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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Not a muskie, but its got teeth. What a pig!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8hwovkmrAg
Enjoy!
Al
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Posts: 63
Location: Minnesota | My lord, I wish they got that big in Minnesota! |
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| RobChance - 9/18/2013 9:44 AM
My lord, I wish they got that big in Minnesota!
This will not be a popular comment with some, but the northerns in any state will never get that big if they are caught and killed when under the ice. Many pike are harvested before they reach their full size. (Now start throwing things.) If you want big pike, decrease the limit on numbers harvested per day; increase the minimum size limit; and close the season on pike fishing from December 1 through the traditional May opening day. |
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Posts: 1901
Location: MN | No intention of throwing things, but are you saying the harvest through the ice is greater than by open water hook and line angling? That seems a stretch. I also believe they need to protect the upper end, and thin the hammer handles. So simply raising the minimum isn't going to cut it I don't think. Slots here in Minnesota seem to be working on most lakes. Of course the legislature mandated that the DNR limit the number of lakes that can have pike slots. In their infinite wisdom of course. |
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Location: New Hope MN | That guy needs to work on his hooksets. just awful. But what a tank! |
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Posts: 63
Location: Minnesota | What's the management strategy in Europe, at least in England, for pike? It can't just be pure genetics that they can grow to that size. |
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Location: Hayward, WI | The Swan - 9/18/2013 10:13 AM
RobChance - 9/18/2013 9:44 AM
My lord, I wish they got that big in Minnesota!
This will not be a popular comment with some, but the northerns in any state will never get that big if they are caught and killed when under the ice. Many pike are harvested before they reach their full size. (Now start throwing things. ) If you want big pike, decrease the limit on numbers harvested per day; increase the minimum size limit; and close the season on pike fishing from December 1 through the traditional May opening day.
I'm not totally sure I agree. I don't know the best way to manage it, but lots of waters have high populations of pike (usually small fish), AND people are keeping numbers of them through the ice and otherwise. Raising the size limit seems it would increase the population density in most places, and I don't see many lakes that would support a million 38-45" pike.
Increasing the size limits on waters that have low pike populations could certainly create some big fish, but lots of water around me seem like they could benefit from more people keeping them that what they already do. Maybe putting a slot in place could be the answer. Keep anything from 0-28 inches with only one above 28 or something. |
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| It was caught in a small stocked private pond. I think it was pretty lame. Nothing like catchin it in a big public lake IMO. |
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Posts: 171
| RobChance - 9/18/2013 11:12 AM
What's the management strategy in Europe, at least in England, for pike? It can't just be pure genetics that they can grow to that size.
Genetics, water content, temperature... |
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Posts: 216
| Slot limit is what is needed, keep nothing between 28-48. We do catch ten times more pike through the ice up here in newyork than you can in open water. Then every lake has its annually derby, "to kill all the big fish in the lake".we get 1000 ppl out on the ice each with 5 lines in the water and see how many of the biggest fish we can drag out of the lake and weigh em to see who wins a new "ice shack"or something else they already have.The fish get strung up, dragged around on 4 wheelers and handled improperly then released or taken home. So we wonder why the fish get smaller every year, hmm.id like to see the season close same as Muskie.Id like to catch monster pile too. |
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Posts: 46
| Personally I'd like to see more designated trophy lakes for pike. There's plenty of lakes in the upper Midwest that have the potential to produce 45+ inch pike but due to current regulations and intense ice-fishing pressure they never do. My favorite body of water to fish for big pike is a small lake that really doesn't have the normal characteristics of a good pike lake. However, it sees very little ice fishing pressure which in my opinion is the reason that there are so many big ones. |
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Posts: 182
| All the hammer handles in some of the lakes proves they need a different plan than with muskies. Pike seem to be more prolific and are treated with an almost sense of disgust by many.
Put an end to all spearing!!
That should get things going. LOL! |
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| enormous pike, but not impressed with the thrill of "chasing a record" these guys speak of. when its already been caught before and they're just waiting to be the first ones to pull it from the pond again having given it time to eat more trout and pack on another pound or 2 seems pretty lame. |
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| Ronix I agree, not very sporting.
Pike need similar treatment in MN as they Musky get. More CPR. The Little Falls area DNR in MN has been using slots ot try an thin out the hammer handle lakes in that region and promote bigger specimens. The spearing probably doesn't help either. |
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Location: Ontario | Trout pond with a giant pike living in it. Where's the Guinness ? |
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Guy's fishing for pike in the UK is very different from the USA or any other country for that matter. Don't diss the guy & his fishing method's or hookset, even if it was a small managed pond, he still released it!
