Passaic River Surprise (5/25)

[JDTuna]

Had a little bit of time after dinner on Memorial Day to take my nephew (who had never caught a fish) fishing. It was a last minute plan, and I figured I could pick up some worms and take him to the Passaic right by the house and catch a few bullhead cats. Unfortunately, the nearest bait store was closed so worms were out. I had a few scraps left over from a yellowfin tuna I caught on Saturday on an offshore trip, and grabbed a couple of leftover hotdogs as well.

We went down to the river and set out one rod with a piece of yellowfin, and the other with a chunk of hotdog (cooked by the way). Within a few minutes the yellowfin tuna chunk gets eaten and my nephew landed his first fish ever, a bullhead catfish. A few minutes later, the hotdog gets hit. Im thinking its another cat, but its fighting a bit harder. My nephew pulled the fish to the surface, and it ended up being a 24-26 inch pike! Here I am, thinking hard about lure choice when I fish, and this one decided to scoop a chunk of hotdog off the bottom. Unfortunately, it bit through the light line before we had a chance to take a picture, but it was a still a successful trip with his first two fish. And a pike at that!

[Jigman13]

Yellowfin for bait?!?! That's some high-end catfish chow buddy!! Hahha!

In all seriousness, nice job getting the kiddo out there. I can only imagine his face seeing a pike rolling around during the fight! Priceless!

[AndyS]

I remember reading a report that a guy caught a pike on the lower Raritan river on a clam ! Good stuff !!!!

[FASTEDDIE29]

It's amazing what the river Pike will grab and eat. I've heard quite a few stories where anglers catch them on hot dogs, corn, nite crawlers and other assorted baits. Fish eat when they are hungry. Sounds like a fun day!

[Skunk City]

I was fishing the river last summer and a group of younger HS kids were fishing, said they landed a decent Pike on a hotdog as well lol.

[Andrushkin33]

Now that would be another great commercial for Snickers --- You not yourself when you are hungry... LOL

Great stuff getting a small one out and putting him on the fish.

Andre

[phil]

Originally Posted by AndyS

I remember reading a report that a guy caught a pike on the lower Raritan river on a clam ! Good stuff !!!!

there's a freshwater spot by me that's loaded with surf clam shells in the shallows. I dont really know what the guys are fishing for but its cheap bait I guess and im sure something eats it.

[justin1982]

I've caught a couple on hot dogs, it's a very nice surprise

[Eskimo]

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Very interesting.
Pike definitely have some scavenging tendencies. In Europe, fishing with dead baits is a popular way to fish for pike.


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[JDTuna]

All this time I had been trying to match lures to water temp, season, etc. All I needed was a nice hotdog. I should have been "matching the hatch" to bbq season.