The Lower Manitou system along with our portage lakes offers some very good Northern Pike fishing. Esox Lake and Manitou Lake have tons of excellent weedy bays that the small to midsize Pike like to hide in as well as the bigger ones in the spring when the water is warming up. Once the water warms the bigger Pike will move out to deeper water usually adjacent to the main lake rock reefs.

On this body of water you can consistently catch fish in the weed bays and out to 10-14ft. of water adjacent to the weed bays all summer long. The weeds and the small baitfish that live in the area give the Pike an easy food source and the weeds give them a hiding place from the lurking Muskies that will feed on them.

Northern Pike in Lower Lake Manitou & Esox Lake are common in the 2 to 8-pound range. Guests who specifically fish for Pike and spend time concentrating on the back bays, rocky points or deeper water off reefs should catch Pike bigger than 8 pounds. There are monster size Trophy Northern Pike in the lake and many quests have hooked into Pike between 20 and 25-pounds but they are not common, which is why they are considered trophies. Atmospheric pressure does make a big difference. On days when the pressure is rising or the pressure is high and steady, the Pike will be feeding like crazy. These are the days when you can go out and catch over 60 Pike in a day.