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DiabeticKripple
07-23-2013, 04:11 PM
Well I'm mad at myself now.

Was trolling along in Slave Lake. Had my mom and dad in the boat with me driving.

My mom has a light action rod with 8lb mono and she had a steel leader on.

I had a medium heavy rod and 20lb braid with 80lb fluro leader. I was setup for big fish.

We were catching little 2-3lb walleye and pike all afternoon. We were almost at te end of our journey when my mom says she's snagged. She busted her elbow a few weeks ago and can't put much weight on it. So she passed the rod to me. I started reeling in a log and I knew based on my experience being at Wabamun a few weeks ago, that it was a big fish.

So I get it to where the pike is under the boat and I decide to turn the engine off. I start pulling the pike straight up out of the depths. Then it comes to the surface 2 ft from me. Man was it big. I got a big rush of adrenalin and the fish took off. This continued for about 2 mins and finally the hook popped out. I felt so bad :(

The fish made my 16lber at Wab look like a baby. This fish was 20+lb easy. I have never seen a pike this big.

If I had it on my rod I think I would've been able to land it since I could pull on it harder and not try to play with it as easy to avoid snapping the line.

Gonna go back tonight and see if I can get him.

FisherPotch
07-23-2013, 04:14 PM
Tough stuff man I've been there!!!

Hope you get him! Tight lines.

Redfrog
07-23-2013, 04:17 PM
I feel for you bro.:rolleye2:

I didn't get out at all today.:mad0100:

EZM
07-23-2013, 04:32 PM
Sorry to hear that.

That happened to me a few years ago at Wab - the contender - posted on here before. That day changed my life. My medium action rod, quality spinning reel with 20lb braid was no match for her.

Now it's heavy action rods, level wind reels with >20lbs of drag, 30lb-40lb braid, 80lb fluoro leaders with 375lb cross locks.

Have not lost one yet since.

You seen what your 16 lber did to my gear you used to land your fish with.

Imagine a 30 lber .......... that would be precarious for sure.

Just getting the rod out of the holder was tough ..... lol.

You will get her ........... go back to the same area ........... she won't be far away.

DiabeticKripple
07-23-2013, 04:37 PM
It'll be lying down there. I gotta find a bigger lure though. We caught it on a little 8cm long perch shad rap.

EZM
07-23-2013, 04:49 PM
http://www.muskyshop.com/modules/cart/navigate.php/nav_id/92

as per my text ......... here's the link ........

tight line
07-23-2013, 04:52 PM
Love it! The anticipation of landing it, the fear of loosing it. Watching the hook pop out when its just out of reach, then the hard somewhat deflating breath out! Lol. Thats one of the things that keeps you hooked!

WayneChristie
07-23-2013, 05:39 PM
I bet your mom spit in your dinner when you werent looking :sHa_sarcasticlol:
no one knows that feeling like old dodger when he lost the sturgeon I handed off to him, still sure it was easily as big as my 6 footer :sign0176:

fluxcore
07-23-2013, 05:51 PM
I lost a huge laker at cold lake.... I grew up in Campbell river fishing the west coast so I've caught my share of tyees, my biggest spring is 38.5 and this laker was much bigger :( lost it at the boat when my daughter tried to net it :( I'm still heart broken to this day and I dont think ill ever get over it. In short I feel your pain

DiabeticKripple
07-23-2013, 05:58 PM
If I don't catch this fish by the end of the week ill cry

fish gunner
07-23-2013, 06:01 PM
Sorry to hear that.

That happened to me a few years ago at Wab - the contender - posted on here before. That day changed my life. My medium action rod, quality spinning reel with 20lb braid was no match for her.

Now it's heavy action rods, level wind reels with >20lbs of drag, 30lb-40lb braid, 80lb fluoro leaders with 375lb cross locks.

Have not lost one yet since.

You seen what your 16 lber did to my gear you used to land your fish with.

Imagine a 30 lber .......... that would be precarious for sure.

