I’ve heard stories about how a Pike can fight for hours before you actually pull it in. I’ll have a downrigger on my line, so that’s probably going to help me, and I think my pole will have at least 50 lb test line, I’ve also got a lure that looks like a Muskie, but what else can I d to pull those monsters in?
Moved from General Questions to IMHO.
samclem, Moderator
In my experience, Northern Pike are extremely easy to get on the line. They aren’t even that difficult to land, honestly. I once caught one that was just shy of 50 inches on 8 lb test line and an ultralight rod. I was fishing for walleye, and this guy moved in to feed on them. You really don’t need anything like 50 pound line for the job.
I love trotting out this story. So thanks.
I’m nine or ten and up with my uncles and grandfather at his vacation place near Genoa, Wisconsin right on the Mississippi. We’re fishing some morning. Fine. Mostly for bluegills and crappies and such.
I’m in my uncle Al’s boat. My grandfather and another uncle are few feet away in one of theirs. I catch what they call a sauger. At this late date I have NO idea what species it is…just that it was considered by them a ‘trash fish’ and we threw them back.
So I catch this thing and my grandfather says, 'Feh, take it off the line and let it go."
I reach down to grab it and this ENORMOUS Northern Pike come out of the darkness and hits the sauger. WHAM! It looked to my young eyes like a damn alligator or something.
I scream and throw myself backwards halfway out of the boat. Al starts screaming ‘Dad!’ and the damn Pike comes up and hits the thing again! WHAM!
My grandfather grabs a bat and WHAM hits the Pike at the water line right in the face and yells ‘Get a net!’ which I do.
The Pike, which at this point is saying ‘Am I in Oz? What th’?’ after being bashed in the skull with a baseball bat, is easily netted and pulled into the boat. But not by me. It was too heavy for me to lift by myself. Al had to help me. Somewhere between 3.5 and 4 feet long.
And that’s how I managed to catch a monster game fish at a young age. With fear, terror, and a grandfather who WOULD NOT LET THAT FISH GET AWAY. He’s dead now but my grandmother still has the picture of me with the fish somewhere.
Me: AHHH! ALLIGATOR!
Uncles: AHHH! Don’t let the kid drown!
Grandfather, quietly: Fuck you, fish. You’re going down.
My son could land small ones at eight without a problem (he’s never caught a really big one). They aren’t deep sea fish.
Little frog lures work.