7/18/15 Passaic Pike: New PB

[JDTuna]

Based on the last weather report I saw yesterday, I decided to hit the river in the morning to avoid the storms later in the day. Turned out the morning was the worst of the weather.

Hit the first spot and immediately hooked a nice fish but pulled the hook. As I made my way up the bank to move upriver, I slipped and fell. In the process, I must have fallen on my reel and broke the handle off. Not a good start. Luckily, I wasn't far from home and I drove home, picked up another reel and continued to fish. The pike were hitting very aggressively and even coming out of the water after the lures. I had one fish come three feet out of the water after the lure, but wouldn't come back for seconds. The fish weren't monsters, but were certainly decent sized.


I made a move to another spot that usually holds big fish, but they can be spooky and tough to get to bite at times. I decided to take a break from artificial and caught a few live baits and headed to the spot. As I was driving there, it started to rain pretty hard. I figured I was already out and may as well give it a shot. As I arrived at the spot, it was raining hard with a few rumbles of thunder. I waited for the thunder to pass and hit the spot in the rain. It took all of about three minutes for a big fish to hit, and I quickly landed a very thick fish between 37 and 38 inches. I didn't have my tape on me, so I took a measurement alongside my rod. Still haven't hit the 40 inches yet, but I'm getting closer. I took a quick pic and the fish swam away strong. I wish the picture came out better, but I was by myself in the pouring rain and I wanted to get her back in quickly. At least I don't have to worry about a spot burn lol.


Despite the weather it turned out to be a great morning on the river!

[buzzbaiter]

Good one. Rain was heavy this am over in the poconos. Under the cloudy skies, the fishng was great - lm bass, yperch, pickerel, crappie, etc. Once the sun came out, fish bite went bye-bye and so did I.

[Esox Luciano]

Way to get it in Bro! Glad to hear you regrouped after the mishap and came out on TOP. They're definitely aggressive right now. Landed 2 under 30" and a small striper earlier as well. Even watched my buddy land a nice channel cat on a rapala, 1st time for me to see. Nice lookin pike and Congrats on the Pb!! Keep them girls comin!

[Chrisper4694]

Nice fish, But you need a camera man haha.

[justin1982]

I caught my pb pike last year in a rain storm standing under a bridge.. Way to get at em

[Suntzu]

Good fish and nice persistence

[Eskimo]

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Amazing pike!
The weather forecast was all over the place Saturday. The afternoon storms never appeared, but it did rain that night in west Jersey.

If you have an iPhone, there is a timer on the shutter so you can prop up your phone, compose your photo, hit the 5-second delay on the shutter, pick up your fish and smile.


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[NorthJerzyG]

Nice fish and congrats on the PB!! She's lookin pretty thick!

[JDTuna]

Thanks, guys! Still looking for a 40" before fall.

[JDTuna]

Originally Posted by Eskimo

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If you have an iPhone, there is a timer on the shutter so you can prop up your phone, compose your photo, hit the 5-second delay on the shutter, pick up your fish and smile.


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My HTC has that feature, but it was difficult to keep it positioned in the rain and after the one pic my phone was wet and I couldnt get it to work for a second shot lol.