Went out last weekend and was trolling a chatter bait looking for crappie. The first one hit and took awhile to get in. He was over 36 inches ( the tape on my boat only goes to 36 and he was way over that). I took a photo and let him go and trolled a bit longer when the second one hit. Very good fight. He too was over 36 inches. I have been fishing for almost 50 years and these are the biggest fish I have ever caught. I am a big bobber fisherman so I usually just catch panfish and bass. I am kind of hooked on these toothy critters.
Pike Fishing
First Pike in years
I find they are pests. They destroy my rigs while crappie fishing and chase the panfish from the area. Why in the world would a well fed and healthy pike we’ll over 30” bite a 1” fat head ? This is a common occurrence with me in the fall and happens about once every 4-5 outings. I believe they just like to kill and agree about the eating quality. Again, they’re like squirrels,pests. CARPIO
I flyfish in my local river for pike in November and December. Never use a net, just swing them along side and grab them behind the head. Use a Dr Slick long nose clamps to remove flies but very often the fly is caught in the side of the mouth when they take.
Here's the stomach contents of one caught a couple days ago.
I have been an avid musky and pike fisherman for years. I would rather catch a pike than a bass. I think bass are boring, they can't hurt you with their teeth, and they don't fight as well as a pike. Have you ever been bitten by one? I have up in Canada when I was 13, reached for the net without looking to help my dad unhook one and it grabbed my hand! Hurt like hell! Stick you whole hand in a bass and you get sandpaper burn. I don't like watching fishing shows where they are fishing for bass and they catch a pike, then make the comment, "oh, it's just a pike". I just don't understand the obsession with Bass today.
When I was a somewhat dedicated bass fisherman I would donate 3-4 Booyah Boogie Baits to pike every year. They were a slightly different version of the Chatterbait, and I wish I had a dozen of them right now. They were discontinued unfortunately. Yep. Pike loved them things.
I bought some $8 Textured cut resistant gloves at Fleet Farm for handling northerns. They are fun to catch and great to eat but actually very dangerous to handle. When I hook a northern, I put a glove on my left hand to grab the fish and take the pliers in my right hand. With my gloves, the northern is trapped in my kung fu grip.