Wobblers for pike are a relatively young bait that appeared in the arsenal of fishing enthusiasts about a hundred years ago. But this type of artificial fish gained truly wide worldwide popularity in the eighties of the last century, when innovative materials helped to embody in the bait a variety of characteristics that allow you to catch a predator in absolutely any fishing conditions. The classic type of fishing products presented are pike wobblers.
The availability of catching the toothed predator and the massive consumption of the fishing product by the army of spinning anglers has allowed the development of a production industry that produces all kinds of wobblers by leaps and bounds. Nowadays, even an experienced pike fisherman is not always able to correctly select an effective fishing tool when faced with a huge mass of bait.
The article below will give basic recommendations for selecting the most catchy wobbler for pike in conjunction with fishing conditions and determine the criteria for selecting a product based on its design features and the physical capabilities of the material for creating attractive animation. How to catch pike with a wobbler will become clear even to a novice spinning angler, and the rating of the best wobblers for pike will give directions to the effectiveness of forming an arsenal of tools for catching predators for any pike fisher interested in the results.
How to choose a wobbler for pike fishing
It is difficult to select working wobblers based only on appearance that are capable of consistently delivering results and allowing the fisherman to perform high-quality retrieves that arouse the interest of the predator.
To ensure the accuracy of the implementation of the required parameters and characteristics of the fishing tool, practical tests will be required, and it is also possible to refine some of the design features of the factory product. But the possibilities of the retail network do not always allow the fisherman to see the work of the bait in real life, and in most cases, when purchasing, one has to rely on visual inspections of the design and quality of the material together with the paint coating of the bait.
Based on these considerations, it becomes clear that a spinning fisherman, even after a routine inspection of the product, must have an understanding of the main performance characteristics of the bait and, having a thorough understanding of the fishing conditions, select a candidate for his hunting arsenal.
Important! When looking for a catchable wobbler, priority is given to the size, color and shape of the product.
We will talk in detail about each parameter of the bait below in our article.
Size
Deep-sea wobblers for large pike can easily reach a length of 15–18 centimeters from the beginning of the blade to the end hook of the bait. But to a greater extent, these giants are an exception in the pike arsenal of wobblers. As a rule, the standard measurement standard is products from 8 to 12 centimeters, which allows you to lure catfish of absolutely any size. The width of the products varies from purlined, multiples of 2x7, options, which are suitable for all types of minnows, and thicker and more voluminous, fitting in multiples of 2x3, which characterizes shads and fats.
Tees must exceed the thickness of the nozzle by at least 2–3 mm, exceeding the dimensions of the product by the width of their tip relative to each other. And in size it should be in harmony with the body of the bait and not overlap with the neighboring hook. Particular attention is paid to the shovel or working tool attachment. The main parameters of the wobbler’s penetration and play depend on its shape and size.
Important! Wide and massive shovels with reinforcements indicate the deep-sea orientation of the bait. Small and curved types of blades imply a shallow-water version of the product with independent active play.
A surface floating wobbler for pike, a popper, like a rattlin, which is classified as a suspender, has no blades at all in its design, and the ability to animate and deepen in this case is affected only by the mass of the nozzle.
Color
The color of the wobbler for pike also has a significant impact on the catchability of the bait. Pike fishers have repeatedly noticed that the same bait shape with the same game parameters, but an excellent coloring, is attacked by a predator in completely different ways. In this regard, manufacturers actively use a line of tools of the same type, but in completely different colors, which allows, by manipulating baits, to fish in different seasons of the year and during daytime periods that differ in the intensity of their illumination.
The spectrum of color and its mixes is striking in its diversity, ranging from pure white to jet black colors. But tiger mixes in green and orange tones, light green, red and blue options with dots and longitudinal sections of color schemes are more productive. In turbid waters, exotic contrasting and rich bright colors of the red and green spectrum are used. In clear waters, the colors of the so-called Christmas tree ornament and striped perch variants of the natural pattern of real fish are distinguished by their catchiness.
