tmag

What @justtracytrolling and @White Wolf is sound advice. Knipex are great and I 2nd that recommendation. Releasing fish without pics is also a good idea especially if you already have plenty of pics of similar fish. For my part, I always approach a fish from the tail first (i.e. fish don't swim or jump backwards). You can avoid getting hooked yourself this way and, yes, I've ended up with hooks in my fingers or hand because it's natural to reach towards the head first. If you turn a fish to its back, they will become more docile. From there, you can usually get hold of the fish with one hand using a gill hold. There's plenty of info out there demonstrating / detailing the gill hold technique. https://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/2010/02/gill-plate-grab-catch-release-pike-without-net/ https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/proper-hold-for-pikemuskie/ https://www.outdoorhub.com/how-to/2017/03/10/video-properly-hold-muskie/ I tap most of the barbs down on my hooks. It's much easier to unhook a fish as well as to unhook yourself. However, you will still find circumstances wherein a fish is deeply hooked & may require the cutting of the hooks. For example, if a treble is somehow wrapped up in the gills, just cut the hooks. The smaller pieces usually drop out the sides of the gills and the lure / main hook shank is released. As such, having jaw spreaders can also be very helpful.

That's a nice one. Congrats! I like the 2nd picture better than the first. Trying to be helpful: https://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=96369 scroll down to the pike photo / section: https://www.northernontario.travel/northeastern-ontario/how-to-properly-hold-a-fish https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/proper-hold-for-pikemuskie/ and from (https://www.sageflyfish.com/redneck-musky): "Musky need to be kept horizontal. The vertical, gill plate hold that we see in so many old faded pictures is not good for the fish. A big heavy fish is not supposed to be held that way; it puts a ton of stress on all the internal organs and can lead to killing a fish."

Indeed

That looks like a European pike and if you look at the jacket he's wearing it would also appear to eke that out. See this photo for similar:

very cool

beauties. Great story

I read an article many years wherein the behavior was viewed as a display of dominance. I've even seen pickerel stick their head out and slap the water before submerging.

lol... thanks guys

Hey All, I was wondering if the Long Point launch on Cayuga is iced up this time of year? Thanks

There's always the river(s)

Nah, I wish I did actually drive by Taughannock, though, checking to see how rough the lake might be but I couldn't get out today.

Thanks!

Dean's Cove is still open though (not frozen)?

The sad part is that the pike are likely native to our waters while the browns, the rainbows, and the salmon were all introduced. Depends upon what you call a nuisance.

How big was the pike?

@longspurs looks like a bunch of painted soft baits layin' on the ice

Quite frankly, depends upon the season and the water temps. That said, I'd go slow sink glider or countdown bait because of the versatility if I literally only had one.

@ Sk8man, beauty photo there

Chinook1981, nice info there and, yes, we need new & different regulations in NYS. In my opinion, it is a pity that, while NYS boasts the North American record pike of 54" / 46 lb. out of Sacandaga many years ago, our regulations do not support good pike fishing. We shouldn't need to go to Canada for such an experience. On another note, considering the North American record mentioned above, I find the dimensions of the fish in question to be doubtful. If that fish was 56", it would probably have been heavier. More than likely, there is a typo in there (i.e. 46" and 28 lb. ??) Those dimensions would make good sense.

One can also see what the DEC says: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/87764.html

A simple web search yields some interesting results: http://www.adkforum.com/showthread.php?t=10666 http://www.icefishin247.com/forum/index.php?topic=10382.0 http://northcountrynow.com/news/cranberry-lake-man-reels-274-pound-northern-pike-weeks-last-chance-ice-fishing-derby-079312 http://www.bobmcnitt.com/bigNYpike.html These last two links go together: http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/jjessman/media/bWVkaWFJZDo1OTE4NjgzMw==/?ref= https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=192099.0 Enjoy!