.....but I think I really, really enjoy hand lining!!!
When the panfish bite is tough, as it was this afternoon, the first thing I do is pull out my Marmish rods. The added control I get with the shorter rod and the ultra sensitive indicators are the ticket for me. When I am trying to get a size 14 jig to "vibrate" an inch off the bottom, these rods are my choice. As always, I set the hook, drop the rod on the ice, and jerk them up by hand. This was not always my idea of a good time. The line gets tangled, snags on my junk, and freezes to the ice. It something I was willing to deal with so I could enjoy the benefits of the the system.
That changed today.... in a big way... Northern pike wanted to eat size 14 tungsten jigs with a single eurolarve.... strange, I know....
The first one was about three pounds. I thought I had a picture worthy crappie on, I was soooooo careful not to horse it with that two pound line. I let it slip through my fingers when it charged, and slowly lifted taking care not to grasp the line too tightly when it tired. After a battle that lasted several minutes, I was pretty disappointed.
The second Northern was closer to five pounds, the battle lasted much longer and I used the drag on the rod to tire the fish before I started hand lining him in. MUCH easier than the whole battle by slippy finger drag.
The THIRD pike caught on a size 14 tungsten jig with a single eurolarve was 37 inches.... not a monster, not really even a big deal. It took at least 15 minutes to get him up the hole though! Oh my! What a BLAST! One slight little mistake with line that light, no leader, and using my fingers for drag, and he would have been gone. It was truly a fair fight! With my summer gear, he would have been winched in, unhooked, and dropped back in the water without a second thought. Hand line with 2lb test, he felt like the fish of a lifetime!
I would never target pike in this way, it was incidental catch and I doubt it will ever happen again. It sure was fun though!
