After reading seveal reports on here about the pike in the Pend Orielle. My cousin and I hit it on Friday the 29th for our first attempt at pike. We got there around 8am and it was raining, cold, and a good breeze. There was another pair of fisherman also putting in at the same time.
We had never fished this area before but knew to fish the sloughs. We hit two sloughs and on our way up river just decided to hit a small area that looked promising. Well after getting there the other fishermen joined us there.
My cousin landed the first and only pike of the day for us around 10am. The pike struck close to the boat and we were able to land it quickly. We didn't measure the pike but it was about 22" long. Pike was caught on a large floating Rapala silver and black in color. About 20 minutes later he hooked another one on the same lure, but it got off before we could see it. From what we saw the other two fisherman ended up landing two pike.
When the weather cleared two more boats came on the river. From what we saw the other two boats landed several pike, all about the same size as the my cousin's. We spoke to them briefly at the boat launch. One boat landed four and the other boat landed three.
Over all it was a good day on the water. I got skunked but my cousin was able to land one which in itself made the trip worth it. The bonus was that now we know what to use and where to go. We may head back up there if time off permits.