Of the few trophy lakes, only a few are prime for midwinter pike. The actual numbers of big pike in a lake is not the most important factor when picking a lake. Of course, the more big pike present, the better your odds will be for a trophy. One lake can have a high population of large pike but fishing can be tough. These lakes are usually shallow weedy lakes with an abundance of forage.
Forage can include, shiners, chubs, suckers, perch and walleye.
The more available forage in the lake, the tougher the fishing. Large pike have no problem finding a meal, and have no reason to strike your baits. Action for numbers of pike is good, due to the overall population, but finding big fish is though. For lunker pike fish deep clear water lakes. Most deep, clear natural lakes have a limited forage base.