There are big pike here in WI and MN, and other places in North America. However, a fish of that magnitude is about the same as you catching the next WR muskie. You'll have to hunt her, just like these guy's did......then get her to eat! I agree we need better management if we want to see more big pike.
As for myself, I've been chasing big pike for ~ 50 years. Today, I only want one fish, just like I only want one muskie. Oh yeah, I enjoy catching the smaller one's too. Back in the earlly 80's I lived on fish while going to college in La Crosse WI, after I got out after 15 years in the Army. Northern pike are some fine eating. Today I rarely keep any fish, and I do really enjoy seeing kid's catching fish, especially my grandchildren.
We have a peculiar problem here in the mid-west, e.g., a relatively large influx of immigrant's from Asia, Eastern Europe, and Mexico/South America. These people put a line in the water, they catch something, they eat it! Northern pike, muskie, its all the same to them, food for the table. I've seen them hand line fishing with coke bottle's on the WI River, don't laugh, they catch fish..........Add the number of unemployed who are also fishing ereryday they can, because they too can't afford the +8$ a lb fish in the store, it becomes a disaster for our fisheries. Our water's here in Central WI are taking a serious beating right now, river levels are very low and the fish are more targetable, especially below the dam's etc. ... What's the problem you ask, we have regulations? The problem is enforcement - budget, and education! There are simply not enough DNR Warden's. How involved are the local bass & muskie club's, do they have or sponsor education seminar's for these folks? Where are all the YOY & 2 year old bass, juvenile muskies going, you guess?
LOL, I've only seen one fish in her class, and that was ~ 50 years ago, she broke my line and my heart......... the quest continues. Maybe next year in Canada... She's still a pig!
Have fun!
Al |
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Location: NE Wisconsin | Propster - 9/18/2013 10:26 AM
No intention of throwing things, but are you saying the harvest through the ice is greater than by open water hook and line angling? That seems a stretch.
Don't know about MN, but here in WI, DNR creel surveys show northern pike harvest to be much greater through the ice. In some waters up to 80% of the northern pike harvest occurs through the ice. In the winter ALL northern pike anglers have at least 3 lines out, in the open water most use 1. |
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Location: Ontario | The fish is a classic no doubt. Just poking some fun at the situation. Fishing populations and habitat are ever changing. Our waters here in Ontario on Georgian Bay have gone through a tremendous change. Water levels down by 6 ft in the last 20 years, zebra mussels cleaning out massive food supplies, #*^@ camarants eating 6-7 times their body weight each day..... Its estimated our fish populations are at 20% of where they should be at. Its rather numbing to think a body of water the size of an ocean can lose 6ft of water. So seeing a pike this size comes with a little envy too...And a Guinness !! |
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| Northerns are highly cannibalistic, aren't they? Surely if there were more big northerns left in the water, they would do a better job of eating the youngin's and hammerhandles.
I feel that northerns are one of the most under-respected game fish out there, at least here in the midwest. Catching a 40"+ fish is a blast, but not many get to be that large because they aren't treated with the same respect as the muskie. I wish catch and release for bigger northerns was as prevalent as it is for muskie and smallmouth. Of course you will end up with rivers and lakes full of hammerhandles if all of the adults are kept. It's no fault of the fish's. They are basically managed as a panfish here in Northern Wisconsin - 5 fish per day with no minimum length. I would be every bit as happy with a northern over 40" as I would be with a muskie of the same size, however not many of the northerns are allowed to live long enough to grow to that size. |
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Jimmy, So are muskies cannibalistic. But pike are also underrated and disrespected, especially where populations are beyond the reasonable carrying capacity of the water. Those hammer handles need to be taken out! Mind you, not all of them, it has to be managed. Want a good pickled pike recipe for hammer handles, I've got one! Northen Pike are basically a cold water fish, they like temperature's much colder than muskies - they eat more under the ice, and that makes the pike big girls more vulnerable. I remember one day in Dec 1982 when we took + 100 lbs of pike off the ice between three of us on the Mississippi River in ~4 hours below La Crosse. I have the photo's, we are talking a bathtub full of fish on a 15 fish limit... 5 per person. It was what it was, and it was perfectly legal!
Today catching a 40" pike in Wisconsin is equivalent to catching a 50" muskie. #*^@ed hard to to do! Why have the resorts in Canada partnered with their Ministry of Natural Resources? Because they realize without the resource they would be out of business..... From my perspective - God Bless them! More resorts in WI need to partner with our DNR to protect these vulnerable fish, unfortunately I don't see that happening. So I take my children, nephew's, and grandchildren to Canada and teach them to catch & release big fish. Guess what they do when they come back here? They have fun catching and releasing fish, not just muskies, but also bass and pike. They understand how fragile a fisheries resource is.... I'm saddened by the club's that promote stocking, but do absolutely nothing to promote the actual fishery via education of the anglers using the resources. ...