Just getting the rod out of the holder was tough ..... lol.

You will get her ........... go back to the same area ........... she won't be far away.

Some where you guys are missing a crucial detail of chasing big fish . The wont hit saltwater class gear . They hit gear they cant see ,10lb or less with small lures. I wont say it cant be done. Its just very difficult on waters that see lots of pressure. Honest skill or luck lands big fish winch gear.. well thats for fish that require gear to pull a truck .
My self 4lb test 10lb pike, no leader minnow single sz12 hook three yrs running on gull. Member witnessed twice.
6lb test 17lb pike smallest blue rapala floater no leader , no net .
10 lb test 32 lb pike yrs ago in Ont .no leader mid size rattle rap.
I fish big gear often and most of my big pike come when targeting other speices.
Unlucky DK poor hook set perhaps . Yeh you ma spit in your soop.

EZM
07-23-2013, 06:45 PM
Some where you guys are missing a crucial detail of chasing big fish . The wont hit saltwater class gear . They hit gear they cant see ,10lb or less with small lures. I wont say it cant be done. Its just very difficult on waters that see lots of pressure. Honest skill or luck lands big fish winch gear.. well thats for fish that require gear to pull a truck .
My self 4lb test 10lb pike, no leader minnow single sz12 hook three yrs running on gull. Member witnessed twice.
6lb test 17lb pike smallest blue rapala floater no leader , no net .
10 lb test 32 lb pike yrs ago in Ont .no leader mid size rattle rap.
I fish big gear often and most of my big pike come when targeting other speices.
Unlucky DK poor hook set perhaps . Yeh you ma spit in your soop.

I appreciate your opinion but disagree with it. The crucial details of catching big fish don't seem to be escaping us at all.

Maybe I'm we are real lucky ...........and ironically lucky on a consistent basis it seems ............... maybe your comment is correct.

How many Pike from 14lb to 30lbs has your boat landed this season?

30lb high visibility braid, 80 pound clear fluoro leader seems to work just fine for pike when casting or trolling a moving crank/spoon or lure.

Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket .......... and change my screen name to "lucky winch"

............or maybe we will just keep stumbling into some big fish ........... consistently .............. relying on our luck and silly winch gear.

just teasing ...........

pelada trochu
07-23-2013, 07:01 PM
I put two 45" pike down lsst year on 12# mono. Mh jm rod 6'8" only when they hit big weeds etc does braid come in handy. But to the thread i hsd a 48" fish shake me off while trying to start the video camera. Saw it go under yhe boat twice so all i know was bigger than my 45"

Yes frustration was high. Go get her!!!

pelada trochu
07-23-2013, 07:06 PM
I also put down a 35" on 6# fluoro ono leader and perch hook on my 500 series reel. But had to chase it with boat. Dont recommend that. 14# should land anything up to 30#


Cheers all

DiabeticKripple
07-23-2013, 07:40 PM
My dad needs to learn how to drive a boat. He has no clue what he is doing.

fish gunner
07-23-2013, 07:57 PM
I appreciate your opinion but disagree with it. The crucial details of catching big fish don't seem to be escaping us at all.

Maybe I'm we are real lucky ...........and ironically lucky on a consistent basis it seems ............... maybe your comment is correct.

How many Pike from 14lb to 30lbs has your boat landed this season?

30lb high visibility braid, 80 pound clear fluoro leader seems to work just fine for pike when casting or trolling a moving crank/spoon or lure.

Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket .......... and change my screen name to "lucky winch"

............or maybe we will just keep stumbling into some big fish ........... consistently .............. relying on our luck and silly winch gear.

just teasing ........... lost two landed two one 17 one 15 one on gull one on sylvan. Didn't lose a pike on perch gear all winter .
No worries E . Notice DK pulled out not broke off. Gear was plenty up to the fight to that point. No harm no foul.

BeeGuy
07-23-2013, 08:28 PM
Likely a result of the small hooks on the shad rap, not the rod/reel combo.