Form
Based on their shape, the best wobblers for pike fishing are divided into minnow, crank, shad and fet. Minnows and partly cranks have slanted and elongated bodies. Fats and sheds are made in short, but thick and wide forms. Depending on the shape, baits have significant differences in the game. If cranks, fats and shads mostly have factory animation with flickering frequent play, then many minnows need intense animation, which refers to the twitching style of fishing. Many bait options have noise and cargo chambers miniaturely built into the bodies of the baits. These additional sinuses are filled with metal balls to create a shifting center of gravity, which makes the trajectories of the castings original in their randomness and instability of movement, and also creates additional inertial forces that increase the casting range. This element also creates a noise effect like a rattle, additionally attracting pikes to the place where the wobbler is inserted.
Rules for catching pike with a wobbler
It is worth understanding that when catching pike with a wobbler, there are several simple rules, as when fishing with any other bait.
To ensure that fishing brings only pleasant emotions and is, at the same time, effective, follow these simple steps every time you go to a body of water:
- The mouth is happy with a large piece. And the pike mouth - even more so. If you fish with wobblers from 4 to 7 cm, then your catch is probes and laces of no more than 1 kg. If you fish with wobblers up to 12 cm, then you already have pike worth 2-3 kg. And for a really worthy specimen you will need wobblers ranging in size from 15-20 cm.
- Wobbler is not a cheap bait. Therefore, any loss of this bait while fishing hits the fishing budget hard. To protect your baits, which should be called fishing investments in successful fishing, be sure to use leashes and high-quality accessories - carabiners and swivels.
- Pike leashes should be, at a minimum, steel, Kevlar, titanium or tungsten. No nylon or fluorocarbon leaders. Maybe a small pike will also forgive the use of a nylon loop, and a slightly thicker predator will definitely get away with your best wobbler.
- Carbines and swivels must be from a reputable manufacturer. More than once or twice I have seen while fishing how a fisherman loses both a trophy and a wobbler just because he bought some swivels and some carbines. Without knowing who made them, from what steel, using what technology.
- Each wobbler, like any other catchable bait, must be duplicated when going to a reservoir. That is, for each bait in your box there should be a “double” that will work if the first bait breaks. You will say that it is impossible to duplicate all the baits. It turns out it's possible. You shouldn’t take a suitcase of non-biting baits with you when fishing; take only cool wobblers for pike and duplicate them.
Duplicate your most catchy wobblers for pike - this way you can catch when the bait breaks.
Follow these simple rules and every fishing trip will bring you dozens of treasured tails!
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How to choose a wobbler for pike according to your fishing location
In an unfamiliar place, the fisherman will first need to familiarize himself with the bottom topography and the depth of the reservoir. These manipulations can be done using a marker rod or a modern gadget in the form of an echo sounder; fortunately, some types of equipment allow you to measure depths with a remote sensor without going into the water or using a swimming device, by directly installing the device instead of bait in the spinning equipment. An important factor is the permeability of the water area of the reservoir, which is associated with the spread of aquatic vegetation in the place of intended fishing. Based on the research data of a promising location, the bait is selected according to the parameters of depth, cross-country ability and aerodynamic qualities, which will allow the bait to be supplied to the required fishing distance.
Important! Negative factors that hinder comfortable fishing are snags, dead wood and the presence of construction debris at the bottom, which directly threatens the irretrievable loss of the fishing projectile as a result of a blind hook.
The best color of wobbler for catching pike
We must immediately make a reservation that there is no wobbler color that is guaranteed to provoke predatory fish. When choosing gear, it is necessary to take into account the weather, time of year, water transparency and fishing location. You will have to experiment often, even within the same body of water. The only universal rule is that the wobbler should be as noticeable as possible.
In clear weather, when the sun's rays clearly illuminate the water column, it is better to choose dark colors, such as “olive”. On cloudy days, on the contrary, you need to use light colors. Wobblers with bright, acidic colors perform well in muddy water.
