I caught him using a mousie

[davetclown]

Northern Pike
1/11/11
40.5 inches

Ok there is a little more to the storie than just catching him on a mousie using 2lb test line, but he did play a big part, read on.

Ice fishing is not just a hobby, it is a passion.

When you hear the stories about the ones that got away, some have thier doubts "understandably because you hear so many"

It only takes one landed to start validating all the "exagurated" stories.

So today I am going to share a story about one that did not get away.

I arived at my fishing spot shortly after 10 am,

It was like most any other ice fishing day, things were slow at best with little sighn of the bite improving any time soon

I sat jigging for gills for it must have been hours, an impending snow storm was just starting to set in. I turned the weather band on the radio checking to see if there were any updates that I should be aware of, the only change was the forcasted amount, from 4 inches of snow to 5 inches of snow.

satified there was nothing alarming that would require my attention weather wise I changed back to my regular clasic rock station.


a couple more hours passed and still I had yet to land a single gill. It was about then when another angler came up on me, even tho I could have sat there the rest of the day by my self I would have been content. but I have to admit, I was ready for a little company.


as it turned out my guest didnt have a hole drilling device, I was happy to get up off my duff and cut him a new hole, and while I was at it I drilled me a new one too.


Together as we spread the manure on pretty thick for at least another hours befor we got our first bite. and then it happend we got a small turn on. I was catching a few medium gills, not quite big enough for dinner yet to big to put on my tipup. For ya see, I was fresh out of shiners and tomarow would be the earliest I would be seeing any more.


My hopes was to get a gill large enough but not quite so large that it would keep setting off my tip-up.


about the time the gills started hitting, my nephew found his way out on the ice.


You might have thougt the manure awas going on a little thick but by the time he cut himself a hole right where I pointed we were having a grand o'l time. The bigger gills started hitting pretty good, and finaly I was starting to see gills getting close to the class I wanted to use on my tip-up. I caught and released a half dozen not getting one the size I wanted I looked at it and said to my comrads on the ice, any bait is better than no bait at all.


I cut me a new hole about 20 feet away so as not to interupt our gill fishing. Then I hooked the gill just behing the dorcel fin and placed him in the water. With my tip up in hand and reaching down to set it in place, the flag goes off, and I thought to my slef I will have to just reset the flag and make due untill I can catch a smaller one.


I turned around to get my gaft from the back of my quad and on the radio I could hear the song playing, "now your messing with a SOB" Glancing back I saw the flag was up again, I forgot about the gaft and figured that I was going to just have to take the gill off and get me a smaller one.


I picked up the tip up, and started pulling in the line, then I felt something, and I thought to my self, "Oh no, he got in to the weeds" so I gave a good yank to break him free and then the spool when screaming and the line wizzed right on down the hole.


With my gloves on, I grabed the line and allowed him to run and I started to pull him in just as soon as he was finished, I managed to get in a good 20 feet of line before he made his second run, and I could not hold the line and thats when I screamed its a big one.


My nephew with some what disbelief looked on as I managed to get a grip again and pulled in a good 30 feet of line before the next run, Harder, faster than the prevoius runs, I said to my nephew grab my gaft.


He went running after the gaft, and I managed to get another grip on the line, this time pulling in a good hundred feet. My nephews buddy sall the line pilling up under my feet he picked it up and pulled it back so it would not knot up on me if the fish took off again, and sure enough it did, two more times before we ever got out first glimps, then it was a cople more short runs before he got tired out and we got him near the hole as we played tug a war. finaly we see his head and my nephew hands me the gaft and I was able to catch him in the mouth when he opened his mouth, and pulling him up though a hole that he just barly fit.


The unsual part of this story is, that this was about the time when I normaly ended up with blood gushing all over the snow from pike gashes in my fingers...


needless to say, we lost some valuable gill fishing time, and bouy was I happy to have a couple ice fishing buddies with me this day cuz I would have never got him out on my own with out thier valued assistance.




[center][url "http://javascript:;"][/url]
[left]
[left]First Pike of the year.



this one caught thought an 8 inch hole in the ice, 1/11/11

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/14786/limit/recent"][/url]
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[bigpikeguy]

Gets me pumped for ice-off here in PA!! i got about 3 more months though
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[CROSSINEYES]

man i wish utah would let us do live bait!!!![frown] that was a fun read!!!! thanx post up some adventures.
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[davetclown]

here is another I caught him usin a mousie.

only this time I caught a 7inch perch at 8 am, and put him on my tip-up.

I checked on my perch bait several times during the day to see that he was healty. Around noon time I found my perch was floating upside down in my hole. not having anything else to use as bait or was the pan fish biting I opted to lowering my line to allow the perch to float below the hole.

any bait is better than no bait.[]

I would not get another bite of any kind all day untill 3pm when my flag popped up, as exciting as it was, holding off is of the utmost importance. No matter how long it takes, resisting the temtation of grabbing and attempting to set the hook to soon will only cause me to mis setting the hook all together.

So I stood near by with the corner of my eye on the spindle. Nearly 15 minutes passed by with not so much as a twich on the spindle. Then it happened, the spindle moved, not much, a whole 8th of a turn, then I knew I had him, well at least it gave me hope that I had a taker.

