Hi all, I'm a new guy and this is my first post.  I fish on Seneca lake in Geneva ny.    

While fishing for smallies I seem to catch alot of northern pike.  Is it common to find these fish in the same places and at the same depth, or if I'm catching pike is it safe to assume I won't catch smallies in the same area.

I catch pike and smallies in the same area a lot. You would assume that if you catch a pike in an area you wouldn't get a smallie because pike are pretty teritorial and aggressive fish but the biggest smallies I have caught and seen are those in the same area that I've seen pike. This may be because the pike can't scare away the big bass who knows. One time my friend pulled out a pike and then 10 seconds later my other friend hooks on to an 8 pound smallie, unfortunatley it spit the hook but it did give us a good show!

Welcome to the forum. I don't think you can safely assume that. Both smallies and pike, especially the larger pike, are often found in cooler, deeper water than largemouth, and it's not at all surprising that you'd catch one while fishing for the other. I don't know how prevalent the shared habitat is, but as long as I've been fishing, there has always been overlap between bass and toothy fish.

I don't mind catching pike, the question just crossed my mind and it seemed this would be the perfect place to ask.

Pike eat bass

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5614347245920734972&q=pike+bass&hl=en

Me and my buddy chase pike with bass gear. We have had a lot of luck with spinners and 3 1/2 spooks. The other day I was trying to catch what I thought was a large mouth throwing a frog. I got a solid hook set on a 25 in pike. The biggest line we use is 15lb test and we never use a steel leader.

Hey welcome to the forums. I fish upstate NY and I find myself catching pike all the time while bass fishing, especially on spinnerbaits. I don't think it is that uncommon.

They both hide in the Milfoil bed that rings Seneca lake.