Another Big Northern Pike

[justinO]

Hey Guys hope you all had a great weekend of fishing. I had another great day out on the water besides the fact my transom trolling motor fried.... Bite was a bit slow today had to slow down the presentation figured them out, and then we pounded them all day. Biggest was this 14lber, an 8, a couple 6's and a ton of smaller ones lost count of them. All very healthy fish one of the fish had a sore on his side as you can see in the pic not sure what it was from looked like a rub of some sort should be fine though. The pic of the leader was after the 14 I had just switched the leader that was all him. Between me and my friend we went through 6 leaders today

[Speckle55]

great day!! wow you have nice weather up there,,,,, having a time of your lives .. enjoy ... thanks for sharing

David

[Alberta Bigbore]

Great looking Pike

[justinO]

Originally Posted by Speckle55

great day!! wow you have nice weather up there,,,,, having a time of your lives .. enjoy ... thanks for sharing

David

Thanks David and yes it has been a great summer so far. Can't complain about the fishing or the weather. So happy to see Wab fishing great again

[Geezle]

Looks like a blast!

Just out of curiosity, have you ever given fluoro leaders a shot? Kinked leaders make me crazy!

[justinO]

Originally Posted by Geezle

Looks like a blast!

Just out of curiosity, have you ever given fluoro leaders a shot? Kinked leaders make me crazy!

I had a roll of 50lb fluoro in the boat but never used it. If I would have stayed out for the afternoon we would have had too, no more leaders lol. I am still a bit sceptical on the stuff but all I hear is great things. How heavy do you use? Ever had a break off?

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by justinO

I had a roll of 50lb fluoro in the boat but never used it. If I would have stayed out for the afternoon we would have had too, no more leaders lol. I am still a bit sceptical on the stuff but all I hear is great things. How heavy do you use? Ever had a break off?

For pike I use 50lb Big Game leader material, and I've had Berkley crosslock snaps fail before the leader material went. Just keep an eye on it, and if it gets too nicked up, replace it.

I've probably only gone through 3 pike leaders so far this season since they don't often end up in the fish's mouth.

I use the same stuff to build quick strike rigs in the winter and you definitely have to watch those a little closer for damage, but they still last a long time.

Never had a break/bite off since I started using the stuff...love it!

[Alberta Bigbore]

Try titanium leaders.... Expensive... But stay straight, nice and thin...worth every penny imho

[OneGirlWolfPack]

Great pics Justin! Were your arms shaking in that first photo? One day when I post a picture of my sweet catch you're going to be shocked to find out we wear identical fishing outfits! Just kidding...my shorts are green.

AB, thanks for the tip. My leaders get all kinked up too. <--There's so many fun ways to interpret that sentence.

[justinO]

Originally Posted by Geezle

For pike I use 50lb Big Game leader material, and I've had Berkley crosslock snaps fail before the leader material went. Just keep an eye on it, and if it gets too nicked up, replace it.

I've probably only gone through 3 pike leaders so far this season since they don't often end up in the fish's mouth.

I use the same stuff to build quick strike rigs in the winter and you definitely have to watch those a little closer for damage, but they still last a long time.

Never had a break/bite off since I started using the stuff...love it!

I have herd this from a lot of people. I was using 50lb mono with the downriggers and after 1 or 2 fish I would have to cut line re tie it, it got cut up pretty bad, then I got cut off on one heavy fish with fresh line. Ever since been using steel for everything, have to switch them a lot but feel safer with it down there when big fish are present. But from the sounds of it the fluoro is awesome I'll give it a try next trip. If a tank cuts me off on it I am blaming you hahaha
Do you tie direct to the lure?

[Geezle]

No, I don't tie on directly...the 50lb fluoro leader material is pretty stiff stuff, and it's kind of a bish to tie...though not impossible. I just build my leaders using crimp sleeves and put a good quality snap swivel on the end.

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by OneGirlWolfPack

you're going to be shocked to find out we wear identical fishing outfits! Just kidding...my shorts are green.

.

Hmmmm...

[boonedocks]

Several of the pike that I caught at Wabamun on the weekend had these same sores on them. Anyone know what the cause of these are?

[chubbdarter]

Noice fish as always, thanks for sharing pics of the fish

Originally Posted by Alberta Bigbore

Try titanium leaders.... Expensive... But stay straight, nice and thin...worth every penny imho

x2....even use them for eyes when the gators are being a pain

Originally Posted by OneGirlWolfPack

Great pics Justin! Were your arms shaking in that first photo? One day when I post a picture of my sweet catch you're going to be shocked to find out we wear identical fishing outfits! Just kidding...my shorts are green.

