January, the cold sets in, the days are just beginning to get longer, and the closing of pike fishing season is fast approaching! Each year, the most assiduous fishermen continue to go to the edge and on the water in an attempt to catch one last good fish to close the season! This period is not the easiest because with the cold the fish are generally less active, however it is also at this time that they make fat reserves to withstand the winter! Pikes are all the more in reserve because their breeding season is fast approaching. It is therefore quite natural that they will feed on larger prey. Fishermen must therefore, logically, offer larger lures capable of swimming at low speed to try to trigger attacks!
Let’s see here the 5 best soft lures to use to make a success of this pike closing period:
1) Shad GT 18 or 22cm
The Shad GT, the brand’s emblematic lure, is without a doubt the lure mentioned here that has killed the most big pike! Indeed, for several years, many fishermen have had a Shad GT 18 or 22cm in their box, a real hood saver for difficult sessions, both in the lake and in the river! The large caudal of the Shad GT allows it to emit strong vibrations and to be identifiable from quite a distance by fish! Its fairly thin body allows it to be ridden in different ways, including with fairly heavy jig heads for deep fishing in a dam lake for example. These large lake fisheries generally make it possible to catch large fish with pelagic behavior.
2) Néo Shallow 18cm
Stockier and with a wider body than the Shad GT, the Neo Shallow has a larger volume, which allows it to move even more water! It also has a huge paddle to guarantee strong vibrations! Thanks to the shape of its body, it stays straight and has a more planing descent, offering the possibility of slow fishing, ideal in winter and at closing time!
it is possible to mount the Neo Shallow with very little lead to make it evolve slowly between two waters, an animation generally very profitable in winter and which generally allows the pike to form the lure well, despite its large size!
3) Néo Swim 16cm
The Neo Swim, slightly smaller than the other lures mentioned here, is nonetheless a very interesting lure for pike fishing in winter. Indeed, with its stocky round body and its internal lead, it is as easy to use as it is effective!
Sold assembled ready-to-fish with its triple ventral, all that remains is to launch it and bring it back, which is moreover the most effective animation of the Neo Swim: the simple linear. Interspersed with a few breaks during which it goes down flat while “rolling its sides”, the Neo Swim is a real big pike magnet!
4) Skeleton 18cm
The Skeleton 18cm, is a very atypical lure, with its ringed body and bulging eyes, it has seduced pike for many years thanks to its very special strong vibrations!
The Skeleton has a round body, which allows it to be easily mounted with any jig head, both a classic round head, a ball head, and a pro flex head to add visual flashes to the assembly! With a weight of more than 70gr, the 18cm skeleton is a real big bait, which displaces a lot of water, and which also attracts predators visually thanks to its strong rolling.
5) Néo Frog 18cm
Although the first 4 lures in this article are shads, and their vibrations are generally very important for winter fishing and tinted water, another big bait is essential for winter pike fishing! Indeed, the Neo Frog 18cm, which recently arrived in the range, has the same stocky body as the Neo Shallow Texan, but with two very thin grub tails that stay in action all the time!
The significant water displacement, combined with the visual effect of this double caudal which “turns” and emits fine vibrations, allows the Neo Frog to trigger a lot of attacks, including on very busy spots. Indeed, pike fishermen all used to fishing with shad, it is sometimes very interesting to stand out by offering another type of lure!
