Hi all,
I was able to do a bit of shore fishing 2 afternoons in a row.
Day 1. - Oct 30th.
The weather was not too bad for this time of year and time of day, and only a slight wind from the S.
I fished from 4:55pm - 6:00pm.
In that time I had decent fishing action, with the first fish being hooked 8 min into the fishing.
It was a speedy little 1.5 lb pike.
Good little warm up fish, I hope.
The next pike was a bit larger at 27 x 12 {7.29 lbs}
As it got darker the fish got bigger.
This next one was 32 x 13 {12.1}
As I fished I noticed one really big splash just up the shore from where I was. It was big enough to make the grebes move out of the area so I moved over and cast a few times. I lost one and had a couple taps. Just a few min before I called it quits I saw a white flash of a fish just a few feet from the rod tip as I was lifting the lure from the water, and what followed was a lengthy 10 min battle with an angry big pike. She didn't bother with fancy jumps like the smaller fish do, she used her brute strength in an effort to snap my 10 lb line. I was also quite worried when I saw her go by with no sign of the lure in her mouth and no steel leader on and a barbless hook.
I made sure not to horse the pike and let it take as many runs as it wanted. The last thing I wanted it to do was jump and throw the hook or slide the line across those teeth.
Finally the pike gave in and I attempted to net her, not an easy task by yourself. I held the net in the water with my knees, moved her over the net, and with one hand attempted to lift the net around the fish. It had a hard time folding into my net and almost jumped out.
I was excited by the size of this pike. I measured her and length and girth, snapped a photo and sent her on her way. She shot out of the area like a rocket and thoroughly soaked me, but at that point I didn't mind a bit as I just released my new personal best pike.
She was 37"x 16" and by ice shanty's online calculations she was a 18.7 lb pike.
After inspecting my line I found that it was indeed very shredded and would not have lasted too much longer, pheewww was I lucky that time.
I am very happy to have had the chance to do battle with a big pike like that.
I am also happy that the weather cooperated for me on this day and hope that I can get a few more fishing trips before the weather gets too nasty.
Day 2. Oct. 31st { Halloween}.
After hearing of my luck the day before my Uncle decided that he would like to try a bit of fishing for the afternoon so, my uncle, aunt and I arrived at the lake around 2:10pm.
The weather was cloudy and a bit of a wind from the N, but the the temp was not too bad if you were dressed for it.
My uncle hooks the first fish of the day a little hammer handle pike probably around a 1 lb.
His next fish hits hard and makes a screaming run for deep water, this looks familiar to me. It behaves exactly like the my big one the day before, with long powerful runs, and no wasted energy jumping like the little guys do. Thankfully this time we both have a steel leader, but it's still a barbless hook. My uncle and the fish do the game of give and take for 7 min before she gets close enough to net. I net her and again I am shocked at her size.
She is 39.5" x 15.5" and is 22.8 lbs by Ice Shantys online calculator.
This is my uncles biggest fish by far, and the largest one I have seen live.
She poses for a quick picture and tape length and is quickly released.
She darts away and again gives me a large splash in the face for good measure.
Around 4:30pm we meet up with TyreeUm and all 3 of us fish together. We move a bit down from my uncle, but I have the only net and my uncle keeps me running with the
fish he was catching. At one point he catches 3 fish on 3 back to back casts. I just get to my spot or half way to it and another fish is on, not that I mind a bit.
In the end we leave TyreeUm at 6:00pm and head for home, with a couple pike to clean that were hooked too deep to let go.
In the end my uncle had a great 3rd trip of his open water season, he caught the most and biggest fish.
He had 14 pike including the biggest fish of the 2 days.
I caught 6 pike.
I lost a good sized pike just before I left. It made a good run and wrapped the line around some sharp underwater structure, oh well thats fishing for you.
This is the average size of the fish that day.
In the end it was another great shore fishing adventure and I am glad I was able get my uncle into fishing a few years ago and now be able to net the largest fish he has ever caught.
I was also happy to meet TyreeUm and have a chance to fish and chat with him. It was nice meeting you and we will have to fish again sometime.
In the end Halloween was a not a trick but a treat.
WW