AB, thanks for the tip. My leaders get all kinked up too. <--There's so many fun ways to interpret that sentence.

Seek medical advice

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Nice fish there , looks like the big mommas are out to play .

Ive heard u need. To bleach your net after as these sores can be a virus.


Any pike is good pike. Nice day fishing. Saw that your shirt fell off. Who rubbed the lotion on your back?

[justinO]

I'll look into the titanium ones as well, regular leaders have always worked for me but when those big guys get them in their teeth they do get kinked. But as long as I get them to the boat for a quick picture I am happy

As for the sores on the one fish it didn't look like a virus it was a circular patch where the scales/skin was gone. Almost like it was skinned with a knife no damage to the muscle. I don't use a net but that is something to think about for sure nets could be passing viruses from fish to fish

I did find one pike that was floating he had a massive growth on his side he was about to be eaten alive by seagulls so I sunk him but besides these two incidents all fish this summer I've caught at Wab have been very healthy

[0liver]

Nice fish, x 2 on the titanium leaders. Worth every penny. They may cost a lot more but when you only have to use 1 or 2 every trip out instead of 5,6 or even 7 steel leaders then I think its win-win!

Did you use the double tail jig for the big gal? or did she prefer a spoon?
my curiousity is getting the better of me.. what she bit is none of my buissness!

Hope to see more nice fish pix coming soon!

-Oliver

PS. Im seeing the sores on alot of pike now, be it in the NSR, pidgeon lake, even my favorite pike hole near the brazeau dam...oops did I say Brazeau? no...must of misheard me...but yeah, the sores are worrying me..any bio's trolling the forum mind chipping in on what they are caused by, and better yet, what we can do to prevent the spread of these unsightly scars?

[justinO]

Originally Posted by 0liver

Nice fish, x 2 on the titanium leaders. Worth every penny. They may cost a lot more but when you only have to use 1 or 2 every trip out instead of 5,6 or even 7 steel leaders then I think its win-win!

Did you use the double tail jig for the big gal? or did she prefer a spoon?
my curiousity is getting the better of me.. what she bit is none of my buissness!

Hope to see more nice fish pix coming soon!

-Oliver

PS. Im seeing the sores on alot of pike now, be it in the NSR, pidgeon lake, even my favorite pike hole near the brazeau dam...oops did I say Brazeau? no...must of misheard me...but yeah, the sores are worrying me..any bio's trolling the forum mind chipping in on what they are caused by, and better yet, what we can do to prevent the spread of these unsightly scars?

Haha no secrets here especially when it's a C&R lake
For the most part that day the fish were not aggresive slow bite?? A great fisherman told me once there is no such thing just have to figure out what they want. So I slowed it down I switched to a jig slowly retieved bouncing on and off the bottom and triggered tons of hits. My friend I took was trying all his expensive lures finally after my fifth pike he asked for a jig hahah and we pounded them all day on jigs. I caught the big one at 1:13 in about 20ft of water on that jig in my hand, on a 6ft light action rod 8 lb test too much fun. I have a short video but don't know how to post it.

I have rolled through a ton of Pike this summer and this was the first I have caught with a sore. So who knows hopefully they aren't spreading. Do the fish you are catching with sores look healthy?

[boonedocks]

Two out of the twenty fish that we caught on friday had these same sores. You are right in your description of how they look as though they had been skinned with a knife. Other than the sores themselves, the fish all appeared healthy although one was bleeding pretty bad from the sore. Im going to be at Wabamun all three days of the long weekend and I will take good close up photos if I catch any more like that. I will also bring it up with fish and wildlife, SRD or whatever they are called now.

[Stally77]

Originally Posted by boonedocks

Two out of the twenty fish that we caught on friday had these same sores. You are right in your description of how they look as though they had been skinned with a knife. Other than the sores themselves, the fish all appeared healthy although one was bleeding pretty bad from the sore. Im going to be at Wabamun all three days of the long weekend and I will take good close up photos if I catch any more like that. I will also bring it up with fish and wildlife, SRD or whatever they are called now.

This is what I found on the sores. http://www.pffa.co.uk/pikediseases.htm I always thought it was from them fighting or trying to eat each other. I also have seen numerous pike with these sores at buffalo lake. Hope this answers your question. Who knows if it is true or not?

[justinO]

I zoomed in on the fish here is a better look at the sore on that one. It doesnt look like any virus on that website you put up. I don't know hope someone can identify it.