When a Pike breaks off, is it their teeth or sheer strength that is the cause?

[thomasthepikehunter]

It doesn't take much for a small pike to cut thru 12 lbs fluo, if the line end up at the wrong spot it's over. Can't stand pikes while I'm chasing walleyes....

The trick to fishing, is to fish for something else. You get tons of walleye while perch fishing. You catch tons of bass while pike fishing. Another good one is catching lots of sunfish while crappie fishing. You get the picture.

[Carl.j.o]

i am using a 3 foot leader of 30# spiderwire stealth . have been bit off on occasion not sure if it is due to me not replacing them with fresh enough  but i am guessing its the teeth . i have been bite of by little ones and caught big ones (44 inch  25# muskie that had it for a long time and was hooked well in the stomach). and some just not sure on size. hook set and slack with a clean cut. i guess my question is would a thin titanium or light wire be just as visible and effective on  slo days as the braid i am using. if so i may have to pick some up.

[thomasthepikehunter]

braid is just as visible as steel. I don't understand why anyone would use braid as a leader. Between super braid, dacron, mono, and fluoro, super braid is the least resistant to cuts. It is followed by dacron, mono, and fluoro is the best. You should replace your spiderwire with 20# or 30# steel leader.

[gooner]

I don't think it's the strength of a pike, it could be its teeth but I think a lot of the time it is their a full plates. the reason why I say Gill plates is because they are very sharp and I have the scars on my hands to prove it. I cannot count the number times I've caught a pike and bring it up the hole, and it has tangled itself all around the line so it is a very good possibility.

[thewyler]

20 lb flouro is really hard to cut almost all problems are in the knot. if theres a clean end, no curlie little peices. then its cut but 90% of the time its a bad knot thats why you should melt the end of your line every time but i do keep a small length of 80lb flouro in the tacklebox just in case i start etting alot of cut.offs

[thomasthepikehunter]

I just wanted to add, I recently had one of the best fishing of my life. Pike were very aggressive and swallowing bait quickly. Using circle hooks, most pulled out of the stomach. I had 3 bite offs that day on 50# fluorocarbon. All got to the hole and I could see it was hooked deep. Then when it would run off, if broke off. The other gut hooked fish I got in, the line was shredded, badly. It makes me definitely think of going to 80# or even 100# fluorocarbon. To those of you running 20#, I'm just warning you it may very well cost you a big fish. Also if anyone has a suggestion on circle hooks that don't gut hook, let me know. I was using 3/0 Team Catfish double action's. I've switched to the 5/0 now, and I'll see how that goes. I'm thinking a smaller one might pull out of the stomach easier, but I don't know. As soon as I can get them, the Mustad Demon perfect circle hook looks really good, with a more than 90 degree turned in hook point.

[hardh2ofish]

I think people lose more fish because their tackle can't handle the brute force.  Give a man a fishing pole he uses the bend of the rod and the drag in his real to fight fish.  Too many people I watch think they can win the tug of war battle with a fish when there is no give and take in your gear.  When I figured that out after loseing to many battles I became a better fisherman.  You have to figure out
How to give line back just like the drag on a reel or the bend in a rod.   Ifna fish acts like it could freak out at the hole give it some line.  When the tether gets shorter the more pressure there is on your equipment.   I don't care what you are using,steel titatiu or flouro',  the chances of you losing increase.  Let em run as many times as it takes to bring the fish in calmly.  I garuntee your catch rates will increase.

[paramedicjake]

No better on 50# spider line . Tried it and had a large number cut . Back to hand made steel and circle hooks .

[thomasthepikehunter]

Trust me, 12# fluorocarbon is not nearly enough. I actually wouldn't even consider using it on purpose. A hook left in a fish can very easily kill it no matter where it is. You can ice pike with 4# mono because you keep the jig out of their teeth. When you are actually going after them, you won't be as lucky. As far as fluorocarbon 12# is not enough, 20# IMO is not enough, 30# is marginal at best, 40# and 50# is considered ok, but you should really use 60#+. Don't think you can muscle pike in on 50#, you will be cut off more times than not. Any super braid is a waste of time. It may be more abrasion resistant, but it cuts easier than mono. Throw in the fact that it is just as visible as steel, and you might at well use steel. I used to only use steel, these past few years I've been on a fluorocarbon kick, and now I'm going more back to steel when I can. Use fluorocarbon if the water is really clear, or fish just wont bite. In all other situations, I would just go with the lightest steel you can find, which is usually around 20#. Don't tell me you never get bit of with your current set up, nobody can.

[esox_xtm]

Trust me, 12# fluorocarbon is not nearly enough. I actually wouldn't even consider using it on purpose. A hook left in a fish can very easily kill it no matter where it is. You can ice pike with 4# mono because you keep the jig out of their teeth. When you are actually going after them, you won't be as lucky. As far as fluorocarbon 12# is not enough, 20# IMO is not enough, 30# is marginal at best, 40# and 50# is considered ok, but you should really use 60#+. Don't think you can muscle pike in on 50#, you will be cut off more times than not. Any super braid is a waste of time. It may be more abrasion resistant, but it cuts easier than mono. Throw in the fact that it is just as visible as steel, and you might at well use steel. I used to only use steel, these past few years I've been on a fluorocarbon kick, and now I'm going more back to steel when I can. Use fluorocarbon if the water is really clear, or fish just wont bite. In all other situations, I would just go with the lightest steel you can find, which is usually around 20#. Don't tell me you never get bit of with your current set up, nobody can.

Steady man, there are no bonus points for impersonating me...............  

/m

[jhepting]

Trust me, 12# fluorocarbon is not nearly enough. I actually wouldn't even consider using it on purpose.

