Large pike control

[Fishwhere]

Hey guys, Ive been pondering about the best option for this for quite a long time - its time to get some input.

I like fishing for pike in saskatchewan for at least a week every year. We normally get into around 7ish fish in the 10-18 pound 40”+range yearly and i need some better way of boating these fish. Currently i have a net that i love that does well up to about that 10 pound mark approximately. It has the thick rubber hexagon shaped material that doesnt tangle up to horribly when you get a mad pike in there. However, like i said it gets dicey anything over that really. I dont have a ton of room on my boat as we normally have all of the extra equip, clothes, lunch etc on the boat at the same time so i didnt want a larger net or anything too big to carry with us for when we get these big girls. But we are at the point where i need it to start being easier to deal with...

I have a couple ideas, feel free to add your own as well;
- those lock on the jaw grip things (not sure how well they will hold)
- landing cradle (takes up a decent amount of room and dont like the fabric material for getting hooks out)

Im all ears to any new ideas, or comments on the couple above.

I should also add that all the big ones go back, i dont keep any big ones. Just a length, weight, and pic and back they go.

Thanks!

[Sooner]

Find room for the cradle. Seems to be the best option for releasing big fish. Not sure what else can be used as effective.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Bigger net or a cradle. Or two hands and no tools.

[fishpro]

Big net can work well, I bought a very large rubberized net from Bass Pro two years ago. 3 foot long pike fit in it very easily.

[Sneeebs]

Avoid the jaw grabbers, wet your hands, ready the camera, snap, gentle release. If your constantly catching pike should be comfortable handling them.

[cube]

Hey guys, Ive been pondering about the best option for this for quite a long time - its time to get some input.

I like fishing for pike in saskatchewan for at least a week every year. We normally get into around 7ish fish in the 10-18 pound 40”+range yearly and i need some better way of boating these fish. Currently i have a net that i love that does well up to about that 10 pound mark approximately. It has the thick rubber hexagon shaped material that doesnt tangle up to horribly when you get a mad pike in there. However, like i said it gets dicey anything over that really. I dont have a ton of room on my boat as we normally have all of the extra equip, clothes, lunch etc on the boat at the same time so i didnt want a larger net or anything too big to carry with us for when we get these big girls. But we are at the point where i need it to start being easier to deal with...

I have a couple ideas, feel free to add your own as well;
- those lock on the jaw grip things (not sure how well they will hold)
- landing cradle (takes up a decent amount of room and dont like the fabric material for getting hooks out)

Im all ears to any new ideas, or comments on the couple above.

I should also add that all the big ones go back, i don't keep any big ones. Just a length, weight, and pic and back they go.

Thanks!

Please do not use the jaw grippers as they tend to cause damage to these large fish.

I will typically just use my hands and pliers to release them right in the water. If they are more complexly hooked I will use my large musky net (or large fine mesh salmon net) to contain them and unhook them still in the water (Here the net acts as a holding tank if you will). Some musky nets fold to take up less space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70xIDxkfMPI
Do try and get a net with finer mesh sizes as the large mesh sizes split the tail fins pretty bad.

[35 whelen]

Please do not use the jaw grippers as they tend to cause damage to these large fish.

I will typically just use my hands and pliers to release them right in the water. If they are more complexly hooked I will use my large musky net (or large fine mesh salmon net) to contain them and unhook them still in the water (Here the net acts as a holding tank if you will). Some musky nets fold to take up less space. Do try and get a net with finer mesh sizes as the large mesh sizes split the tail fins pretty bad.

AND if you Have to weigh them, weigh net and fish horizontally.

[Bushleague]

I just use my hands, in my experience a big rowdy pike with a few trebles hanging out of his mouth thrashing around in a net can make a timely release unlikely. I try not to take them out of the water if I can help it, but if a pike needs the jaw spreaders get him in the boat, I had one thrash off the hook and then swim off with the jaw spreaders still in his mouth, felt bad about that one.

I've started carrying some long side cutters in my gear now, if a pike is hooked deep I just snip the hook, leaving as little hook in the fish as I can, much less risky than trying to tease a hook out of the back of a pike's throat without hurting its gills. New hooks are easy to come by, trophy pike not so much these days.