DiabeticKripple
07-23-2013, 08:30 PM
But with heavier gear, you can control the fish better and put it where you want it, not where it wants to go.

I think it came out because the fish rolled and the leader was wrapped around its head. So I had tension on the leader, but not on the hook itself

1bluZebec
07-23-2013, 08:35 PM
Landing big fish (15lb-20lb) all the time at wabamun as well, never use leaders, always just plain 8lb strait mono during summer and 6lb in the winter other than tip ups. I just tie the snap swivel directly to Dacron. My summer rods are cheap 6'6" medium rods. A $89.00 Abu Garcia specialist and a $50.00 Mitchell. Winter I use a 26" ugly stick ultralight which I actually managed my biggest winter catch with at wabamun last winter. Summertime I was trolling a 9" floating fire tiger rapala that dives from 8-12'and was in about 22' when my rod started to bend and act as if it had been snagged solidly on rock or thick weed or something so I quickly put electric into reverse to get the strain off and tried to pull on it and it felt solid so beginning to think I had lost my first $20.00 crank ain't I decided to just reel and drive the boat back to where it was stuck and maybe get it out by going the other way. When I finally got within about 6' away from my line my fish finder went off, ignoring it I just turned my drag up and started to pull strait up and low and behold whatever it is its coming up. This is on my Abu but with 20lb braided fire line. Anyway I never new what the heck it was until I seen the white from its belly and as soon as this seen the boat it turned and BURNED! I had no time to turn it down from pulling up so hard. I know if I had seen her before she seen me I would of caught her maybe. whats funny and kinda crazy is im catching up to 60" sturgeon at Nsr on same line and rod as when I lost the largest pike I've ever had on my line.:sad0147: you'll get your fish if you put in your time

NEWB
07-23-2013, 09:20 PM
Love it! The anticipation of landing it, the fear of loosing it. Watching the hook pop out when its just out of reach, then the hard somewhat deflating breath out! Lol. Thats one of the things that keeps you hooked!

I could not have spoken truer words!

ETOWNCANUCK
07-24-2013, 12:49 AM
I lost what would have been my first double digit lb pike at Wab a couple of weeks ago fishing from shore. Wasn't prepared for the size of it, and did not have myself in a position to lift it up right. When I re adjusted my self the fish thrashed, snapped the line and I watched it swim away with my hook still in its mouth. :sign0161:

BeeGuy
07-24-2013, 12:57 AM
b!u!m!p

blackpheasant
07-24-2013, 01:40 AM
Don't be to mad at yourself, you will have many more chances to put some big ones in the boat, fishing the Charlottes many years ago I lost a spring that was in the 70's for sure, after his 3rd run he was done and I got him to the boat, wrong guy on the net that day end of story...very sad rest of day but I know that big fish produced many more just like himself, losing the big ones make for great memories as well and lots of free beer from the net guy.

pelada trochu
07-24-2013, 07:29 AM
i think it hurts worse to loose the fish than the excitement you get from landing it.
mostly because you have doubt of how big it really was or could have been. loosing it gets worse the closer the fish gets to the boat. Its only the accomplishment of landing similar sized fish that makes it bearable.

eg.
when i first got turned onto pike, my 7 year old daughter hooked a 38" pike on a tiny little hook fishing for walleye. it was a total fluke when i look back. i had never caught a fish bigger than 9 lbs before. when i saw this monster, my heart raced and my adrenaline went off the charts. the fish scared me how big it looked in the water passing under the boat. any seasoned pro watching would have just rolled his/her eyes and groaned. but we were in another world. i took over and landed the beast after a wonderful fight. details are fuzzy but likely 8lb mono on a 30 buck rod and reel. no leader. the point is that was the most amazing moment we ever had. she and her sister were too scared to even stand near the fish for a picture. fish was released by the way. it would have hurt so bad to loose that fish and never catch another like it. but now we have boated many that size as we learned the tricks of the trade so to speak.


hope you get the one that got away.

waterninja
07-24-2013, 12:14 PM
had that sick feeling twice last year. once on wab on my canoe when the net i had was not near big enough for the pike i hooked and once ice fishing when the 6 lbs test that came with my new reel couldn't turn the head of a monster rainbow. still think about them sometimes.

