The Best Pike Lures

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

Stand in front of the lure wall in any tackle shop and you’ll see hundreds of shapes, sizes and colours, each pitched as the one pike can’t resist. Colour gets most of the argument, but size and running depth decide more takes, and they are far easier to get right.

The best pike lures for most UK anglers start with a 12-16cm paddle-tail shad. Add a jerkbait, a spinnerbait and a shallow crankbait next, then bring in surface lures and big lures as the season and the water call for them.

Each pick below has a spec line (size band, typical weight, running depth and best UK water) and says when it beats the others. Item 9 pulls it together in a chooser table by water and season. Lures are recommended by type and spec, not price, because prices and stock change. I’ve fished lures and trolled for pike on Lake Windermere for 15 years. For rods, reels and the rest of the kit, see our best fishing tackle guides.

1. Paddle-Tail Shads: The Best First Pike Lure

One lure type and three jig head weights will let you fish a 1m canal in the morning and a deep lake in the afternoon. That is why the soft paddle-tail shad is the first pike lure to buy.

Size: 12-16cm as an all-rounder; 7-10cm for clear or pressured water
Weight: set by the jig head you choose
Depth: any
Best water: everywhere, especially rivers and stillwaters

The tail thumps on a slow, steady wind with no work from the rod. Paul Garner, writing in Angling Times, names a soft lure of around 6in (16cm) as the best place to start, fished on a simple, steady retrieve broken up with pauses.

Head weight controls depth. Angling Times gives a rule of thumb of about 1g of jig weight per foot of water: roughly 5g for rivers and canals, 10g for lakes and up to 30g for deep reservoirs.

GOV.UK’s tackle rules say you can’t use lead weights in England and Wales unless they weigh 0.06g or less or more than 28.35g. The rule is written for lead weights, so if you aren’t sure whether it covers a particular jig head, check with the Environment Agency or use a non-lead head. You also need a rod licence to fish with lures in England; see our fishing licence guide.

Paddle-tails have two weak points. Pike teeth chew the tails, so carry spares in each size. The lure is also useless without a jig head and a trace, so always fish it on wire; our guide to pike wire traces explains why. See rigging soft lures for pike for heads and stinger hooks. Angling Times lists the Fox Rage Replicant Wobble as one example of the type; check the retailer for current sizes and stock.

Best for: your first lure box, on any water. Skip if: you fish dense surface weed; go to item 5 or item 3 instead.

2. Jerkbaits: The Pike Lure for Cold, Lazy Fish

The most important part of a jerkbait retrieve is the moment the lure isn’t moving at all. A suspending jerkbait that hangs still in front of a cold pike gives it time to commit.

Size: commonly 10-15cm
Depth: shallow to mid water, depending on the bib
Types: suspending, floating and slow-sinking
Best water: clear stillwaters and slow rivers in the cold months

In cold water pike follow lures and turn away rather than chase. Resist the urge to wind faster: fish slower, and let the lure sit in front of the fish when you stop.

Work it in three steps:

Point the rod tip down at the water.
Give two sharp twitches with the rod tip, taking up slack between them.
Pause for a count of 2 to 5, longer the colder the water, then repeat.

On Windermere in the colder months I’ve found the pause matters more than the twitch. Most of my jerkbait takes come while the lure is sitting still.

Pike jerkbaits come in two broad styles. Hard-bodied suspending minnows with a small bib are the easier start, and Angling Times lists the Rapala Shadow Rap as one example. Bibless glide or “jerk” baits are worked with a stiff rod and a sharp downward snap; our guide to jerkbaits, crankbaits and spoons explains the difference.

Most jerkbaits carry two or three trebles, so take long-nosed forceps and side cutters for unhooking. Gaffs are banned in England and Wales. A proper jerkbait also wants a short, stiff rod; see our pick of the best pike rods and reels.

The verdict: add this lure second, for the colder months from roughly October to March.

3. Spinnerbaits: Vibration Through Weed and Snags

You know the pike are tight to the reeds, but every cast there costs you a lure. A spinnerbait is the pike lure to throw where everything else snags.

Weight: commonly 10-30g
Depth: just under the surface on a steady retrieve, or deeper if you slow down and let it drop
Best water: weedy lakes, drains and rivers with snags, especially in coloured water

The single hook rides up behind the wire arm and blade, which push through weed first, so it snags less than a lure hung with trebles. The blade’s vibration and flash help pike find it in coloured water.

Two retrieves cover most pike spinnerbait fishing:

Slow-roll: wind steadily, just fast enough to feel the blade thump through the rod tip.
Helicopter: cast tight to a weed edge or post and let the lure drop on a semi-tight line, so the blade spins as it falls.

Willow blades give more flash at speed. Round Colorado blades give more thump on slow retrieves.