About
Which wobbler is best for catching pike based on the time of year?
It is, without a doubt, possible to catch a toothy fish with a wobbler at any time of the year, but still the predator has special preferences that the angler needs to take a closer look at when planning trips to water bodies.
Important! First of all, the selection of bait depends on the transparency of the water and the activity of the fish. These are the main criteria for seasonal selection.
Next, we will consider the nuances of choice, specifically considering the season of the year with recommendations for baits by size, color and animation characteristics.
Spring
Spring waters differ from the rest of the season in their high degree of turbidity and relatively low temperature, which gradually increases towards the summer months. During this period, pike are weakened by spawning and are quite slow. They try to move around less and look for victims with obvious signs of defects and diseases. Based on this data, it is worth selecting a fishing tool with similar criteria for play and behavior during retrieves. In muddy water, brightly colored medium-sized baits, from 8 to 10 centimeters, with noise chambers are more noticeable. Their game should be characterized by small stroke amplitudes, but high vibration components, which, for example, is completely unsuitable for wobblers for catching pike in the fall.
Summer
The period of not the most successful use of bait in the classic form, but poppers and other surface bait options with similar qualities are in full swing. During the warmest season, the predator does not need to intensively search for victims. Growing small fish, gathered in large schools, become easy prey that does not require much effort to search and catch. The pike are well-fed and lazy and constantly stand in their summer apartments, overgrown banks, only occasionally becoming active to replenish their calorie reserves.
Important! An important obstacle to the deployment of suspenders for pike or deep-sea type baits are underwater thickets. In such conditions, unhooked hooks like the Croatian egg and poppers are in the lead.
The color scheme depends solely on the light intensity. In cloudy weather, use light colors. In very bright sunshine, use a dark color palette up to pure black. Blade variants are used with active animation on slow and medium retrieves, trying to maintain long pauses at stops, which visibly irritates the inactive fish. When catching a trophy in a certain place, it is worth returning to the point after a couple of hours to repeat the fishing. After all, a cozy ambush site will be completely occupied by the next pike specimen, and catching it using the type of bait already caught in this place will not be difficult.
Autumn
Catching pike with wobblers in the fall is the golden time of the spinning angler. At this time, they use the entire arsenal of the pike fisher, choosing the most effective materials for biting. During the feeding season, the predator loves a sweeping and sharp game with short pauses and a slow descent of the artificial fish to the bottom. For fishing, they look for water areas with coastal walls of aquatic thickets and carry out fishing along such places through clean areas of water.
Important! At the beginning of the autumn season, bright exotic colors with various types of mixes are more promising. In already quite cold water, the predator’s preferences shift towards blue and blue colors, as well as colors like a Christmas tree toy.
Wobblers for pike in the fall are selected in large sizes in anticipation of trophy specimens, although the much smaller predator successfully and with extraordinary persistence attacks lures two-thirds of its length. Fishing continues until freeze-up, especially since with the first frosts and the loss of aquatic vegetation, there are more places for fishing, and the comfort of fishing increases significantly.
Catching pike with a wobbler from the shore
Catching pike with a wobbler from the shore is limited by two characteristics of this bait - a small wobbler does not fly well, and the flight characteristics of some classes of wobblers leave much to be desired.
Not every wobbler is suitable for catching pike with a spinning rod from the shore.
For this reason, pike fishing with a wobbler has become widespread in the following types of coastal fishing:
- Fishing from the shore with ultralight in river bays and small reservoirs. As part of this fishing, fishing is carried out with small and ultra-light baits. The bait is placed along the coastal grass or between grass islands.
- Fishing with weighted wobblers such as rattlin or asp models. Such wobblers with a small windage and decent weight can be thrown quite far and fish not only the coastal zone, but also the edges of the riverbed and channel ditches.
- Fishing with medium wobblers of any form factor - minnow, shad and crank. Pike can be caught with wobblers of such form factors at medium distances, along the edge of the grass and between islands, as well as on the coastal dump.
- Fishing with jerkbaits. These fat guys can fly far and work, attracting pike from a wide area of water. When fishing from the shore, they work great in bays, at the confluence of rivers and streams, at the confluence of channels and in other similar spots.
- Fishing with surface baits - poppers, walkers, sliders. These baits can be used to fish anywhere in a body of water where a predator could potentially be standing. Wiring is carried out both along the open surface of the water, and along the edge and through small thickets. And baits like the Croatian egg can be dragged along a continuous carpet of grass.
Top 10 best wobblers for pike
To quickly select effective fishing tools, we have collected the most successful options in an impromptu top 10 best wobblers for pike. The presented examples will form a set for the fisherman, which, regardless of the fishing conditions, the period of the year and the activity of the predator, will allow him to consistently count on a positive outcome of the spinning hunt.
The top rating will be opened by the so-called leader among anglers of the pike killer wobbler minnow Zip Baits Khamsin-SR 70 . The manufacturer has used a successful form to make the artificial fish move quite naturally with even the slightest pull on the cord. The magnetic system of the cargo chamber made this fishing tool convenient for long and accurate casts, and the successful colors incredibly accurately match the tastes of the fish. The wobbler works both in currents and in still water, tempting fish of different size levels.
Zip Baits Khamsin-SR
The second line goes to the famous Japanese brand and model Yo-Zuri L-Minnow 66 . Despite the high price parameter, the fisherman should have this universal tool for various predators. The distinct play of minnows near the grass walls in shallow stagnant backwaters attracts even passive grass to attack. The Japanese quality of the product is confirmed by the tooth-resistant coloring and sharp tees.
Yo-Zuri L-Minnow 66
The top three in the rating is closed by the fast minnow Tsuribito Hard Minnow 95F . The naturalness of the fish when guiding and well-functioning aerodynamic qualities are the main positive characteristics of the product. The wobbler works at depths from 1.5 to 2 meters. Price range – budget wobblers.
Tsuribito Hard Minnow 95F
Just below we will place the Jackall squad minnow 80sp , capable of taking the most hopeless fishing session away from zero. Shallow-water option, 0.5-1 meter depth, excellent maneuverability, which allows you to comfortably fish promising thicket banks, luring even well-fed pikes. Minnow mid-price range. Animating a bait requires skills that can be quickly developed in shallow coastal waters.
Fifth in the top is another Japanese, presenting composite wobblers for pike Imakatsu POWER BILL MINNOW 115SP . A heavy, but stable when casting 13-gram compound with a peculiar uneven play caused by a built-in chamber with metal balls, works on currents at horizons of up to two meters. Postings on a regular uniform winding actively animate the bait, and this indicates the fishing capabilities of even a novice spinner without prior training in fishing techniques.
Imakatsu POWER BILL MINNOW 115SP
On the sixth line we put the crank Zip Baits Khamsin 70SR . The seven-centimeter imitation of small crucian carp, not only by its appearance, but also by its play, lures passive predators to the movements and noise of the camera. The low price contributes to the legitimate inclusion of the model in the category of the best budget wobbler for pike.
Zip Baits Khamsin 70SR
Number seven is the Megabass Vision 110 . A wobbler with a high price, but high-quality performance, which smooths out the material component over a large number of fishing seasons. Twitching jerking suspension wiring, in water horizons at a meter level, allows you to effectively fish the junction of shallows and slopes in depth. From a balanced center of gravity, the fishing projectile has high casting range and bait delivery accuracy.
Megabass Vision 110
Eighth place will be given to the popular Finnish model Rapala Skitter Pop SP07 . This is a purely superficial representative of fishing tools, characterized by low tee engagement due to a special device. The body is made of balsa with a deep and durable type of coloring. With a certain moving technique, the product accurately copies the movements of the fry feeding at the surface, which tempts the catfish into frequent attacks. The price is high, but the specimen deserves its value and is in constant demand during the summer.
