i need help!!!

[esox slayer]

You guys need to lay off us. Just because we post things that are different and not what you are used to doesn't mean we are full of it. We had a very good look at the fish numerous times and he was WAY bigger than the one I have a pic of here, which when weighed was 20 pounds 8 ounces.

Check out Troutfishingbear's Trout of fame post in the Myfishfinder pic section.

We need to lay off you??  You , who tell us about our "skinny pike"??  State record for NYS is a tad over 50 pounds...how's the state record for Colorado anyway??

And, you are the one who claimed to have one "nearly 30 pounds", and then you tell us it wasn't even on the ice, just got a good look at it at the bottom of the hole??  Not meaning to be sarcastic, but the proof is in the pic....

We don't necessarily knock the mono leaders,,,and I don't think anyone on here has said that, not like some people who have said, and I quote "forget steel leaders"  yada, yada, yada...if you want flags....just cause you can't use steel there isn't any reason to say forget steel in other parts of the country...it's been working just fine for many here for years, between my father and I we've been using steel for about 110 years, we always did fine without mono, or spiderwire..or any other of that fancy crap....

I would hope a coule of the Canadians on here pipe in and see if they use steel for the most part....and just one last thing...a LOT (most) of the people I know up here use steel and do nicely with it....but we are still open to new things and try it on occasion......

[esox slayer]

I just did some research...

The record northern pike in Colorado is only 30.6 pounds, caught by Dave van Cleave, 43.5 inches in 1996, out of the waters of Williams Fork Reservoir, Grand County, Colorado.

The NYS record pike is 46.2 pounds.....(Esox's note:  I mis spoke when I said I thought the NYS record was a tad over 50 in an earlier post, but it's still 16 pounds bigger than Colorado's).....

Skinny Pike???  Yuh, right......

I noticed in another thread TFB is saying that "almost 30 pound" pike could have been 30, even 40 pounds....looks like a state record just got lost due to "mono" maybe??

Sorry I.I.T.V./TFB..but you asked for it......

[esox slayer]

Oh, foolish me.....upon further researching this pike record chart, I found out that according to the web page I'm getting this info from, is that our "skinny" NYS record pike is also the largest pike recorded in the entire United States, and even a province or 2 of Canada...  I thought I'd post this info cause I like to be thorough in my research...

[iceintheveins]

I'm just saying that for us, our fishing in Colorado is different because of very unique and different conditions. I also said many In fisherman tactics don't work in Colorado, but that many do. I also never said to throw their tactics out the window, unless you fish in Colorado. I also was not the one who said "skinny pike".

Choose to believe us or not over the pike that we could not get through the ice. Just quit saying we are full of it for saying conditions are different where we are.

[esox slayer]

>>I also was not the one who said "skinny pike".>>

Where did anybody say YOU were the one who said that anyway???  Are you taking my posts personal??  This is a public forum and my posts are meant for the general membership here, not just one or two individuals.  All I personally am trying to do is post information , mainly for the UNINFORMED, about records in North America for pike, and the couple states in general that have the LARGER potential fish, because fishing is a big thing here in NYS and many people travel from all over the country to fish here, so it means money for businesses, and I wouldn't want to give those people the perception that we had "skinny" fish here like some states do.

And, I might suggest, and here is another quote,>>I'm just saying that for us, our fishing in Colorado is different because of very unique and different conditions. >>that maybe if you would have said "In Colorado" to begin with rather than "forget wire" without stipulating the fact that it did work only in Colorado you may not get so much flak.

The only thing I'm going to say about the "almost 30 pounder" is this....I, as a fisherman with probably more years on the water than you have years total, would never come onto a public forum and make wild claims of "almost" fish.  I'd say from the way you started the comment insinuating you had one laying on the ice of nearly 30 pounds and then clarifying "it was only in the hole" shot any credibility you MAY have had here...whatever straightened out my 2/0 trable hooks I'll never know, and I'm not going to speculate either..but I promise it was something that did happen and I've got witnesses to both accounts,,,and they aren't related to me...