The weakness is that one big single hook misses some short takes. In open water you can add a trailer hook to the main hook, but leave it off around weed because it cuts snag resistance. Angling Times lists the Savage Gear Da’bush as one example of the type.

Quick comparison: choose a spinnerbait for coloured water and vibration. Choose a weedless soft plastic (item 5) for clear water and a natural fall.

4. Crankbaits and Divers for Canals, Drains and Shallow Rivers

Pick the right bib for the water and a crankbait stays in the strike zone on every cast, with nothing to do but cast and wind.

Size: often 9-15cm
Depth: printed on the box; shallow runners typically work around 1-1.5m
Best water: canals, drains, small rivers and the margins of bigger waters

On a canal or drain a soft lure can sink into silt or weed; a crankbait holds a set depth above the bottom. That 1-1.5m band suits most UK canals and drains, and Angling Times picks the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow and Salmo Executer as shallow runners for this kind of water.

Read the bib before you buy. A small, steeply angled bib runs shallow, and a long, flat bib dives deeper. Check the running depth on the packaging and choose one that runs just above the weed tops.

A shallow runner is no use in a 4m lake, so carry a deeper diver if you also fish bigger waters. If the lure touches weed, stop winding. A floating crankbait will rise clear, and that pause can trigger a following pike. For how crankbaits compare with other types, see our guide to fishing lures.

Our pick: if you fish a canal or drain under 1.5m deep, start with a floating shallow runner.

5. Weedless Soft Plastics for Lily Pads and Heavy Cover

Thick summer weed holds prey fish and the pike that follow them, but an exposed hook won’t get through it. Rig a soft lure weedless and you can fish the swims other pike lures can’t reach.

Size: 10-16cm
Weight: light, usually a weighted belly hook or weedless head
Depth: surface down to the weed tops
Best water: weedy stillwaters, drains and slow rivers in summer

Weedless means the hook point is tucked into or behind the soft plastic body, so it slides through stems and pads. On the take, the body squashes and the point pops out. Angling Times lists the Fiiish Minnow as one example of this style.

There is a trade-off. Weedless lures are a niche tool, and hook-ups can be lower than on an exposed hook. Give the pike a moment to turn with the lure, then strike firmly to drive the point through the plastic.

A hooked pike in thick weed can bury itself, so step up your line and trace rather than fishing light. Our wire trace rig guide shows how to build a strong one.

Best for: summer weed and lily pads. Skip if: you fish open water in winter; go back to item 1 or item 2.

6. Spoons: The Cheap, Long-Casting Search Lure

On a windy day on a big water, the oldest lure in the box can be the best one to tie on. A spoon casts further than almost anything else its size, and it fishes any depth.

Weight: commonly 15-40g
Depth: any, set by the count-down
Best water: big lakes, wide rivers, and windy days when lighter lures won’t cast

On big or unfamiliar water, the count-down method described in Angling Times lets you search every depth quickly:

Cast and let the spoon sink.
Count until it touches bottom. You’ll feel a bump or see the line go slack.
On the next casts, start winding a few counts earlier to fish just above the bottom.
Pause at the end of each retrieve before you lift out, because followers often hit close in.

The same counting works for the shads in item 1 and for sinking jerkbaits.

Retrieve slowly, with the odd drop, and the spoon flutters down like a dying fish. That flutter is often when it gets hit. Spoons that spin will twist your line, so use a good swivel on the trace.

The verdict: carry two, a light spoon for rivers and a heavy one for big water. They are cheap to replace and cover water fast.

7. Surface Lures for Summer Pike Over Weed

The surface lure that did nothing in winter wasn’t a bad lure. It was the right lure at the wrong time of year.

Size: 10-15cm
Type: floating
Depth: surface
Best water: weed beds and lily pads in the warm months, on calm, low-light mornings and evenings

Surface takes happen in full view, but these pike lures are a warm-water tool. There are four main types:

Walk-the-dog stickbaits zig-zag from side to side when you twitch the rod tip on a slack line.
Poppers have a cupped face that spits water when you jerk them.
Crawlers (jitterbug-style) wobble across the surface on a steady wind.
Frogs are soft, weedless and slide over pads and scum.

Angling Times recommends low-light sessions, and surface lures suit them best: first and last light over weed in summer. It lists the Westin Spot On Top Walker as one example of a walk-the-dog lure.

Don’t strike at the splash. Pike often miss a surface lure on the first hit, and a big strike pulls it out of the fish’s reach. Wait until you feel the weight of the fish, then strike. Your heart rate will disagree with this advice every time.

Most surface lures carry trebles, so carry forceps for unhooking.

Our pick: if you fish weedy stillwaters from June to September, add one walk-the-dog lure. Leave it at home from November.

