PB Northern Pike...on a 1.75" small fry!

[andrewlamberson]

Check out the BIG Northern Pike I landed on Thanksgiving in the Gallery. I landed it on a 1.75" small fry...on 4lb test!!

http://www.caneycreekmolds.net/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=338

[Jason]

Awesome fish!  That dude has some serious teeth.  I'm glad you posted the pic of the other fish to put in it perspective.  That fish is huge!!!  Great way to cap off Turkey day - with a PB fish!!!

Awesome!

Jason

[bribass]

Wow, that is amazing! thank you for sharing! congrats!

[BareKnuckleJigs]

MAN!  On a 1.75" bait!  What JigHead and hook size were You using, to land that fish on a 1.75" bait?

[ctom]

Gotta play the fish. Lots of large pike come to the boat or the top of the ice while fishing some incredibly small baits. The area where he lives and fishes is right on the Mississippi River is full of backwaters that harbor some monsters.

[BareKnuckleJigs]

Roger on'nat, CTom!  Was just tryin' to get an idea of his tackle...because it was obviously of good quality.  If it was a handmade head, he chose the hook, and that was obviously a good choice.  Kind of like a Tackle Review, You know?  I pour alot of JigHeads and have quite a few options, and 1 of the brands of hooks I have, there's been some problems of them being brittle.  I'm at a point with this brand that (and considering their popularity) I've been considering selling the entire lot of them for about Half Price.

Playing fish...I think I'd have to "boast" and say that's part of my "repertoire"...I embrace Light Line whenever possible...one of the Spinning Rods I use for Lighter Inland Saltwater and Light Bass is loaded with 8 lb. Ande mono.  There are times when You just have to put some pressure on a fish (that's why I use Ande ), and those reasons are vast.  These are some of the many things I've been diligently teaching my wife since she's been converted from, "ho-hum, I've been fishing a few times"...to..."baby, my Rods have been tellin' me how bored they are".

But, yea, I was just wanting to find out what all he was using...Inquiring Tackle Guys want to know!   

[andrewlamberson]

I was crappie fishing at the time in a backwater bay...I was fishing the 6lb PowerPro with a 4lb test Fluorocarbon leader! I don't remember exactly what jig head I was using...I'm sure it was very light because the crappies were suspended at 12' in 20' of water and you want the lure to fall slowly through the zone.

I don't know why that Pike didn't bite me off...they can bite off 30 lb PowerPro instantly! I either got an old girl with no teeth (!!) or just got the line in a soft spot! It took me at least 10 minutes to land the darn thing...they are good fighters and like to make fast runs. I was using a St. Croix ultralight rod and a good Shimano reel.

I had been Northern Pike fishing for about an hour...with no success and then switched to crappies....I had already put my big Muskie net back in its case....and there was no way that thing was fitting into my bass net!  So I maneuvered her up next to the boat and gave her a TV quality back of the head hand grab! Darn...where's the video cameraman when you need them?

Given her size that fish was about 15-20 years old (and a female)...so after a couple pics...I put her back....and resuscitated her until she was ready to go. It just kills me when I see someone kill a fish like that! My goal is a 40"er....and they won't get there unless you put the "smaller" ones back!!!

[ctom]

I embrace Light Line whenever possible...one of the Spinning Rods I use for Lighter Inland Saltwater and Light Bass is loaded with 8 lb. Ande mono

Its amazing how regional preferences can be so braodly different.

Myself I tend to like long light action crappie and panfish rods. 7'...7 1/2 footers maxed out at about 3/16 ounce baits are my pets and all of the reels are Shimano Saharas or Symetres spooled with lines anywhere from #2 to 4 pound, nothing heavier. I'll do Cyrstal for a hi-tech line but again that gets maxed out at 4 pound. Most all of my jigs are 1/32 and I pour them on hooks anywhere from #8 to #2, but the standard #6 is most widely used. I use Sickle Hooks for quite a bunch of my standard tackle, but also have Mustads in the same sizes.

I fish a few harbors in the late fall before they freeze up simply because they are full of fish and they are a quick access thing. I made myself a dock donkey out of a golf cart and a 5 gallon pail. Some PVC rod holders and a couple of bungies and away I go. These docks can have anything in them for fish, but I generally target the nice crappies. They can run right up to 15 inches pretty commonly with a handful doing better. The sunnies can be huge. The amazing part of this fishing is having a big walleye snap up a small jig. The past two years have handed me 4 walleyes over 7 1/2 pounds each with the best topping 9 1/2. Northerns have been taken up to 16 pounds and the pig of pigs came on a 1/32 head and a shad bait.....it was a 27 pound channel catfish.

In all of Minnesota, I don't think that either Andrew or I could want for anything more than what we have right here. Save maybe for Muskies. Big pike, big walleyes, big catfish....we have it all and as a rule our tackle is not heavy by any measure.

[BareKnuckleJigs]

Roger on'na differences!  WOW.

My "light" rod is a 9 ft., 9/10wt. Fly Rod, converted to a spinning rod, with a Penn Battle 2000 and 8 lb. Ande clear mono.

I've been seeing SO MUCH heavy line in use, I'm very happy to see both of Yawl's posts!!!

I thought I was doing good when I swap to my Ultralight Spinning Reel with 6!  I used some 4 at one point, many years ago...that stuff is like hair.  I may have to refigure the "light" stuff...

[ctom]

Bare.....

Thru the ice I will use even a clear monofilament quilting thread for panfish. Its a "Sulky" product and I get the 440 yard spool. I use a regular mono of 2 or 4 pound test as a backer and crank on about 50 yards of the thread. The stuff is crystal clear and has little memory. I works really well when the fish are hanging deep and small baits are in order....easy to sink this line.

And if you wonder about what it is like strength-wise, I landed an 18 pound carp using it one day.

Our fishing laws and # of rods one can use is sort of archaic up here. We can use two rods on the river or thru the ice, one other-wise. The winter fishing makes us have to find ways to adapt to conditions that are not so nice. Muchof what we do or use during the winter months makes us better at how we approach out open water fish. The light line stuff is probably our mainstay. Our baits are generally smaller too. In looking at pictures from your southern waters, I think that crappies down there have been conditioned to larger foods than what we see up here and have larger mouths as a result. I see pics of a 15 inch crappie from down your way and think, dang, I could put a truck in those chops. Maybe its a perception thing.  

[BareKnuckleJigs]

Mr. Andrew...MAN, Fine Fight!  I'da been happy to be the CameraMan!  Looking at all the Amazing variables in Your catching of that Pike...Praise GOD...some Things "just happen that way sometimes"...oh yea...that's a Blessing...give GOD the Glory!  That's Awesome.

CTom...I'm a Custom Rod guy and am fairly familiar with Sulky.  Where do You get "clear mono" Sulky Thread?  And what size is that Sulky Thread You use?

[ctom]

Bare....

I get the thread at JoAnn's fabrics. The item number on the sulky spool is 232-0001. At the other end of the spool it says polyester 004.

[BareKnuckleJigs]

Roger on'nat, CTom!  Thank You, Sir!  A "clear mono" thread has me quite curious...You caught an 18 lb. Carp with it...that's pretty substantial.  And low memory AND crystal clear...my tail's waggin'!  I'm thinkin' Transparent Guide Wraps without having to use Silk Thread.  And again, an 18 lb. Carp...Carp fight hard.  If that thread is compatible with epoxy...

Back to the OP...sorry to ThreadJack.