Northland Fishing Tackle’s Mimic Minnow Spin is a great option for targeting these fish. Tipped with a 3- to 5-inch, securely skull-hooked sucker minnow, the jig can be cast or trolled, depending on the size of the weed clump you’re fishing.
For larger clumps, slow-troll the jig and minnow .7 to 1.2 mph just above the weed tops and along the edges, so it occasionally ticks the vegetation. When your jig contacts the weeds, snap the rod tip to rip it free. Hang on tight, because the resulting erratic action produced when the lure surges forward, then flutters back down often triggers a strike.
When fishing a smaller clump, or when pike tuck tight into the weeds following a severe fall cold front, casting is a good call. Cast out, let the jig fall to bottom and methodically retrieve it over the weeds, allowing it to helicopter down into open pockets and along the edges.