8. Big Pike Lures: Swimbaits and Line-Thru Baits for Big Water

A 25cm lure will usually get fewer bites than a 14cm one on the same water. That’s the point of it: big pike lures filter out small fish.

Size: 17-23cm for bigger fish and open water in autumn and early winter; 25-30cm and above is specialist
Weight: many weigh over 100g
Depth: set by the lure’s sink rate, or by trolling
Best water: big lakes, reservoirs, lochs and boat fishing

Big lures aren’t an upgrade on the items above; they’re a specialist choice that costs you bites. Lures over about 100g are hard work on a light rod, so check the casting weight on your blank first.

There are two main types:

Jointed and line-thru swimbaits. The hooks are rigged on the line, so the lure slides up the trace on the take and the pike has less leverage to throw the hook.
Big hybrid baits that mix hard and soft bodies for a natural swimming action.

Angling Times lists the Savage Gear 4D Line Thru and the Rapala X Rap Peto as examples.

Windermere is a deep lake, and in my experience bigger lures earn their place there in open water and when trolling along the drop-offs. Trolling rules vary from water to water, so check with the fishery or lake authority before you troll anywhere.

Best for: big waters with a known head of large pike, and boat anglers. Skip if: you fish a canal or small river, or your rod is rated under the lure weight.

9. Pike Lure Size and Water Type: A Quick Chooser

If you change one thing when the pike aren’t playing, change the size, not the colour. Start with these pike lure size bands:

7-10cm: small, clear or pressured waters and the coldest days. They double as perch lures.
12-16cm: the all-rounder for most waters most of the year.
17-23cm: bigger fish and open water from autumn into early winter.
25cm and above: specialist, big waters only.

Season and prey shift those bands. When pike are on fry in late summer, smaller lures often work better; as prey grows through autumn, go bigger. In the coldest water, go smaller, slower and deeper. Close seasons are set by local byelaws, so check our fishing seasons guide before you plan a spring session.

Water	Typical depth	First lure	Size	Notes
Canal	1-2m	Paddle-tail on a 5g head, or shallow crankbait	7-10cm	Clear, pressured fish; go small
Drain or fen water	1-2m	Shallow crankbait or spinnerbait	9-12cm	Spinnerbait in coloured water
Small river	1-2m	Paddle-tail on a 5g head	10-12cm	Work slacks and crease lines
Big river	2-4m	Paddle-tail on a 10g head, or spoon	12-16cm	Heavier head in strong flow
Weedy stillwater (summer)	Under 2m	Weedless soft plastic or surface lure	10-15cm	Spinnerbait along weed edges
Gravel pit or lake	3-6m	Paddle-tail on a 10-20g head, or jerkbait	12-16cm	Jerkbait in clear, cold water
Deep lake, reservoir or loch	6m and deeper	Paddle-tail on a 20-30g head, spoon, or big swimbait	14-23cm	Count down to find depth

Angling Times advises natural colours in clear water, and darker or brighter colours (black, silver, red, yellow or pink) in coloured water and dull light.

If you can’t decide on a size, carry one lure type in small, mid and large and let the pike choose. For lures against deadbaits, see the best bait for pike; our predator fishing hub covers pike, perch and zander together.

The verdict: start every session with the mid size, then go down in clear or cold water and up in big or coloured water.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best lure for pike in the UK?

A 12-16cm paddle-tail shad on a jig head is the best all-round pike lure for UK waters. It fishes any depth by changing the head weight and works on rivers, canals and stillwaters. See item 1, then add a jerkbait for winter and a spinnerbait for weedy swims.

What size lure is best for pike?

A 12-16cm lure suits most UK pike fishing. Go down to 7-10cm in clear, pressured or very cold water, and up to 17-23cm on big waters in autumn. See the chooser table in item 9 for sizes by water type.

Do you need a wire trace for pike lure fishing?

Yes, use a wire trace as your default, because pike teeth cut through ordinary line. Some anglers use very heavy nylon or fluorocarbon leaders instead, and advice online conflicts, but wire is the safer choice for lure fishing. Our guide to pike wire traces explains lengths and strengths.

Do I need a licence to fish for pike with lures?

In England, yes. You need an Environment Agency rod licence to fish for freshwater fish with a rod and line, including on private waters. Under 13s don't need one, 13 to 16 year olds get a free junior licence, and the fine is up to £2,500. Prices change each April, so check GOV.UK. That covers England; if you fish in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, check the rules with that nation's authority. See our fishing licence guide.

Is there a close season for pike?

There's no single national close season date for pike on GOV.UK. Close seasons are set by local byelaws and vary by region and water type. Check the Environment Agency byelaws for your area and the fishery's own rules before you go. Our fishing seasons guide has more detail.