CK Angler
07-24-2013, 12:45 PM
Try have it happening in a tournament on a money fish.... that really breaks the heart. But! It all part of what makes fishing so exciting!

Wild&Free
07-24-2013, 03:11 PM
But with heavier gear, you can control the fish better and put it where you want it, not where it wants to go.

I think it came out because the fish rolled and the leader was wrapped around its head. So I had tension on the leader, but not on the hook itself

I wouldn't say heavier gear gives you more control. Little bit of tension on a light rod and you can get a big fish to do anything you want it to. Heavier gear means more horsing and forcing, not so much control. IMHO that is. You can still play the big fish on the heavy gear, but it's not as fun. Pulled a 15# out of Bischto on a mL 6'6 fenwick walleye classic rod with 8# mono. Takes a bit more time, just have to keep that hook tight in their lips, your tip up and you're drag set and they'll do whatever you like.

PS. On a light spinning reel, I find it's better to have your drag set on the loose side and if you need it tighter, just use your hand on the spool. You can still feel through the rod when the fish wants to go, but at least you're not pulling and losing line to the loose drag. I've lost a few big fish from fiddling with the front drag systems on spinning reels. Now I just set it and use my hand to get it tight when I need it.

PPS. Good luck on your moby hunt, that lake holds some big fish.

DiabeticKripple
07-24-2013, 03:19 PM
Nothing last night. It's wayy to windy to go out this afternoon. Maybe if I calms down this evening ill head out.

nekred
07-24-2013, 04:00 PM
A couple of years ago my pldest boy in a zodiac on fish river hooked the bottom....with apickeral rig.... I moved the boat and he passed me the rod and about then it went ape turd.

I handed the rod back and told him to hang on and about 15 minutes later he surfaced it and he swung it by the zodiac.... and it was too big for the net.... we tried to get it into shallow water but in the process he hit the electric motor..wrapped and gone....

Biggest pike I have ever seen.... I hav caught a 27 lbr' and I swear this thing would have ate it... unbelieveable... after the line come up out of water we looked at each other and I am not sure who cried more.... him or me....

Every year we try the same hole and no luck so far.... What a pig....

We were out at Wab and hooked a few in the high teens and he just looks at them and calls them babies...but he loves pike fishing!... of course he is spolied first pike he every hooked was through ice and it was 6 lbs...on a perch jig... Right after that he saw another one down the hole and it was huge I was about 5' away and could see the tail through my hole.... it was a monster....but did not bite.. and it slowly swam off into the depths...

One day though... I think he is the fishing geek for pike....

EZM
07-25-2013, 03:50 PM
At the end of the day, using appropriately sized gear large enough to land a fish, without gear failure, in a reasonable period of time, is the name of the game.

It's a blast landing a 9lb pike on a ultra light with 4 pound mono - but the fish is exhausted, stressed and more likely to die after your "successful" fight and the mastery of your equipment.

Personally, guys that tell us fantastic tales of the 40 lber on 4 lb line in a 40 minute fight, are elevating themselves in an effort to demonstrate their expertise and prowess in handling fishing equipment.

I, on the other hand, think it might be unethical to hook and torture to death fish using gear that is grossly undersized.

If it was all about the fun, with no regard to the resource - hell I'd be at Wabamun with my 4lb mono too.

huntsfurfish
07-25-2013, 04:39 PM
At the end of the day, using appropriately sized gear large enough to land a fish, without gear failure, in a reasonable period of time, is the name of the game.

It's a blast landing a 9lb pike on a ultra light with 4 pound mono - but the fish is exhausted, stressed and more likely to die after your "successful" fight and the mastery of your equipment.