I grew up on the north coast of BC fishing for salmon, ling cod, halibut, and many other spices.  While my grandpa and I never really targeted sharks very often we always knew when one hit our line, because there teeth came together and would fit into each other, like folding your fingers together to shear the line off instantly. 

 Now back to the reason I quoted this section. First off I fish #20 spider wire to a small swivel and i run a #12 fluorocarbon leader.  I have caught many very large pike and only get broken off at the hit once or twice a season.  Now what I have a very good understanding of is fishing big fish and even sharks with line much smaller than the fish and the mistake i see all the time is when people hook a big fish they turn stupid and turn up the drag.  the more tension on the line, teeth or no teeth the easier it breaks.  Add teeth to the pic and that chance of breaking off go up.  The next biggest mistake i see is that people bring up even small pike and never take a look to see if their line has any nicks in it.  After every pike i bring up the leader gets a very close inspection and often i need to cut some off or replace it.

The bigger fish I catch the more i lower the drag until I have a ton of line out.  When you have a bunch of line out it can stretch and use the drag of moving through the water to exorb the sudden burst of tension ext.  once they play out a bit is when i start to pull them back.  When I get a break off it is at the hole and i did something stupid, or at the very first bite, which is why it though i would give my five cents (we no one cent in Canada anymore).  I think that when a big pike grows a big mouth of teeth ever once in a while they just bite down and shear the line off.  Yes they cannot bite through steel, but I catch more fish when they just see the lure and not the line.  You can also catch big pike on #12 line as well as steel leader, I do it all the time. Biggest has been 39".

[Loudmouth879]

You need to be calm like this.... http://youtu.be/U1_BrU5eKXc it's 14 minutes incase you don't want to waste the time

[thomasthepikehunter]

After that long of a fight, the fish has absolutely no energy left. It is plain unethical to fish like that on purpose. Sometimes you get them on accident, but to purposely go out unprepared like that would be just as bad as dropping them on the ice. I wouldn't even fish with someone who used 8 pound line as a leader for pike.

[Loudmouth879]

After that long of a fight, the fish has absolutely no energy left. It is plain unethical to fish like that on purpose. Sometimes you get them on accident, but to purposely go out unprepared like that would be just as bad as dropping them on the ice. I wouldn't even fish with someone who used 8 pound line as a leader for pike.

That day I had 4tip ups out with steel leader and one with 8lb fluoro that was set up for perch/walleye just happened that it hit the one with fluoro.... it wasn't planned to catch it on that tip up and had I known that it was hooked perfect in the corner of the mouth it wouldn't have been that long of a fight.

If you would've read the whole thread you would know that I wasn't fishing like that on purpose.... my first post on page 1

I was using steel leader yesterday and had 1 tipup with 8lb fluoro for perch/eyes and a muskie happened to hit the one with fluoro next thing I know I'm stuck in a hour long battle with a 44" 26.5lb muskie.... hooked perfect in the corner of the mouth. Got lucky the hook wasn't swallowed. But like was previously said if you fight the fish correctly you can land just about any fish. Don't know how the rest of my day would have went because I packed up and went to the taxidermist so can't tell you if the fluoro would have had more flags than the steel. But we always use steel leaders when fishing for toothy critters

[thomasthepikehunter]

My post was not directed at you. It was for those guys that do stupid things like use light fluorocarbon leaders, or even worse, use thin braided line or just tie right to the tip up line.

[Kobey]

My opinion is that qute a few break offs are caused by lack of attention to detail, at least among the average ice fisherman.  Every year, I say I'm going to thoroughly check all my lines for nicks and weak spots and completely replace the line on some of my tip ups.  But I'm a major procrastinator and by the time my first outing arrives I just make sure everything's working properly and go out fishing.

I've got some tipups with line on them that's over 10 years old.  I keep meaning to replace it, but since ice season is right after Christmas, I look at the price of new line and decide to "buy it later".  Later never seems to come.

I know plenty of guys that don't even do any maintenance on their tip ups at all.  They get packed away at the end of the season and not looked at again until they're out on the ice ready to bait up the next year.  Then they figure they hooked into a monster when their line breaks.

All it takes is one weak spot to turn your 20 pound test into 5 pound.

[northernnyice]

Usually a small imperfection in the leader material forms, perhaps unnoticeable, then sheer resistance does the rest. Snap!

[thomasthepikehunter]

I happened across another instance of a bite off recently. Not me, but someone I was fishing with used 30# fluorocarbon. It was a brand new leader, with no imperfections. Lighter than anything I would use, but he claimed it works fine. The other thing he did different was use a bead to mark depth on the tip up, where I don't want anything on my line. Long story short, he hooked into a good fish, and at the last minute it made a run. His fingers caught the bead as the fish ripped line, and the leader was instantly bit off. Bite offs happen if you fish enough. If you use flurorocarbon leaders of any weight, you need to be very gentle with fish. I'll take a steel leader any time I can.

[northernnyice]

I happened across another instance of a bite off recently. Not me, but someone I was fishing with used 30# fluorocarbon. It was a brand new leader, with no imperfections. Lighter than anything I would use, but he claimed it works fine. The other thing he did different was use a bead to mark depth on the tip up, where I don't want anything on my line. Long story short, he hooked into a good fish, and at the last minute it made a run. His fingers caught the bead as the fish ripped line, and the leader was instantly bit off. Bite offs happen if you fish enough. If you use flurorocarbon leaders of any weight, you need to be very gentle with fish. I'll take a steel leader any time I can.

No doubt you will get bit off with fluoro eventually. It will happen. I'm using 80lb seaguar fluoro now. Did the trick on a fat 41" today.