Pike contest entry

[bowzonly]

Gonna have to trust me on the length, it was 27 inches. Very hard to get good pics of pike next to a ruler when you are alone and I didn't want to stress the fish any further. No big deal as I am sure someone will beat this anyway. Heck I plan on beating it myself and next time I'll be better prepared for pics. Believe it or not it was my first time ever weighing a fish. Is that the way to do it? Caught 3 total, one on a spinner bait, one on jerkbait and this one on a wiggle wort. Had one more follow on the wiggle wort.

[NorthJerzyG]

Nice catch Bruce, way to get the ball rolling!!

You don't actually have to puncture the skin, you can slide hook of the scale up through the gill cover right near the tip of the bottom jaw....

[FASTEDDIE29]

Nice job dude. We have an entry. WHOOOOO-HOOOO!!!! I know its going to be hard to get the pics and weight fellas, do the best you can. Bruce get out there and catch some more. TIGHT LINEZ!!!

[buzzbaiter]

YIKES no need to harpoon them like that. Especially for a 4lb fish

You can...

a)gently place the scale hook in the lower jaw w/o puncturing it letting the weight of the fish hold it in place or

b) as Fast said, go through the gill opening but NOT over the gills. Either way is risky because pike are rambunctious during release and they can either tear themselves up or they'll tear you up with their 1/4" teeth.

I have a scale/ruler combo so it comes in handy.

[acabtp]

Originally Posted by buzzbaiter

YIKES no need to harpoon them like that. Especially for a 4lb fish

You can...

a)gently place the scale hook in the lower jaw w/o puncturing it letting the weight of the fish hold it in place or

b) as Fast said, go through the gill opening but NOT over the gills. Either way is risky because pike are rambunctious during release and they can either tear themselves up or they'll tear you up with their 1/4" teeth.

I have a scale/ruler combo so it comes in handy.

even safer: just leave it in the net and weigh the fish+net, then subtract the weight of your net

[buzzbaiter]

Honestly I'd never weigh a pike or musky or pickerel. No easy way to do it. I've got scars all over my fingers from just trying to release them!

Or do the old measure length/girth, then this formula:

L x G x G divided by 800. So a bass thats 20" long with a 12" girth would weigh around 3.5 lbs. You can estimate length as well. No need to wrap the fish up in a tape measure

So a 27" pike with a say 10" girth would weigh around 3.4 lbs. Pretty close to the scale.

[ScowardNJ]

Boom, game on fellas!

Hey Eddie, not to give you a home work assignment or anything but would it be possible to get a list posted of all the guys in this thing? I'd help you with it if you want. Maybe update it with their best weight next to it? You can also tell me to gfy also ....all good either way.

Also, I'm gonna have to vote strongly against estimating weights. No doubt weighing fish on these little scales isn't optimal, but as long people are conscious about handling the fish in the most respectable manner, they should be fine. Pike are pretty hardy. I might even try to make a home made cradle that i can hang of my scale like acabtp suggested.

[Skunk City]

Good job getting the ball rolling.

[Skunk City]

Originally Posted by ScowardNJ

Boom, game on fellas!

Hey Eddie, not to give you a home work assignment or anything but would it be possible to get a list posted of all the guys in this thing? I'd help you with it if you want. Maybe update it with their best weight next to it? You can also tell me to gfy also ....all good either way.

Also, I'm gonna have to vote strongly against estimating weights. No doubt weighing fish on these little scales isn't optimal, but as long people are conscious about handling the fish in the most respectable manner, they should be fine. Pike are pretty hardy. I might even try to make a home made cradle that i can hang of my scale like acabtp suggested.

I'll set one up...

[bowzonly]

Seriously, felt like crap puncturing the skin. I tried to weigh it without doing that but when it started thrashing the hook slipped and impaled it. Last thing I want to do is kill a fish just to win a contest. Great idea with weighing the net and the fish! Will try that next time.