Nice head shot of 40.25" pike caught on Conesus

[NPike]

Screws on bottom of my Lund are 10" apart. I was alone and was trying to get it to set still for a sec while I took pic. The pike had other ideas and went crazy, so I snapped these real quick and back in she went.

[jperch]

Nice pike and picture, congratulations!  The pike in Conesus have nice coloring.

[tmag]

Congrats! And thanks for puttin' 'er back.

[SchultzFishingTeamOutdoors]

We have been having a great time this fall trolling on Conesus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Tschultz1980

[NPike]

1. Me too, but 40"s are rare, 3rd bass was 6.4 lb,, I fish alone normally so reason fish are on boat floor for a quick shot. I don't let the fish jump-bang around. Just a quick shot and back in only some like the last pike wouldn't cooperate.   Congratulations on the fish  . BTW best to  hold esox  horizontal less stress  on fish.

o

Edited October 26, 2023 by NPike

[Big fat pike]

Nice and glad to see the even with it flopping around the boat it managed to be released i had a 34" not make it after flopping around but its also great to see they are reaching the 40" range there

[NPike]

your right sir, get back  in ASAP. I do unhooking in my big Clam rubberized musky landing net while the fish is still in  the water. I really try and whip that camera out quickly and hope  it  sits still for just a moment. Can't have those esox whacking the boat bottom w their tail. The other thing is that to many people hold the fish vertically and that's a lot of weight on that jaw. Never pock it with a scale, Weight, instead with the fish in the landing net and get a scale with a tare feature. Occasionally a fatality cant be prevented hook hard  in gill rakers or down too deep it's inevitable. Don't blame your  selve with these crazy critters its inevitable.

Edited October 27, 2023 by NPike

[muskiedreams]

Another thing that helps the survival rate it to take measures to avoid rubbing the protective slime off of the fish. The slime protects it from infection. If you lay it down for measuring or a picture it is best to be on a smooth surface that has been whetted down to minimize any removal of slime. One of the reasons for using a bump board to measure unless you make a quick measure in the water. The carpet on the floor of the boat is very bad at removing slime, especially when it is dry. If too much slime is lost, the fish could die several days later from infection.

[Big fat pike]

2 hours ago, muskiedreams said:

Another thing that helps the survival rate it to take measures to avoid rubbing the protective slime off of the fish. The slime protects it from infection. If you lay it down for measuring or a picture it is best to be on a smooth surface that has been whetted down to minimize any removal of slime. One of the reasons for using a bump board to measure unless you make a quick measure in the water. The carpet on the floor of the boat is very bad at removing slime, especially when it is dry. If too much slime is lost, the fish could die several days later from infection.

Do you have recommendations for measuring girth i know to invest in a fish board & weigh the net  if you have someone else to take a picture do you guys have any recommendations for calming them down while holding them I tried covering their eyes without touching them but it didn’t work ?

[tmag]

On 10/27/2023 at 12:13 PM, Big fat pike said:

Do you have recommendations for measuring girth i know to invest in a fish board & weigh the net  if you have someone else to take a picture do you guys have any recommendations for calming them down while holding them I tried covering their eyes without touching them but it didn’t work ?

Get a soft tailor tape for measuring girth. 

As for calming the fish, if they are brought into the net a bit too green, so to speak, they will remain feisty. Play them enough such that they are docile. I have a bump board for measuring; one hand gently near the shoulders and the other back towards the tail.

Hope that helps 

[muskiedreams]

I have heard it said that squeezing the gill plate (cheek) tight between your thumb and fingers (in front area of gill plate) is like a pressure point that will calm the fish down.

[Pair of Jacks]

Very nice pike!!! Had a similar experience this week with a huge catfish while trolling for stripers here on my home lake…Lake Anna Virginia….35 inches, 30 lbs.  25 minute to to land and nearly broke both my rod and net.

[NPike]

On 10/27/2023 at 9:19 AM, muskiedreams said:

Another thing that helps the survival rate it to take measures to avoid rubbing the protective slime off of the fish. The slime protects it from infection. If you lay it down for measuring or a picture it is best to be on a smooth surface that has been whetted down to minimize any removal of slime. One of the reasons for using a bump board to measure unless you make a quick measure in the water. The carpet on the floor of the boat is very bad at removing slime, especially when it is dry. If too much slime is lost, the fish could die several days later from infection.

The troubles these were all caught fishing alone. Very on top of being green :no barbs, no Trible trebles (always  remove middle hook, rubber net. All unhooking done in water and in net (its also much easier unhooking large pike in the net which is in the water).  To get a 15 to 25 pound pike to calm down on my 42"bump boards in the second I release it to take a picture, the  fish usually does not want to stayed lined-up on the bump board. Big pike have a mind of there own and they can be very feisty and hard to keep still when alone.  If I have company issue is resolved. Attached is a rare pic when the pike 42" actually cooperated. 40+"ers aren't easy to come buy on Conesus and when I get one I Iike a pic, if I haven't forgot my phone. My methods are light years ahead of how I see others handle esox. Good reminders muskiedreams.

Edited November 7, 2023 by NPike

[tmag]

bump boards like these help prevent the slime from getting rubbed off on carpet & boat floors:

https://www.muskiebumper.com/

https://muskychasers.com/product/60-muskie-bumper-musky-bump-board/

https://muskyfool.com/collections/bump-boards-measurement

There are also floating measuring sticks.

 

[tmag]

As someone that also finds themselves fishing alone a lot, another thing that can help is a tripod and a remote shutter control. The remote controls for a digital camera are aftermarket products but not too expensive at all. Then, you can take a nice picture of yourself holding the fish. I even have a tripod now along with a time control app on my smartphone.