[pikeman06]

Nice firm grip behind the gills. Maintain nice firm pressure and they'll lock up on ya and open their yap. Don't grab them hard, just be gentle and the big girl will let you do your thing as long as you don't take too long and you and the fish will be none the worse for wear.

[SamSteele]

I have found the cradle to be the best option. They allow you to keep the fish in the water, horizontal, and keep it from thrashing around. There are some cradles that have coated netting so the hooks don’t get easily snagged. If you are doing C&R anyway you would be well served to make them barbless anyway. They come out of the fish easier and don’t get stuck in other things as easily.

[RavYak]

Hard to beat a big net. You don't really need that much of a bigger net though, the key for big pike is to have a deep enough net. Some nets like the larger Lucky Strike basket net have a large enough hoop size but aren't deep enough and still don't work that well for a big pike.

I bought a Gibbs Delta net for big fish that I really like. I don't think anywhere local sells them anymore but it is the GV-48 model. 26" x 28" hoop, 36" deep. https://www.gibbsdelta.com/pdfs/Nets_Catalogue.pdf

The Ego S2 with the x-large rubber coated net is a decent option too. 24" x 27" hoop, 38" deep.

Frabill Conservation series and a couple other makes have some similar size/type nets.

[slough shark]

I just use barbless hooks and have a hook grabber thing that I bought at Canadian tire that I use, just grip the hook and flick the wrist and it works 90%+ of the time, don’t even touch the fish

[wind drift]

Good topic! I think too many large-ish pike get mishandled and hurt by folks who aren’t well equipped to deal with them.

[ESOXangler]

I use the lip gribs but just to control it and no weight is supported by it. And I keep the girls horizontal and cradle under belly. Otherwise you're reaching in beside the gill if she starts thrashing you might damage them.

[swampy45]

Keep the fish in the water, use your hands and pliers, and dont hold the fish vertical. A good quality cradle works wonders as well. Frabill makes a wonderful one that doesnt catch up so many hooks and such.

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/23300/frabill-musky-cradle

Do not use lip grip pliers or hold the fish vertically off a scale.

[oilngas]

we remove all the trebles and substitute a single barbless, make the whole procedure much easier.

[Zuludog]

Lots of good replies here and most work depending upon the situation.

My number one rule is I always, always try and keep the fish in the water if I can. I grab the line (use a glove, especially if using braided lines like Power Pro) and unhook the fish while floating along the side of the boat. NOTE: have a lanyard on your pliers and use it. :)

If I have to lift the fish to get a better angle I try to lift it's head only out of the water. Sometimes I can do this using the line and other times you will need to gently reach in and use your fingers inside the gills, along the gill plate and jaw. obviously avoid touching the gills at all costs.

I do use jaw spreaders when I absolutely have to. They are attached to me or the boast with a carbiner and hockey skate lace lol so I don't loose them. I again almost always do this over the side of the boat, while keeping the fish in the water. The water supports the fishes weight and keeps it less stressed.

I sometimes will lift a small stubborn fish that won't let go out of the water to remove a hook. You can actually "grab" them gently behind the gills and there is a bone plate there and you can let the weight of the fish catch on. Kind of hard to explain but I only do this with smaller fish and only if I have to.

As others have said, keep hands wet. Remove all barbs ( I go single treble myself). I keep the fish in the net unhooked until its time for pictures. Weigh the fish in the net or cradle and then subtract the weight of the net, don't put the scale in their mouths.

So I guess you really don't need a net to answer your question. lol NOt a super big one anyway.

Have fun, sounds like a great time.

[fishpro]

Another point on nets - if you do find a large net, make sure it has both a rubberized mesh (fewer tangles and better for the fish) as well as a flat bottom so the fish can remain in a relatively natural position in the net beside the boat.

[Fishwhere]

Alright alright i caved. Just bought a cradle. Im excited to use it. Just need to find a decent spot for it in the ol boat!

Thanks guys!

Youre sure good at spending a guys money! Haha just kidding

Hopefully i get some more pike big enough to try it out this year!

Tight lines

[CMB70]

Ive thought of getting a cradle but I think it would be hard to use with only 2 people, I like a big soft net.

[SamSteele]

Ive thought of getting a cradle but I think it would be hard to use with only 2 people, I like a big soft net.



If you hook the one handle of the cradle inside the gunnel and hold it there with your chest/legs it’s really easy to hold the cradle at the boat side.