Lake Oahe Northern Pike

Northern Pike Population in Lake Oahe

Lake Oahe contains a trophy northern pike population, with many of the fish exceeding 10 pounds.  Deep cold waters and a food base of rainbow smelt and lake herring provide nutrition for large northern pike.  The majority of the northern pike in Oahe were produced during the 1993-1995 period, when abundant flooded vegetation existed.  Few young fish are currently present in the population. When Oahe begins to refill, the weeds, grasses, and trees on the banks of Oahe will provide excellent spawning habitat for northern pike and numbers of young pike should increase.

Northern Pike Fishing Techniques

Anglers fishing for northern pike on Lake Oahe have the best opportunity to catch one in the early spring.  Northern pike activity increases when open water starts to show up around the edges of the ice cover.  Northern pike stay in shallow water through June, and then typically go deeper for the rest of the summer.  In the spring, many anglers fish from shore or shallow water with a dead smelt on a treble hook rig or cast slow moving lures.  Northern pike seek out the warmest water available in the spring and feed on anything they find, including fish that died during the winter months, like gizzard shad.