[buzzbaiter]

Personal choice but I rarely use any lure for pike/bass/pickerel that isn't a single hook whether it be senko, horny toad, jig, buzzbait or spinnerbait. If I choose a spinner, I pinch the barbs down; if I use a surface popper , I not only pinch the barb down, I remove the mid-lure treble leaving only the end treble. I NEVER use a 9 hook lure as thats really overkill. You will lose more fish but think about the ones you get and release relatively unharmed. It feels good don't it?

One piece of advice for the bank guys: don't ever cast where if u hook a fish, u can't get it out easily. This means not standing on a high bank where no way you can lift a fish up without breaking the line or pole. This means not throwing over branches or logs where if u hook up, that fish will bury itself in those branches or dive under a log. I learned the hard way not to do this stuff and a few times risked my own well being slding down banks into the water where i have no idea how deep it is. Kind of stupid but pike will do that to you.