# Pike fishing > Pike fishing in Norway: where pike lie in ambush, why a wire trace is not optional, when autumn beats spring, and why you should release the largest females. Source: https://finnfisk.no/en/gjeddefiske Language: en Alternate: https://finnfisk.no/gjeddefiske (nb-NO) --- Species guide Esox lucius The predator of fresh water, and the species that gives the hardest takes you can get in Norway. - **Size**: Where there is plenty of food pike can reach 20 kg. A fish over 10 kg is big and rare, and the very largest are almost always females. A pike of 5 kg is a good fish in most places. - **Where it lives**: Naturally found in watercourses draining to Sweden, in the Glomma system, Østfold and Akershus in the south, and in inner and eastern Finnmark plus a few watercourses in Troms in the north. Since the 1600s spread by people to coastal districts in the south and west and to Trøndelag. - **Best time**: April to June and September to October, in the middle of the day. ## How to tell it apart Elongated, with the dorsal and anal fins set far back towards the tail, as on a fish built for acceleration. A flat, duck-like snout full of teeth. Green to brownish with pale, elongated markings. No risk of confusion. ## Where it holds Still and slow-flowing water, ideally with dense vegetation. The pike is an ambush hunter that lies in cover and attacks, so you are looking for edges: reed beds, water plants, fallen trees, jetties and the transition from shallow to deep. It defends territory against its own kind, so two big pike rarely hold the same spot. ## The season ### April to June Pike hold shallow around spawning and are easy to find. In many places they are protected during the spawning season, so check the rules. After spawning they feed hard and are at their most aggressive. ### July to August Warm water makes pike passive in the middle of the day. Fish shallow early and late, or look to deeper edges and cooler water. Often the hardest period. ### September to October The best period of the year for a big pike. They feed up before winter, hold shallower again, and the largest fish are in play. ### Winter Pike feed under the ice too, but slowly. Large, slowly worked baits or dead bait on a set line. Requires patience. [See the season month by month](https://finnfisk.no/fiskesesong) for every species, in the lowlands and in the mountains. ## Gear Spinning ### Heavy rod 20-60 g A 7-8 foot rod in casting weight 20-60 g, reel 3000-4000, braid 0.15-0.20 mm. A wire trace or heavy fluorocarbon is not optional: pike teeth cut ordinary line in half a second, and a pike swimming off with a lure in its jaw is an animal welfare problem, not just a loss. [Lure guide](https://finnfisk.no/slukguide) Fly ### Class 8-10 Growing and very rewarding. Large streamers, a heavy leader with a wire tip, and a rod that can throw a fly with the air resistance of a wet sock. [Fly guide](https://finnfisk.no/flueguide) ## Baits and lures - **Large plug 10-15 cm**: Covers water and provokes. Shallow in spring and autumn, deeper in summer. - **Jig and softbait 10-20 cm**: The most versatile. Can be fished at any depth and any speed. - **Spinnerbait**: Runs relatively free through vegetation, and lets you fish exactly where the pike lies. - **Large streamer**: Fly fishing. 15-25 cm is not too big. [Pick a colour for the light and water](https://finnfisk.no/fargeguide) ## Spawning and diet ### Spawning In spring, in shallow water and preferably where there are water plants. Large females carry several hundred thousand eggs. ### Diet A fish eater all its life. It readily takes fish up to half its own length, and cannibalism is common. Where they occur it prefers cyprinids such as roach and bream. ## Rules Applies to all inland fish - There is no longer a national minimum size for inland fish. Minimum and maximum sizes, daily bag limits and closed seasons are set locally, and two waters in the same municipality can have different rules. - You need a fishing card from the rights holder wherever one is sold. The card is an agreement with the landowner, not a state fee. - Children under 16 fish free with rod and hand line from 1 January to 20 August, except in watercourses with anadromous salmonids. This follows from section 18 of the Norwegian salmon and inland fish act. - The state fishing fee does not apply to inland fish. It covers only salmon, sea trout and sea char. - Releasing fish or moving live fish between waters is prohibited. Spreading species to new watercourses is one of the biggest threats to Norwegian fish stocks. Specific to pike - Pike are protected during the spring spawning season in several watercourses. Check the rules for the water before a spring trip. - A wire trace or equivalent bite protection is a requirement for responsible pike fishing, not a recommendation. - Pike are classed as an alien species with high invasion potential where they have been introduced, and have wiped out trout stocks in several waters. Moving live pike to new waters is prohibited and does lasting damage. - Big pike are old females that carry the stock. Consider releasing them, and use a large net, side cutters and a glove. All of the above is advisory. The rules are set locally and do change, so always confirm with the rights holder or an official source before you fish. ## Waters holding pike [Gudbrandsdalslågen, Sone 1](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/lagen-sone-1)[Feiring (Feiring JFF)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/feiring)[Isteren (Engerdal)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/isteren)[Barduvassdraget (Bardu)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/barduvassdraget)[Nordmarka (Oslo)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/nordmarka)[Feragen statsallmenning (Røros)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/feragen-roros)[Selbusjøen (Selbu)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/selbusjoen)[Nordlikortet (Lierne)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/lierne-nordli)[Gausa, Sone 9 (Gausdal)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/lagen-sone-9)[Alvdal fellesfiskekort](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/alvdal-fellesfiskekort) Municipalities [Lillehammer](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/lillehammer)[Eidsvoll](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/eidsvoll)[Engerdal](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/engerdal)[Bardu](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/bardu)[Oslo](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/oslo)[Røros](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/roros)[Selbu](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/selbu)[Lierne](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/lierne)[Gausdal](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/gausdal)[Alvdal](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/alvdal) ## Common questions ### Do I need a wire trace for pike fishing? - Yes, in one form or another: a leader section of wire or heavy fluorocarbon between the lure and the main line, long enough to cover a whole mouthful. Bring what you need to get the hook out again as well: long forceps, a glove, and cutters you use on the hook rather than pulling at it. If you are unsure whether your tackle holds, the knot is the weak point, not the line.[Knots that hold](https://finnfisk.no/knuteguide) ### When is the best time to fish for pike? - By water temperature, not by the calendar. Pike get faster and more willing as the water warms from a few degrees upwards, and slow again once it gets too warm. That is why the same week can be prime in a lowland lake and empty in a mountain lake a few miles away. Autumn is the most predictable period of the year, spring the most sensitive.[Month by month, lowland and mountain](https://finnfisk.no/fiskesesong) ### Can I move pike to another water? - No, and that covers more than the fish itself. Water in the net, in the bucket, in the bottom of the boat and in your waders gets moved between lakes without anyone thinking about it, and that is enough to carry both fry and disease along. Empty and dry your gear between waters. If you catch a pike in a water where it should not be, that belongs with the municipality or the county governor, not in another bucket. Sources - [Store norske leksikon: gjedde](https://snl.no/gjedde)