Personally, guys that tell us fantastic tales of the 40 lber on 4 lb line in a 40 minute fight, are elevating themselves in an effort to demonstrate their expertise and prowess in handling fishing equipment.

I, on the other hand, think it might be unethical to hook and torture to death fish using gear that is grossly undersized.

If it was all about the fun, with no regard to the resource - hell I'd be at Wabamun with my 4lb mono too.

That I would have to agree with. Match tackle to the fish as much as possible.

fish gunner
07-25-2013, 05:35 PM
At the end of the day, using appropriately sized gear large enough to land a fish, without gear failure, in a reasonable period of time, is the name of the game.

It's a blast landing a 9lb pike on a ultra light with 4 pound mono - but the fish is exhausted, stressed and more likely to die after your "successful" fight and the mastery of your equipment.

Personally, guys that tell us fantastic tales of the 40 lber on 4 lb line in a 40 minute fight, are elevating themselves in an effort to demonstrate their expertise and prowess in handling fishing equipment.

I, on the other hand, think it might be unethical to hook and torture to death fish using gear that is grossly undersized.

If it was all about the fun, with no regard to the resource - hell I'd be at Wabamun with my 4lb mono too.
Of course one should pick gear for the species targeted
However we do have line class records for a reason. My point is incidental catches in my case out weigh most of my targeted catches. Point being big fish get that way by avoiding heavy tackle.

EZM
07-25-2013, 07:13 PM
I understand you point on incidental catches - it's happened to all of us.

With regards to light tackle and subtle presentations - For some species - like Pike on a moving lure, it probably less critical than perhaps a trout closely eyeballing and scrutinizing your fly.

Having said that I use a fluorocarbon leader for everything - to provide a near invisible presentation. Chances are, a big pike, watching a sexy looking crank wobble and dart by at 2 mph isn't going to study the bait too closely before hammering it.

I have, however, watched a giant pike stare at my tackle (tipped with a real minnow) and reject it while still fishing.

Your point is taken - but within the context of this particular discussion, my particular preference to match the gear to the quarry outweighs this issue.

I still believe I catch more fish on a fluorocarbon leader (nearly invisible) over using a steel or titanium leader - which underpins your point - it's about making the best choices to balance resource management and ethics versus catch rates in many cases.

davegrant
07-28-2013, 08:27 AM
I'm with EZM on this one. Just come back from trip on Mackenzie Ft. Providence. Ended with a dozen over 3 ft and 3 over 40 " one being a 49 " river monster. These were the angriest fish we've ever seen breaking 3 leader clips losing 2 pliers and snapping 1 jaw spreader. These fish would have never been landed with the walleye gear.

Fritze
08-08-2013, 03:04 AM
Ive been fishing a private reservoir off a refinery for the last 2 summers. Fish of all sorts are pulled in through the pumps feeding it from another body of water which I will not name. Anyways, the fish in here are big...real big. Maybe its cuz so few people know about it. Or maybe its cuz the habitat its ideal. But regardless, I was tipped off about it from a construction worker servicing my house. Big mistake on his part. I tell no one of my secret hole now and I hope he does the same.

After jumping 2 barbed wire fences and going past the numerous "no trespassing" signs, I landed a 15lb 1oz pike on a storm pike bait on my first cast. Next trip out I land a 17lb 1oz pike on the same hook.

This year I landed what had to have been a pike anywhere from 22-24lbs. My net wasn't big enough and after fighting her for minutes, she spit the hook! This is no small time net either, but it doesn't help that I was alone. Furious with myself, I went back the next morning. Same spot, same hook, same time of day, same weather. Instantly hooked into her again! This time I was able to barely squeeze her into the net. But as soon as I did, she spit it once again (damn barbless hooks!). I still have the treble which she straightened on one shank, and snapped the other.

Since this ordeal, I have had to run from security. But this will not stop me, for I will catch her eventually...and hopefully avoid a trespassing charge along the way!