A couple more minutes passed by before I would see another nudge on the spindle, another minute then another nudge, another minute then a whole quarter turn, bouy was we getting excited. then it would be another two minutes before we got another quarter turn, then the movements increased, quarter turns about every ten seconds, I told my buddy, nope not yet, wait for it - wait for it....... then a full turn and stopped, a minute passed by then three full turns... and I said any second now...... and then Arooomm a zoom zooooom the spindal takes off like a pike on the run...

I grabed my tipup - line running off the spool wizzing though the glove on my hand, I tightened my grip and set the hook, then the fun began. Tug-a-war.. I pulled and he pulled back, in and out and in and out he went. And when I thought he was tired enough to monover his head in to the hole, he'd take off again, this goes on for a good half hour when finaly I managed to get his head turn up in to the hole.

now wouldnt ya know this day would be like no other, there is always something I forget to take out on the ice with me,,, and today wouldnt ya know it, it was my gaft. [angelic]

well this meant I would once again have to place my hand in to the mouth of another monster of the deap... and like so many times before, I am left with yet another battle scar. [pirate][:p][cool]

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36 inches 13 pounds caught 1/18/11
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[CROSSINEYES]

took a trip down to yuba res in utah for pike. set my tip up with an anchovey in 16 ft o water. after about an hr flag pops. off on a dead run i go. its stops running i set the hook and pull in a 12 in perch with the whole chovey in his mouth after a while i move to a differnt spot and reset in 30 ft. about 5 ft of the bottom and rigged it with a 9 inch chub. 3 hrs go by nada. so i decide to lit the bait up another 10 ft or so. i start walking to the tip up and flag pops. fish is burning line off the spool like mad and isnt stopping. after a huge 50 70 yrd run he stops. i pull the tip up out and ead a litle line out. i can feal him choppin the chub. he starts to move off again and i set. game on as he peels o about anoth 50 yrd. i start to pull him back and he is heavy and strong. after about 6 or 7 pulls he comes free. i lost him. but my first time using a tip up was a learning exp.
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[davetclown]

lol, been there done that, today as a matter of fact... lol

tipups are a slow method of bringing them in, but they are a lot of fun once you get some action going..

I would be happy with a 12 inch perch any day of the week.

So did you leave the ice wanting more tipup action? [:p]

good job, next time wear gloves while pulling in the line, this way you can allow them the oppertunity to run as you tighten your hand on the line tireing him out sooner.

and a gaff is a must. get one with out barbs so you can safely bring them in just incase you want to release them un harmed.
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[CROSSINEYES]

lol at myself... 12 in perch are medium perch in yuba. they get up to 16 long. yes i left wanting moore. was going to go again tomarrow but utwalleye had to pull out. now im lost on what and where to go.[:/] dont like going that far without a buddy or my son.
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[davetclown]

I agree, if I go any distance at all I want to make sure that I have some one there with me weather they ride with me or not.

That is in addition to making sure some one I know has gps coords on where I am going for easy retreival just in case I dont come back.

Last thing I want to do is to make the fish sick, every body knows clowns taist funny.
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[albinotrout]

Those are two nice fish stories... Nice pike through the ice.[cool]

Here is the regs in utah for using a gaff:

[size 2][#0000ff]"You may not take or land a fish by snagging or gaffing, and you may not have a gaff in your possession while fishing. The only exception is Lake Powell, where you may use a gaff to land striped bass. "[/#0000ff]

[url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks/2011_pdfs/2011_fishing.pdf"]http://wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks/2011_pdfs/2011_fishing.pdf[/url]
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[davetclown]

Thanks.

I understand the reasoning behind the no gafting rules, some folks will abuse the privilage if it is available. and they want under sized and out of season species released unharmed.

here we use blunt gafts, and we slip the gaft in to the gill and lift them out that way so we do not harm the fish should we decide we want to release them.

I have only started using a gaft in the past few years, reason being is that I got tired of having to bandage my hand after every pike catch, I am notorious for putting my hand in their mouths to pull them out of the hole.

on the realy big ones like the first, it is real difficult to get their heads turned up in to the hole. With an 8 inch hole and a 7 inch head, well you can do the math, its a tight fit...
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[davetclown]

that dose make it tad difficult to land even these small pike like this one I caught last yesterday.

[center][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/15064/cat/745"][/url]
[center]Pike #3

27 inch, weight just under 2lbs.
caught on an ultra light crappie rig using 4 lb test line.

I hate loosing jigs, but I dont want to harm my releases either. so I use a gaft to gently place the loop under its gill and pull him up.

The other thing about using gaffs to help land them it to save your fingers from being cut to ribbons, the only other thing you can use maybe is a good pair of leather work gloves.

I have lost 5 jigs this season on those toothy critters. One was lost because I could not get my hand on my gaff and could not get its head turned up in to the hole.

even if I dont want to keep my catch, I dont want to harm them, but I do some times like to take photos of them and release them. A gaff makes this task a whole lot easier.

Bummer that you cant use them in your state, Can you use those fish lip grippers like some of the bass anglers use?

[albinotrout]

I use lip grippers and jaw spreaders.
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[davetclown]

[center][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/15091/cat/745"][/url]
[center]3-8 2011
[center]28 inch Northern Pike


[left]this complets my hat trick,

Again it all started with a mousie.

today them pike kept me moving, 17 total in all for the day. I got a much needed workout.

in the photo above both those pike hit at exactly the same time. leaving me to wonder wich one I should go after first. Fortunatly I went for the big one. Another angler grabbed my other line. The pike kept me hopping all day.

Of the 17 caught, I only kept the fat 28 incher.
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