Pactola Northern finally

[cadreau87]

this is my Northern outta Jenny Gulch from a few weeks.

[royjulius]

Nice one! Looks like about 12 lbs. Did you weigh it? Last year I caught a 11-4 and a 15-10 on the same day. Here's a couple of pics to add to your Pactola Pike thread.....

[cadreau87]

Ya 15lbs even on that on 38.5in. That's the biggest I have caught. I'm just fishing off shore tho.

[black hills tj]

Its about time   What did you catch him on?

Because we can all use a good laugh every day

For reference, that's a 3" Flicker Shad


And this guy is pretty cute too.  Not me...the fish!

[royjulius]

15 lbs is an awesome fish Cadreau87, especially from shore. If you'd have weighed it at the Rooster you could have sent in for a trophy certificate from the state. That's what I do now instead of mounting my fish. My 15-10 is my best from Pactola. I have a buddy that got 2 18 pounders from there, but not in the same year. And he's pretty honest, so I believe him. There's some super-toads in there, but I haven't tagged one yet. And TJ, I just use good old fashioned spinnerbaits for pike in all those weeds. My biggest pike are:
                                                                                        14-5 Devil's Lake, ND
                                                                                        15-5 Sheridan Lake
                                                                                        15-10 Pactola
                                                                                        18-4 Stockade (this one is on my wall) 41.5 inches
I just can't catch a 20 pounder.

Did you take that 15 pounder to the taxidermist? 

[cadreau87]

No sir I caught him on a 5ft ugly stik. 8lbs fireline and one of the $1.59 spinnerbaits from cabelas and we didn't have a net lol. It was a chore getting him in but it was awesome. I released him tho, my buddy had a tape and scale and we did the catch and release cert. I kept him for a bit but called my dad back in Michigan to see if he was worth mounting. Pops said 40in 20lbs so I released him for one of you guys.

[royjulius]

That's cool. I kept my 15-10 because my girlfriend would have shot me if I didn't bring it to the table. Some people are saying that the big pike are getting fished out of Pactola, so this year I have only kept my 5 to 7 pounders, some even smaller than that. The problem is that when there are enough big ones, then everyone else complains that pike are destroying the fishery. You just can't win.

[black hills tj]

No sir I caught him on a 5ft ugly stik. 8lbs fireline and one of the $1.59 spinnerbaits from cabelas and we didn't have a net lol. It was a chore getting him in but it was awesome. I released him tho, my buddy had a tape and scale and we did the catch and release cert. I kept him for a bit but called my dad back in Michigan to see if he was worth mounting. Pops said 40in 20lbs so I released him for one of you guys.

I have good luck with white spinners with a touch of red for pike.

props for letting him go.  from what o have heard, your big fish are going to be your breeders.  they also help keep bog fish on the lake by keeping populations in check.  I haven't eaten many pike, but I have heard the twenty five to thirty inch fish taste best.

[cadreau87]

Ya I usually catch 3-4 in that 25in range and the wife and I eat very well on those. Fried fish is all the same to me.

[royjulius]

 Big pike taste very, very good. They don't get fatty like trout or catfish. No matter how big they get, they taste amazing. The trick is to not freeze them. Eat them as soon as you catch them. That's when they taste the best. Soak the fillets overnight in a light salt water and then cook them in a skillet with some light olive oil. No breading. Watch the fillets change color til they're white.  Sprinkle with black pepper and serve. Best food on Earth! 

[KingCat]

Went out twice to target pike on Pac, did OK, big one was about 7 pounds is all. I don't think there's a shortage of them in the lake, and I'm sure they are hurting the laker population. We keep most we catch, will pan fry them or pickle them for ice fishing. On another note, Orman has been pretty good for walleyes last few days.

[cadreau87]

Never have fished for wallets there yet. Back home in Michigan we use to kill em off shore bit its hard out here without a boat

[KingCat]

a lot of guys shorefish from the dam at orman and do pretty decent on walleyes.

[cadreau87]

I may have to try this. I haven't been in a few years

[wyoutdoors]

That's cool. I kept my 15-10 because my girlfriend would have shot me if I didn't bring it to the table. Some people are saying that the big pike are getting fished out of Pactola, so this year I have only kept my 5 to 7 pounders, some even smaller than that. The problem is that when there are enough big ones, then everyone else complains that pike are destroying the fishery. You just can't win.

Have you spoke with SD G&F about that?

[oyler]

Went out twice to target pike on Pac, did OK, big one was about 7 pounds is all. I don't think there's a shortage of them in the lake, and I'm sure they are hurting the laker population. We keep most we catch, will pan fry them or pickle them for ice fishing. On another note, Orman has been pretty good for walleyes last few days.

