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The 5 must-have lures for big stillwater pike

by Angling Times |

Updated on3rd December 2025 at 6.24am

While deadbaiting continues to be one of the best ways of catching huge pike on these venues, there’s been a definite rise in the number of anglers taking up the challenge of tempting a monster with lures, from both bank and boat.

One such angler is Rapala’s Dave Mower, who already has a lure-caught personal best of 30lb to his name.

So, here, Dave details his five favourite pike lures for catching big stillwater pike – hopefully they’ll help you to bank a new personal best this winter!

WE HAVE ROUNDED UP OUR TOP TIPS TO HELP YOU CATCH MORE PIKE ON LURES...

Dave Mower with a 30lb pike he caught on lures

X-Rap Haku

The X-Rap Haku has been one of my go-to big pike lures for a number of years now. It can be fished in so many ways – whether it’s a straight retrieve for a natural swimming action or big jerks of the rod for a wide glide, the presentation is always second to none.

If I need to fish at greater depths in the colder months, I can just add a Fastach weight to the front treble split ring to suit the level I’m trying to get it down to. One of the biggest edges that the Haku has is the stinger release system on the rear treble that disengages during a fight. This essentially helps prevent the pike from using the lure’s weight to spit the hooks.

The colour patterns that are in the range are insane too – ranging from natural, real life patterns to the most crazy bright colours like those you would see people wearing at a rave!

X-Rap Haku Hero

Crush City Curl

I like to fish a more finesse-style presentation for pike these days, and this lure lets me fish it really slowly, as the tail is so thin and needs next to no effort at all for it to work its magic. The profile and diameter are perfect to rig weedless on a Texas or Carolina rig – just keep up a steady retrieve in the kill zone and let the tail do its thing!

It’s probably one of the most versatile soft plastic lures I use. The 14.7cm version is a perfect size to rig on the VMC Baby Moustache Rig or used as a trailer on the Rap-V Pike Bladed Jig. Equally, you can fish the smaller versions just as effectively on an open jig head.

It’s these options, partnered with the tantalising swish of the Curl’s tail, that made it hard to miss off my top five list.

Rapala Crush City Curl

Crush City Kickman

When I’m asked what is my favourite lure is for targeting big pike on stillwaters, a lot of people are shocked to hear that it’s the Crush City Kickman in 10cm.

The main reason I rate it so highly is because it mimics the prey fish of pike perfectly, and has a nice subtle action in the tail that predators just seem to love.

Simply mount them on a VMC Bullet Jig in your desired weight and they’re ready to be clipped on to your trace. There’s plenty of colours in the range to suit whatever water clarity I’m fishing in too.

I’ve had so many pike on the Arkansas Shiner (ASH) colour, which is a natural pattern for when the pike are zoned in on the bait fish, making matching the hatch very easy. From the day it arrived in the UK, the Kickman has probably been my number one choice, not just for pike, but for perch and zander as well!

The Kickman Arkansas Shiner

Ripstop deep

I don’t think there are many predatory fish species in UK waters that can resist the Ripstop Deep. In essence, the profile is shaped like a minnow but it’s the boot tail on the back that makes this lure so unique. This boot allows you to stop the lure dead in the water following a straight retrieve or jerking action. It’s during this pause when the lure slowly rises up like an injured bait fish and this is when you’ll get the majority of your strikes from a pike.

The 12cm version is the perfect size for pike and I don’t ever leave home without them.

VMC Moustache Rig

It’s only been a year or so since I started using the VMC Moustache rigs and, if I’m totally honest, they took me a while to get used to. But after experimenting with them on different venues, I’ve started to have a lot of success.

It’s quite frankly a sensory overload for pike that pushes a lot of water and seems to draw in the bigger fish. It’s pretty simple to rig up, too – all you need to do is screw it into your lure of choice and clip your stinger straight on to the ring and you’re ready to go. I tend to find myself fishing them really slowly when paired with the Rapala Soft Otus, Peto or Olio during the colder months.

Just a few turns of the reel, followed by a pause, causes the head to flare out, giving the illusion of a bigger profile when the pike want a big meal to feed up on but don’t want to chase small fish.

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