a shallow bay right next to 100 meters of deep water. The principle is the same: find the spot where the food has to pass by.

Choosing your weapon (lures, baits, and the pause)

Yes, the old saying is true: "big lures catch big fish." A one-meter-plus pike is hunting for 30cm+ roach, not tiny minnows. Leave the 10cm shads in your perch box. We're talking 20cm, 25cm, even 30cm+ lures.

But which ones?

Big soft shads: This is the workhorse. A 20-25cm shad (like a Fox Rage Replicant or a big Söderjig) rigged on a stinger is a go-to. You can fish it fast, slow, or just let it hover over a weed bed.
Glide baits: These are true big-fish magnets. A glide bait (like the classic Pig Shad or a Buster Jerk) swims in a wide "S" pattern. They're fantastic for triggering those smart, suspicious pike that just follow other lures.
Spinnerbaits & chatterbaits: Don't overlook these, especially around weedy areas. A big, beefy spinnerbait makes a ton of vibration and flash, which can trigger an aggressive reaction strike when nothing else will.
Jerkbaits: A classic. A big jerkbait with a "jerk, jerk, pause" retrieve is deadly, especially in that colder spring water.

But here is the real tip, especially for our pressured European fish: the pause is everything.

Don't just cast and reel. These pike are smart. They will follow your lure, sometimes all the way to the boat, just looking at it. They're curious but not convinced.

You have to trigger them. Fish your lure with jerks, and then... stop. Just let it hang or slowly sink.

Jerk. Jerk. Pause.

The strike, 99% of the time, comes on the pause. That pause makes the lure look wounded and helpless. It's the "easy meal" she's been waiting for, and it breaks her brain. She has to eat it.

How to discover lures that actually work

The wall of pike lures at a tackle shop is overwhelming, and it's easy to just buy the same old stuff. The truth is, these big pike get conditioned to seeing the same lures over and over. Sometimes, a new color, vibration, or profile is what it takes to get that bite.

This is actually why a subscription box can be a game-changer. Our Premium Outwild mystery fishing box, for example, often contains pike lures from amazing brands you might not see every day. We've featured some killer Big Bite lures in the past, and it's a fantastic way to explore new baits that are proven to work, without having to guess. It takes the "what if" out of building your monster-hunting toolkit.

You must have the right gear

This isn't a suggestion. If you hook a 15kg monster on your light perch rod, you're going to lose the fish and leave her with a lure in her mouth. That's not good for anyone.

Rod: A proper pike rod, 2.4m - 2.7m (8-9 ft), with a heavy casting weight (e.g., 50-150g).
Reel: A strong baitcaster (size 300-400) or a big, tough spinning reel (size 4000-5000).
Line: Braid. 0.30mm - 0.40mm (60-80lb).
Leader: This is not optional. You must use a steel wire, titanium, or very heavy (1.0mm+) fluorocarbon leader. A pike's teeth will cut through braid instantly. No leader = lost fish, guaranteed.

Handle her with respect

When you finally get that monster to the boat, the job isn't over. A 100cm+ fish is old. She is a survivor and the future of the fishery.

Get a big, rubberized landing net.
Have an unhooking mat ready.
Use long-nosed pliers (forceps) to get the hook out.
Support her belly. Never hold a big pike just by the jaw or gills. Support her weight with your other hand under her belly.
Get a quick photo, and get her back in the water.

Look, catching a monster pike is about patience. It's about ignoring the small fish. It's about fishing a big lure for 8 hours for just one bite. But when that one bite comes, and your rod bends over, and you see the head of a true giant break the surface... you'll know it was all worth it.

Good luck!