Pike – the crocodile of shore waters

Pike can be found throughout the country and in almost all waters and it is the second most common game fish after perch. The Baltic Sea coast and the entire lake area offer great pike fishing. It is possible to fish for pike throughout the open-water season and also in winter.

Windward rocky shores are often the most reliable pike spots. Jari Salonen

The coast is an area for big pike

On the South Coast, the pike fishing season starts in April when the ice has broken up and continues through to December. Pike are pursued throughout the open-water season and there are good chances of catches. The best season for big pike in the sea area is in the spring, before the spawning period in April and May. This is when you have the best chances of catching a 10-kilo pike. Another good season for big pike in coastal waters falls in late autumn, from September or October through to December. When waters are cold, big pike can be found in shallow bays.

In summer and autumn, the best pike spots in the sea area can be found where bladderwrack grows. Other reliable spots include edges of rushes, sounds and underwater rocks.

Real whoppers are swimming around in Lake Rautavesi in Vammala. Jani Ollikainen

Pike prowl in the rushes

In the Lake District of Southern and Central Finland, the pike fishing season lasts from early May through to November. The high season for big pike runs from the end of the spawning period in mid-May to mid-June. In midsummer and autumn, big pike are most likely to be found at the edges of deeps, in mid-lake shoals and in deep sounds.

In autumn, tips of islands and shoals are potential pike sites. Areas with aquatic vegetation are good spots for pursuing pike. We even have a descriptive Finnish expression for someone leaving in a hurry: 'Took off like a pike from the rushes.'

In late autumn, around October and November, you can pursue big pike right at the edges of rushes, where they gather to feed on small fry. Small pike are fairly easy to catch close to shores and in shallow bays throughout the fishing season.

In Northern Finland, the pike season lasts from June to October. In addition to lakes, good sites also include many rivers, where big pike are in good supply.

Anglers generally go after pike on boats, but fishing for pike by casting from the shores of small forest ponds represents Finnish fishing culture in its most traditional form.

Jerkbaits are used to fish for big pike. Jari Tuiskunen

Kantele made from a pike's jawbone

Pike has been an important game species throughout history and it is well-known in Finnish folklore. Väinämöinen, the hero of the Finnish national epic, The Kalevala, made a sweet-sounding kantele, a traditional Finnish zither, from a giant pike's jawbone.

The Finnish word for 'pike' occurs commonly in Finnish place names. The significance of pike is also illustrated by the fact that dried pike was once used as a means of paying taxes.

The giant pike caught by Väinämöinen is probably the largest by far. The next largest pike caught in Finland have weighed more than 20 kilos. If you can't catch a pike from Finnish waters, you need to take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror.