Massive Pike Caught By My Dad (Part 2!)

[Nehkara]

You may or may not remember this thread from spring 2008 when me and my dad caught a few big pike at Sylvan Lake. They were 18, 20, and 21 pounds. (Links to the pictures in that thread seem to be missing).

Today my dad went out for the first time this year and caught a 23.5 pound pike at Sylvan Lake again.

Now, on to the pictures:

[troutman]

Is a big pike like that good eatin'?

[GoinAllTheWay]

It really is just a matter of time before Mike Oxlong pops into this thread.

I will stop just short of guaranteeing it.

[AvsJerk]

That's a beauty! I don't icefish, but ice-off is only a month or two away down here!

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by troutman

Is a big pike like that good eatin'?

Surprisingly, the ones we got last year were very good. I had my doubts but it was fantastic. My dad was thinking of releasing this massive girl but he damaged her gills when landing her.

[4X4]

I love threads like this. Even if they're more for reading than for responding to. Thanks for posting.

edit* love the footprint in the snow as a point of reference to the size of the fish.

[jammies]

That is a MONSTER! Makes me hungry just looking at it.

[Slava]

Great catch! I always figured a pike that size might be a bit muddy for eating though?

Awesome pics though!

[Dan02]

nice catch indeed!

[Hack&Lube]

poor ms. pike, she was just mindin' her own business...

Hate to be the environmental activist type... I too fish a lot...

But a fish like that is very rare... and becoming even rarer in Alberta waters. Females like that are extremely important and it's difficult to see her removed from the gene pool.

It's a nice fish for sure. But her importance is much more then a nice dinner.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Bent Wookie

Hate to be the environmental activist type... I too fish a lot...

But a fish like that is very rare... and becoming even rarer in Alberta waters. Females like that are extremely important and it's difficult to see her removed from the gene pool.

It's a nice fish for sure. But her importance is much more then a nice dinner.

Gotta disagree with you. I see it the other way. Since a catch like this is so rare, it tells me that fish like this rarely grow so big and when they do, they're crafty SOBs that don't get fooled by anglers very often.

I humbly submit that your post sounds kinda peta-like. We're the top of the food chain. Pike are not endangered. A big-assed pike is a great catch and apparently a great dinner. In fact, I'd venture to guess that that fish has done more "damage" to the fish population in Sylvan Lake than Nehkara's dad will in 20 years of fishing. You do realize that when fish grow that big it's because they're eating other, much younger fish, right?

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Bent Wookie

Hate to be the environmental activist type... I too fish a lot...

But a fish like that is very rare... and becoming even rarer in Alberta waters. Females like that are extremely important and it's difficult to see her removed from the gene pool.

It's a nice fish for sure. But her importance is much more then a nice dinner.

I did mention that my dad was seriously considering putting her back but her gills were damaged when landing her, she wouldn't have survived.

Plus, I agree with 4X4.

[ok, ok,....I get it]

I love how hammered your dad looks in both pictures.....

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

I love how hammered your dad looks in both pictures.....

Heh, he was pretty exhausted. He left here at 7:30 AM, got there at 9:00, fished until 5:00 PM (caught the pike at 4:15) and got home at 6:30.

[prarieboy]

Pickeled Pike is great. Just like pickeled Herring.

You'd get a ton of jars out of that bad boy. Thanks for posting the pics.

[Mike Oxlong]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

It really is just a matter of time before Mike Oxlong pops into this thread.

I will stop just short of guaranteeing it.

I'm here. How did you guess?

Unfortunately I still don't know how to properly post pictures so I won't steal his thunder by posting the pic of the Pike I caught. I already shared my glory in this thread: http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=14188

Nice catch though, that thing is huge. I wouldn't mind trying some ice fishing this winter. I would love to catch a monster like that again.

Well done. What did he catch it on?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Bent Wookie

Hate to be the environmental activist type... I too fish a lot...

But a fish like that is very rare... and becoming even rarer in Alberta waters. Females like that are extremely important and it's difficult to see her removed from the gene pool.

It's a nice fish for sure. But her importance is much more then a nice dinner.

Pike will eat anything. They kill off other populations of fish so really removing this one was probably doing all us fisherman a favour!

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Mike Oxlong

I'm here. How did you guess?

Unfortunately I still don't know how to properly post pictures so I won't steal his thunder by posting the pic of the Pike I caught. I already shared my glory in this thread: http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=14188

Nice catch though, that thing is huge. I wouldn't mind trying some ice fishing this winter. I would love to catch a monster like that again.

Well done. What did he catch it on?

We have found that using very large smelts (the ones you can buy to eat), bought at Sobe's, tends to attract much larger fish. Sylvan Lake has lots of huge fish so it is the ideal place to use them as bait.

His setup was a Windlass tip-up, braided 25 lb test line, steel leader, and three large treble hooks into the smelt (these smelts are about 8-12 inches long).

[bcb]

Over the weekend I bought a Swedish Ice Drill. I tried ice fishing on the Glenmore Reservoir, which is probably illegal. I didn't have an ice fishing rod, so I had to lay my 7 foot rod on the ice over the hole.
As I was clearly visible from the Glenmore trail overpass, I must have looked like a real doofus...

At least the drill works.