Northern Pike
Pike run the two ends of Pittock and the water between. They spawn in the flooded east-end cattail marsh as soon as the ice pulls out, then push out to hunt the main west basin — the wide, open water between the dam and the campground narrows. Spring cover, summer open water. In a reservoir this fertile they never go hungry: perch and panfish stack the same edges the pike patrol.
← Back to Pittock Lake conditionsHow it fishes
Pike are the first gamefish moving each year on Pittock. They spawn in the flooded vegetation of the east-end cattail marsh as spring water pushes in, and by the second-Saturday-of-May opener they're keyed on the new weed growth and the panfish it holds.
Through summer they spread into the main west basin, the broadest open water on the reservoir, working weed edges and the transition into deeper water. A fertile, warm system feeds them well — yellow perch and panfish are everywhere.
Come fall, cooling water fires them up again before freeze-up. Two lake-specific cautions: the reservoir draws down from mid-June, so any weed edge you find is temporary — follow it as it recedes; and if you fish the dam area in spring, the Thames tailwater below the dam is a fish sanctuary closed March 15 to the Friday before the second Saturday in May, though the reservoir itself stays open.
Structure
Flooded vegetation at the upstream end — the reservoir's documented spring pike spawning habitat.
The broadest open water on the reservoir and the most-reported pike water; summer hunting ground on weed edges and open-water transitions.
Regulations
This is a summary, not the legal regulation — confirm current rules with the official source before fishing.