Casting for big pike with a surface bait is probably one of the most exciting ways you can fish here in Sweden; and right now late into our beautiful summer evenings, I feel that there’s no better chance to connect with a larger fish on top water at any other time of the year. To see a big gator come flying out of nowhere and strike the bait on the surface is terribly awesome! When pike chase down a surface lure, it seems that the following fish take some extra time to really hit your lure properly, which usually makes each strike a solid hookup! As a somewhat obsessed pike angler, I challenged myself to catch one on a rather unconventional lure - the new X-Rap® Magnum Xplode®; a bait intended for strong salty fish like Giant Trevally (GT) etc, but our big Swedish pike seemed to like it also! And what incredible strikes!

The technique I recommend, however, is not to pop it as hard as you would intend for big saltwater predators like GT, but tone it down and work the popper a little bit quieter when you move it, or even slowly wind it one meter at a time with a chug followed by a break.

Do you dare to try this? You’d better calm your nerves because it can be a heart stopper when a pike surprises you near the boat out of nowhere!

Or you can just buy one and fish it for GT, like most normal people would!

Skitfiske!
Mikko