Pike are nasty

[PaulVE64]

I was bank  fishing today at a bridge in about 3 to 4 ft of water. Outdoor temps in  the low 60s though it snowed yesterday. Its a blue bird sky.

Water is high 40s / low 50s and the water is slow moving and crystal clear.

I chose to fish the brigde because of the conditions. The creek is known for bass and pike and today i have found 2 pike over 30 inch and a 4 pd smallie cruising the bridge pillings, staying in the shadow.

 

I threw white superflukes with a 1/8 oz split shot and a 4" jerkbait (my favorite)

Anyway, i focussed everything on that smallie and all i got were toothy grins and a few narly cuts.

Oh, and i lost my jerbait. d**n nasty pike.

[FryDog62]

I think I have donated literally thou$ands of dollars to those toothy scud missiles over the years... plus they can be a little rough in the release process.. 

[Dwight Hottle]

They are nasty especially the little ones. I never go pike fishing without a boga. 

[GTN-NY]

When out fun fishing I love running into pike. 
During a tournament not so much

[Michigander]

2 hours ago, GTN-NY said:

When out fun fishing I love running into pike. 
During a tournament not so much

Truth. Love catching them but I can't spare the wasted time while on the tournament clock.

One of these guys makes everything much better. 

[Way north bass guy]

Yeah, I can’t stand pike?

Notice the terrible angry grimace on my face in the pics, you can tell I don’t fish for them ever. 

[soflabasser]

Muskie and pike are nothing compared to barracuda when it comes to big sharp teeth and fighting ability.

[Further North]

34 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Muskie and pike are nothing compared to barracuda when it comes to big sharp teeth and fighting ability.

They do OK...  ?

 

[Biglittle8]

On 4/23/2021 at 11:34 PM, Further North said:

They do OK...  ?

 

Man! That's a mean looking mug!  

[gim]

On 4/23/2021 at 7:52 PM, Way north bass guy said:

Yeah, I can’t stand pike?

Notice the terrible angry grimace on my face in the pics, you can tell I don’t fish for them ever. 

 

Not really a fair comparison IMO.  The pike you are holding are massive gators from Canadian waters.  The pike we have here are over populated, small, annoying, and lure wreckers, if they don't bite you off altogether like the OP experienced.  Also, it appears that you were actually targeting them so you have the correct tackle/setup to handle them.  Standard bass gear really isn't designed for toothy critters.

 

I'm with Frydog on this one.  Skud missiles is good terminology.  Or snot rockets.

 

I actually don't mind them when they get to a reasonable size but the large ones have been harvested for too long here and a big one is very rare nowadays.

[Deephaven]

Which is crazy because the big ones don't eat well.  Little ones are great OUT OF COLD water.

[soflabasser]

@Further North. I have caught muskie, they are fun to catch but barracuda are much more powerful with sharper teeth. If you tie an equal sized barracuda to an equal sized muskie the barracuda will pull the muskie around like a wet rag. You don't know what you are missing until you hook into a 40 inch or better barracuda. Barracuda also grow larger than muskie. With that said all these fish have sharp teeth so you have to be careful handling them.

[Further North]

2 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

@Further North. I have caught muskie, they are fun to catch but barracuda are much more powerful with sharper teeth. If you tie an equal sized barracuda to an equal sized muskie the barracuda will pull the muskie around like a wet rag. You don't know what you are missing until you hook into a 40 inch or better barracuda. Barracuda also grow larger than muskie. With that said all these fish have sharp teeth so you have to be careful handling them.

I've caught barracuda and am well aware of the difference.

All I said was, "They do OK."  That's not an indictment of 'cuda, or a claim that musky are better in any way...

Musky are what we have, and they are an absolute blast, particularly in shallow water rivers. They are among the most difficult fish to catch in the US, and while I enjoyed 'cuda, I enjoy musky more.

That's an opinion, not a statement of fact, and opinions will vary.

 

[throttleplate]

what, no one here respects the Piranah?

[gim]

2 hours ago, Deephaven said:

Which is crazy because the big ones don't eat well.  Little ones are great OUT OF COLD water.

 

Ya I don't quite understand that one either.  Winter spearing played a big role in that for years as most of them were only interested in taking out a big one.  I think that attitude has changed now, plus there's just not that many still doing it.

[jgordon]

Here I am in Kansas been trying to catch one in local lake for 3-4years and cant haha.  Buddy and I finally said forget it done trying.  

[J Francho]

Pike are nasty.

Pike are tasty.

 

Fixed it.  Pike casserole is the best revenge.

[gim]

32 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Pike are tasty.

I agree, the smaller ones are pretty good out of cold water.  If you can get past the slime and the y-bones that their filets have, they are a decent fish to eat.

[MN Fisher]

2 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I agree, the smaller ones are pretty good out of cold water.  If you can get past the slime and the y-bones that their filets have, they are a decent fish to eat.

Oh agreement here too - but I don't have the patience to cut out the Y-bones...I want to fillet the fish, not perform surgery on it...so I toss all the pike back.

 

Walleye on the other hand...

[J Francho]

Five-Fillet Method gents.  Skip the Y-bones entirely, use the carcass for the BEST fish stock you'll ever make.  I seriously can't believe how such a miserable, smelly, ugly fish can taste so good.

 

[DanielG]

They are nasty, but nasty fish can be fun. If you throw a 6" bait you might get a 3" pike try to eat it. I think of them as fresh water barracuda.

[Further North]

On 4/28/2021 at 1:15 PM, throttleplate said:

what, no one here respects the Piranah?

Small teeth... ?

2 hours ago, DanielG said:

They are nasty, but nasty fish can be fun. If you throw a 6" bait you might get a 3" pike try to eat it. I think of them as fresh water barracuda.

I caught a 9" musky on a 6" bait once...

 

[throttleplate]

what would you do for $50,000.00 total cash prize. Swim in a small back yard pool for 30 minutes filled with 25 piranah for $40,000.00 or filled with 100 pike for $10,000.00. Naked ??

[redmeansdistortion]

On 4/30/2021 at 11:12 AM, J Francho said:

Pike are nasty.

Pike are tasty.

 

Fixed it.  Pike casserole is the best revenge.

Better than walleye in my opinion.  Those 24" to 30" fish are excellent eating.

[Deephaven]

On 4/30/2021 at 12:02 PM, J Francho said:

Five-Fillet Method gents.  Skip the Y-bones entirely, use the carcass for the BEST fish stock you'll ever make.  

Exactly.  Super easy to filet boneless and you can never have enough homemade stock