[NPike]

On 11/2/2023 at 1:21 PM, muskiedreams said:

I have heard it said that squeezing the gill plate (cheek) tight between your thumb and fingers (in front area of gill plate) is like a pressure point that will calm the fish down.

This is true but many abuse this methods squeezing the crap out  of the esox,  a good approach with lots of caution on the amount of pressure applied while squeezing the fish. I still think grapping the jawbone is best, but a big green esox is a hand-full and is best in  the net for the most part. I just bought a new scale that has a tare function to zero out the net when weighing fish.

[muskiedreams]

Best to weigh the net after releasing the fish while the net still has the weight of the water on it. You won't have time to do it just before netting it. Or just know what the net weighs when dripping wet and do the math.

[fisherman777]

Like others have said, get a musky sized bump board if you are consistently measuring bigger pike 40" plus. It will make your life so much easier and the fish won't flop off the board if you have a good grip on its gill plate. 

 

As far as girth measurements go, I just don't take them. Most musky guys talk in terms of length anyway. A 50 incher is a 50 incher regardless of how fat it is and I can live without knowing the exact weight on a fish. I'd rather handle it as minimally as possible. 

 

For solo pictures, invest in a tripod for your phone and have it set to a timer. Or better yet, get a new gopro that has the front camera screen. Hit record and hold the fish up for a quick video, then pull still photos from the video later on. I do this for all my solo musky shots and they turn out great. 

[Big fat pike]

1 hour ago, fisherman777 said:

Like others have said, get a musky sized bump board if you are consistently measuring bigger pike 40" plus. It will make your life so much easier and the fish won't flop off the board if you have a good grip on its gill plate. 

 

As far as girth measurements go, I just don't take them. Most musky guys talk in terms of length anyway. A 50 incher is a 50 incher regardless of how fat it is and I can live without knowing the exact weight on a fish. I'd rather handle it as minimally as possible. 

 

For solo pictures, invest in a tripod for your phone and have it set to a timer. Or better yet, get a new gopro that has the front camera screen. Hit record and hold the fish up for a quick video, then pull still photos from the video later on. I do this for all my solo musky shots and they turn out great. 

Alright i guess documenting girth and weight is a personal thing of mine

[muskiedreams]

I think that since more and more of the fishing community has been leaning more toward conservation and safely releasing all fish that are not kept, those measurements are becoming less and less important. Once you are set up, length and girth are fairly easy to measure accurately. Bump board for length and soft measuring tape in the net while in the water is easy on the fish and easy to do. Getting an accurate weight is another story. There are just too many things that can cause inaccuracy. The scale must be periodically certified and protected from anything that can affect it's accuracy. And on a boat, the boat is moving, you are moving and the fish may not be still enough to get a steady reading. That is why any official record fish have to be weighed on a certified scale on land.

 

And also, I think that as you get older it also becomes less important.

[NPike]

On 11/16/2023 at 1:38 PM, muskiedreams said:

I think that since more and more of the fishing community has been leaning more toward conservation and safely releasing all fish that are not kept, those measurements are becoming less and less important. Once you are set up, length and girth are fairly easy to measure accurately. Bump board for length and soft measuring tape in the net while in the water is easy on the fish and easy to do. Getting an accurate weight is another story. There are just too many things that can cause inaccuracy. The scale must be periodically certified and protected from anything that can affect it's accuracy. And on a boat, the boat is moving, you are moving and the fish may not be still enough to get a steady reading. That is why any official record fish have to be weighed on a certified scale on land.

 

And also, I think that as you get older it also becomes less important.

This is soo true  and after having read responses maybe I  should upgrade my bump board which is just  piece of aluminum with marking up to 42".It'sonly about  2 ` 3" wide.  I rarely weight fish but when I do I weight  the fish and wet net together then just subtract out the net. I still see folks with that scale hooks jammed thru an exox jaw, terrible.

[Big fat pike]

On 11/19/2023 at 11:03 AM, NPike said:

This is soo true  and after having read responses maybe I  should upgrade my bump board which is just  piece of aluminum with marking up to 42".It'sonly about  2 ` 3" wide.  I rarely weight fish but when I do I weight  the fish and wet net together then just subtract out the net. I still see folks with that scale hooks jammed thru an exox jaw, terrible.

True i dont have a boat so i dont have a fish board 

 

On 11/16/2023 at 1:38 PM, muskiedreams said:

I think that since more and more of the fishing community has been leaning more toward conservation and safely releasing all fish that are not kept, those measurements are becoming less and less important. Once you are set up, length and girth are fairly easy to measure accurately. Bump board for length and soft measuring tape in the net while in the water is easy on the fish and easy to do. Getting an accurate weight is another story. There are just too many things that can cause inaccuracy. The scale must be periodically certified and protected from anything that can affect it's accuracy. And on a boat, the boat is moving, you are moving and the fish may not be still enough to get a steady reading. That is why any official record fish have to be weighed on a certified scale on land.

 

And also, I think that as you get older it also becomes less important.

Accurate weight is either subtract net and/ or cradle

i think besides documenting it does help show how the esox  are doing

[BP Swing]

All you have to do is set the self timer on your camera or phone to 10 sec. and hold the fish. Get a tripod or clamp on device (theres a ton of them out there) and put the phone or camera on it. Looks better holding the fish than laying on the floor and is better for the fish than slamming around. Nice catch.

[Stinky Finger]

Great catch NPike! I used to live nearby Conesus in Geneseo and then Leicester for several years so I fished Conesus quite a bit. There are some real slobs lurking in those depths.