If you by chance happen to have a 2/0 treble out there, take a look at how heavy gauge the wire is that makes them up.  Maybe they're too massive a hook for those clear pristine Colorado waters and you use hooks made of some other material than steel, but by chance if you do have one...see what it takes to straighten out 2 of the three....weight-wise.......Esox....

[Kyle_]

i think you guys in colorado should start using mono hooks...
those big steel hooks probably just scare them away
 

[walleye55]

today i lost a really nice pike at the hole and need to what kind of line to use.i was thinking of steel leaders.Thanks

All you guys that need steel are horsing them in because I use 30# power pro and very rarely get bit off. I see it all the time people pulling the line as fast as they can boom the pike gos bye the other side off the hole snap! Another thing I see is people running to there flags where as they hook them shallow up by the teeth snap! I use #2 or #1 regular octopus gamakatsu hooks and let them swallow then you get the line in the hinge of the mouth and the single hooks slide right down with the bait. Don't use this method if your going to catch and release or if there is a size limit. If you do want to release a fish cut the line don't kill it to save a hook! I live in northern wi. and we love our pickled northern.

[grumpymoe]

Choose to believe us or not over the pike that we could not get through the ice. Just quit saying we are full of it for saying conditions are different where we are

....you're full of it.....Grump

[esox slayer]

Hey Grump...I agree they ARE full of it.....if I had time to get "many" looks at a "nearly 30 pounder" at the bottom of the hole, I'd sure as blazes have time to get my hand down the hole and latch on to him....I've done it a few times for fish a lot smaller than "nearly 30 pounds"................

I.I.T.V...what size hole were you trying to pull this potential Colorado record through???

[iceintheveins]

Hey Grump...I agree they ARE full of it.....if I had time to get "many" looks at a "nearly 30 pounder" at the bottom of the hole, I'd sure as blazes have time to get my hand down the hole and latch on to him....I've done it a few times for fish a lot smaller than "nearly 30 pounds"................

I.I.T.V...what size hole were you trying to pull this potential Colorado record through???

A ten inch hole, the maximum legal size of a hole in Colorado. BTW I landed a 34" pike yesterday on ten pound fluoro. The guy who stated not to horse big pike on fluoro as much as wire are right. When I got the pike on ice, whose mouth was filled with big nasty razor teeth, I tried clamping her jaws on my leader. With pressure the leader would not cut and was barely nicked at all. Only when I jerked the hook free leader (after I removed the two #8 trebles) like crazy did it cut.

[iceintheveins]

We had 16 flags yesterday using fluoro. Most of the other groups were using wire and the best they did was one flag and they landed a 19" hammerhandle. Another guy across the lake used fluoro and landed had 8 flags.

[trapperdirk]

Man oh Man . Yes I use fluoros if I'm in walleye waters and pike are common but pike are definately not leader shy as I could add my years of pike fishing to everybody elses here and I bet we could add up more in years from folks using wire leaders than the state of Colorado could put up in pike numbers or pounds . If pike are my target then wire she be and I have many ,many clear lakes here .

You guys and your 16 flags and others few because as you claim they were using steel instead of fluoro are full of it .

I'm thinking maybe with all your crazy claims of finicky fish,yada yada you need to be shown how to fish . Trust me with the pike caught everywhere else in North America on this site we will not have trouble catching yours . It's almost like  you brothers are fishing some rare exotic species that nobody else has ever seen . Yeah right and holding that one up close to the camera at arms length does not make him a 20 plus pounder . ROTFLMAO . Here's what we all do with your way out there posts .



   

[Iceshanty]

Guys we are losing focus here. Someone asked for help and they get all this bickering. 

It has been my experience that fine wire leaders work very well for pike. Many good cut proof leaders out there, Big Pete makes his home made 7 strand wire leaders with beads and blades that work great. Icetroll turned me on to the boa no-kink line awesome stuff. I have also been using Southbends invisaleader this year with great success. Spiderwire is another good leader material although its not cut proof it can handle quite a bit of abrasion.

After years of experimenting I have found that by using mono/flouro leaders it will improve the number of strikes also increase your hook-up ratio, no question about it although you're probably going to lose some fish.  I have also found that there is no better feeling than having steel on when you hook into a good one in heavy cover. 






-Scott