Rapala Skitter Pop SP07
The ninth level of rating is for the Ima Flut 120 . Due to the originality of the center of gravity chamber, which in totality is also a noise capsule, the bait has an original game with small jumps of the fish to the sides on a straight line. Inappropriate chaotic movements of the fry imitation arouse interest in the predator and bites on this type of bait are frequent and effective. Depth from 2 to 3 meters. A universal type of wiring from twitching to trolling moves. An option belonging to the category of cheap wobblers.
Ima Flut 120
Lucku Craft Pointer 100 SP will close the presented rating . A universal crank-type wobbler, with a factory setting of the game on uniform wiring. Works in any season in a water horizon from 1.5 to 2 meters. Fishing is comfortable both in still waters and on medium currents. The body of the fish is equipped with a chamber with rattling, metal balls, which lure predators with sound and vibration, and also allow the bait to be delivered over considerable distances on short tackles.
Lucku Craft Pointer 100 SP
Original tees are of excellent quality and perfect sharpening. Price range in the budget sector. Recommended for beginning spinning anglers not only for pike, but also for pike perch and trophy perch.
Wobblers for pike
In this article, we will analyze fishing conditions when it is problematic to use bait with a depth of more than a meter - due to the shallow depth or grass in the water. The main large pike minnows for medium depths, the choice of color and wiring features are discussed in detail in a special article:
https://rybafan.ru/spinningist/na-vobler/voblery-na-schuku
The approach is the same - first you need to evaluate the fishing conditions where most of the fishing takes place. Only then add catchy surface wobblers for pike to the basic set. These baits don’t cost a penny, and buying too much is hard on your pocket. Spinning in shallow water involves the use of several groups of baits:
- Shallow-water wobblers – with a depth of up to 1 meter.
- Subsurface - up to 0.5 meters.
- Surface topwater wobblers – poppers, gliders, walkers.
Each group has its own favorites, who have already proven themselves among spinning players. Among them there are both original Japanese wobblers and Chinese replicas.
How to catch pike with a wobbler
After identifying a promising location, studying the terrain and selecting bait, the angler begins direct fishing by casting the bait into the fishing area. When using large wobblers with a significant mass, it is necessary to select gear with one and a half times the amount of dough, since the resistance of such baits during retrieving significantly increases the load on the gear. With semi-fast and fast action gear, the baits are driven with twitching retrieves using minnow types of wobblers. Cranks, shads and fats are carried out on uniform retrieves, while using the own characteristics of the game of the fishing tool. For these types of artificial fish, rods with a medium action are selected.
Important! Variety is introduced into the movement of baits by pauses, different in time periods, allowing the suspender to hang in the water, and the sinking type of product to touch the bottom.
The movement of the bait is felt by the vibrations being transmitted into the butt of the rod and, accordingly, into the angler’s hand. Any failure of the stroke and game is accompanied by an immediate hook, sharply pulling the rod to the side. Feeling the weight on the line and the distinct movements of the fish, they begin to fish. Fishing is carried out with constant control of the cord tension. Otherwise, the predator will begin to make candles, jumping out of the water and trying to spit hooks out of its mouth, actively shaking its head. Near the shore, the catch is picked up in a landing net or taken under the gills with a hook. Pike fishing will require a yawner and long pliers for comfortable and safe removal of bait hooks from the toothy mouth of a predator.
Catching pike with a wobbler from a boat
There are no restrictions when catching pike with a wobbler from a boat. You can fish with any wobblers.
If you don't have enough distance, you can always get closer using a quiet movement on an electric motor or oars.
If you hook the bait, you can always use the unhook, whereas when fishing from the shore, it is impossible to unhook the wobbler with the unhook; you have to run along the shore in one direction and the other, trying to unhook your bait.
From a boat you can catch pike using wobblers without any restrictions.
Even the process of landing and lifting a predator out of the water when fishing from a boat is more effective and easier than when fishing from the shore.