If I had to pick one guy in this state who has done more for the muskie fishery on the WI River south of Wi Rapids than all other's, it would be Todd Forcier.
~ 4 years ago, I botched a net job on a ~ 36-38" walleye for my granddaughter Jazzy (my muskie fishing partner) in Canada. I appologized profusely because I did it twice, the net caught on the same boat cleat twice. The first time the net snagged on the boat cleat... I told her to let the fish go away from the boat, then she brought it back, same scenario. Her reaction when the fish got off: "That's OK Papa, we were just going to just let it go anyway." When we got back to camp, I taped up the cleats on the back of the boat!
This same girl today giggle's & laugh's at 50-55" muskies! She's having way more fun than her Papa! I've been trying sneering at them, its not working, maybe she's onto something? The most fun you can have without laughing is probably something that your mom & dad cautioned you against, and it wasn't muskie or pike fishing!
Have fun!
Al |
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Location: Brookfield, WI | I don't trust pike. They seem the most devious of the game fish. Now a walleye, that's a trustworthy fish. Muskies are standoffish, but what you see is what you get. But those pike? I don't know, man.
Kevin's |
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Location: Knot on the WATER | Did they forget there Go Pro?
Great flick tho |
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| omg i would choose a pike this big over 40 pounder musky everyday.why euro pike get so big?i cant believe its just based on the available forage |
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | North American Pike can and do get this big, they live where you are not looking for them......
Have fun!
Al |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | There are waters where Pike grow very big, and waters where they do not, for the same reasons as walleye, bass, panfish, and muskies.
Many lakes in the US and Canada are managed for big Pike.
I'd like to see a slot for Pike on waters where they do get big. The pond thing is what it is, and the Pike is a giant. |
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Posts: 771
Location: Ames, Iowa | Al is obviously right about certain populations over taking fish below dams. We see that here in Iowa too. However, due largely to their economic situation, those folks aren't fishing on destination lakes like Leech, Mille Lacs and lots of other lakes where there are "no big northern". On Leech the answer is simple- northerns don't get a chance to get large because they're caught by sport fishermen for the table when they are 20-28 inches. Many lakes don't have slots or size restrictions, and all those folks driving hundreds of miles are gonna go home with something for the freezer, and that's usually northerns. We see very few large northerns caught on the east side of the lake at the Bear Island narrows- there are so many anglers targeting northerns here. But I see a lot of pics of big northerns caught on mid lake humps, reefs- out of the way places the masses don't get to. I heard someone say if the DNR was serious about creating a trophy northern fishery- they are a food fish not a C & R fish- they'd do something like this: reverse the slot and allow anglers to keep 3 fish 26" and under and one fish over 34". I think the idea was that enough fish would get thru to that protected size to create a larger population of over 34" fish.
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Location: Maple Grove, MN | Attitudes and fishing laws are so much different in Great Britain. It is illegal to kill a Pike in Great Britain and people wouldn't even think of killing one. Pike there get huge because they live a full life. The size of the waters are much smaller than here. Lakes are usually small and man-made. Most Pike fishing is actually done in the canals that criss-cross the country side. The British take fishing very seriously and put a lot of tradition into it.
Been there. Done that. 
If you want to catch really big Pike, head out to Colorado and northern New Mexico. Pike there can reach 50 inches and 40 lbs. Muskie gear works very well.
Edited by Herb_b 9/25/2013 11:08 PM
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| i don't think a single canam lake can match the baltic sea pike.american 40 pounder++ pike don't get caught each year,but it's seem to be another story for euro scene.for something that is supposed to be exactly the same fish they look quite different.
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Posts: 34
| Herb_b - 9/25/2013 11:04 PM
If you want to catch really big Pike, head out to Colorado and northern New Mexico. Pike there can reach 50 inches and 40 lbs. Muskie gear works very well.
I have been wanting to pike fish out west. They eat up the trout "like dogs in a sausage factory".
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Posts: 182
| Herb_b - 9/25/2013 11:04 PM Attitudes and fishing laws are so much different in Great Britain. It is illegal to kill a Pike in Great Britain and people wouldn't even think of killing one. Pike there get huge because they live a full life. The size of the waters are much smaller than here. Lakes are usually small and man-made. Most Pike fishing is actually done in the canals that criss-cross the country side. The British take fishing very seriously and put a lot of tradition into it. Been there. Done that. If you want to catch really big Pike, head out to Colorado and northern New Mexico. Pike there can reach 50 inches and 40 lbs. Muskie gear works very well.
So many small lakes and ponds in Europe are privately owned. Usually on large estates and access is very limited. |
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| No need to come to CO for pike. BR |
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This is why you should never stop your quest!