The biggest problem with the laker population IMO is that the gf&p screwed up with the minimum length.  Lake trout don't sexually mature until they are 7 years old, and an average 7 year old laker is 23-24" long.  So we are taking the fish out before they have a chance to reproduce.  I also wish people would practice catch and release a little more with the bigger ones.  A 12 pound laker is pretty fatty and doesn't taste that great, but still too small to mount, so there really isn't any reason to kill it.  I would never question anyone for keeping a fish as long as they are within the limits of the law, but I wish people would take a camera to the fish rather than a fillet knife. Once again, this is Just my opinion.

[wyoutdoors]

The biggest problem with the laker population IMO is that the gf&p screwed up with the minimum length.  Lake trout don't sexually mature until they are 7 years old, and an average 7 year old laker is 23-24" long.  So we are taking the fish out before they have a chance to reproduce.  I also wish people would practice catch and release a little more with the bigger ones.  A 12 pound laker is pretty fatty and doesn't taste that great, but still too small to mount, so there really isn't any reason to kill it.  I would never question anyone for keeping a fish as long as they are within the limits of the law, but I wish people would take a camera to the fish rather than a fillet knife. Once again, this is Just my opinion.

I know there are some arguments on this, but for the record, the only Laker I would remove from Pac would be an obvious State Record. Other than that, I would take a camera and tape to it and have a fiberglass mount made if I felt I wanted a hanger.

How ya doin' oyler!

[cadreau87]

Honestly last year I pulled 20 or so kameez outta pac and not one was over 24". I think I only saw one brought up that was over.

[black hills tj]

Honestly last year I pulled 20 or so kameez outta pac and not one was over 24". I think I only saw one brought up that was over.

Sounds like the day we went out with everyone...19-22"

[KingCat]

yea, lot of lakers under 20 inches; and i'd prefer eating a lot of other fish - a pic of a laker is good by me. I do think the lakers and pike compete over the forage (like stocker rainbows), and that could hurt. Maybe we should put some walleyes in there too 

[cadreau87]

yea, lot of lakers under 20 inches; and i'd prefer eating a lot of other fish - a pic of a laker is good by me. I do think the lakers and pike compete over the forage (like stocker rainbows), and that could hurt. Maybe we should put some walleyes in there too 

Ya! Now were talking.

[Team Lightning]

I am over here looking thru the S.D. boards......I am over the boarder in Wyoming..... I had to laugh...after looking thru some of the other states boards...there is ONE COMMON THEME....its always the Game & Fish Guy's fault....makes me laugh......everyone is an arm chair biologist & they know how to manage wildlife better than anyone who has 4 to 6 years of schooling towards their degree and YEARS AND YEARS of data to back up their decision as to how a species is managed but those of us who have no schooling know more than they do.

I guess we should fire them all and live with the results.....of course there is always that " Be careful what you wish for " thing that has a way of sneekin up on ya.

[bababooey]

Your right Mr. lighting, our Game and Fish have it totally under control.  Just look at the black hills deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and mt. lion populations as compared to 10 years ago... Heck, even 5 years ago.  I can see how you have respect for your state biologists, Wyomings game and fish do a great job from what I have seen.

[oyler]

I am over here looking thru the S.D. boards......I am over the boarder in Wyoming..... I had to laugh...after looking thru some of the other states boards...there is ONE COMMON THEME....its always the Game & Fish Guy's fault....makes me laugh......everyone is an arm chair biologist & they know how to manage wildlife better than anyone who has 4 to 6 years of schooling towards their degree and YEARS AND YEARS of data to back up their decision as to how a species is managed but those of us who have no schooling know more than they do.

I guess we should fire them all and live with the results.....of course there is always that " Be careful what you wish for " thing that has a way of sneekin up on ya.

I never once said I knew more than the biologist did, in fact twice on my post I said it was just my opinion. I don't envy their position at all, because they are damned if they do, and damned if they don't.  As far as bababooeys post, I think they were trying as hard as they could to start knocking down the mt. lion numbers, but they were getting so much pressure from the anti's and their lobbyist, that they had to go about slowly increasing the quotas so they wouldn't get injuntions filed on them like Minnesota and Montana did on the wolf hunting.

One thing I will say is that when I was at the meeting for Black Hills fisheries last spring, I said my concerns about the size limit on lakers, and the biologist had no idea that lake trout didn't mature until they were 7 years old. And he did admit that they should re-evaluate that. He went as far as to say that since lakers are new to the state, they didn't have much information at all on them.  We talked for quite a while on the subject, and came up with several different options. It will be interesting to see if they follow through with any of them....