A Dark, Cold Night (an argument in favor of catch & release)

Suddenly, I felt a chill and caught a glimpse of cold steel. A flash, then it penetrated – the burn of a razor-sharp instrument tearing through skin, flesh, and bone.

I was hurt – bleeding.

My attackers grabbed at my flesh and pulled me into their vessel. They dropped me to the metal floor and watched as I thrashed about in pain. I fought for my life; they did nothing.

I couldn’t breath.

My heart was about to burst. I was weak – helpless – submitting to the brutes.

The burley strangers pinned me to the floor.

I was terrified.

My wounds ached and leaked blood. I knew, if they didn’t release me soon, I would certainly die.

Did you ever wonder what “the fight” is like – from the perspective of the fish you catch?

I just used a little dramatic action to make a point. We anglers love our sport. We also like to think that we respect the species we chase enough to treat them right after the fight. But a lot goes into the art of catch and release. From hook-set to the deep breath we take after the fish swims away; there are many potentially life-threatening hazards to the fish and dangers to the angler, as well.

Mike Ponder correctly holding a Dryberry monster muskie.

Every Esox Hunter obsesses over these great toothy beasts, like an NFL star would the Lombardi Trophy, or an NHL’er Lord Stanley’s Cup. The coveted prize in this sport is the mighty Esox. The real “trophy” of any Esox Hunter’s heart is to hold a behemoth in a photograph shared, touted, and yes, even boasted about for years to come. A photograph that represents much blood, sweat, and tears through hours-and-hours of planning, fruitless outings, sleepless nights, and relentless casting.

It is certainly true that Esox Hunters do dwell on the object of their affection probably more than most. But after all, it is because the rewards are so great – if not, so rare.

Take muskie hunting, for example. The promotion of catch and release has transformed the “fish of ten-thousand casts” from a mythical creature that only a select few learned scholars and river rats can catch with any kind of regularity, to a rewarding adventure on the water for even a relatively inexperienced angler. When a little homework and then some heavy lifting are applied, you’ll have success. I’m sure of it!

But after all that is said and done, with as many big fish fifty-inches and more that folks allegedly have caught and released over the years, these encounters are still far less common than all the braggin’ boards on internet chat sites would lead one to believe. It’s not as easy as it appears to be, or as the pros would lead you to believe. I’m sure of this too!

Pat Elza performing a proper release technique.

That being said, we can all agree that it is truly a special occasion to be holding a monster at the bow of the boat, while your partner snaps pictures – just you and that big fish with the golden sunset as the perfect backdrop. The scene never gets old!

Often overlooked in the relentless struggle to catch an Esox is proper release technique. I have caught enough fish over fifty-inches to know that if the best part of Esox fishing is the strike, the second best part is feeling the tail tense-up in your hand and then watching a healthy fish kick out of sight. That’s what it’s all about!

Reports of severely mishandled big Esox over my decades-long career in the sport have made it clear that it’s never too late (or too soon, or too often) for a refresher course on proper handling of Esox – from hook-up to release and everything in between.

So, let’s have at it, shall we? I’ll start with…

THE NET

Before you even think about starting the motor and heading out, assume you will catch the biggest Esox of your life today (go ahead, it’s good to always begin with a positive attitude), then ask one question: do you have everything you need to perform a release safely with minimum stress on the fish and risk of injury to you? You wouldn’t leave the launch without life jackets. There are other items you should also never leave without.

The only thing better than watching a healthy fish swim away is the strike itself.

Skipping past hand landing (or water release) for obvious reasons – no one in their right mind intentionally grabs a four-foot long fish with razor-sharp teeth knowing full well there is a lure with three 5.0 treble hooks embedded in the jaw.

For this scenario, only one bit of advice will do: know where the nearest medical attention can be found. A typical water release is performed first by playing a fish out to total exhaustion – not recommended. Throughout twenty-five years of experience, I have had occasion to actually pop hooks with long pliers at boatside, foregoing pictures (and without ever actually touching the fish), for the sake of the fish.

But then there’s reality…

After the enormous strike and fierce battle with jumps and power dives and the occasional awesome tail-walk, you’re going to need a solid (muskie) net with a coated bag. Each fight is unique and it takes experience to know when a big fish is ready to be bagged. Always expect the unexpected and be prepared for that last power dive to throw the lure – you don’t want it stuck in your forehead.

Looks like the author is playing his guitar! This is a correct alternate hold to the hand under the belly style.

Beckman makes one of the best nets on the market, with a tough treated hookless bag that won’t leave you with a tangled mess if the fish decides to do a barrel roll. And it has a handle tough enough to lift the weight of a big Esox. The stiff bag easily serves as a “pen” that you can use to corral the fish in order to LEAVE IT IN THE WATER while you remove the hooks and get your camera ready. Time out of the water is the key to survival and it cannot be over-emphasized: keep the fish in the water as much as possible while you work.

Frabill also makes quality products. My colleagues and I have used them and certainly stand by their tough, big fish capability. A net that can stand-up to a 50, 53, 55, 57-inch muskie is an essential part of the arsenal. Do not skimp, or cut costs here. Trust me, you won’t regret the decision to go with the best. The Esox will benefit too!

A Cradle will also work, as it supports the weight of the fish in the water. And when closed around the fish, a Cradle will immobilize your catch for the duration. A Cradle has a very soft Esox-friendly mesh that won’t remove the protective slime coating on the skin.

Be advised: a Cradle may not be as effective as the aforementioned products for bigger fish 48-inches, or larger. I’ve had big fish escape and a couple that didn’t fit, because the Cradle wouldn’t close around them. Not that I’d brag!

HOOK-OUTS & BOLT CUTTERS

Simply put, you cannot hunt Esox without certain tools. If you do, the probability you will be hurt, or that injury/death to the fish will result, increases dramatically. There are four tools you should never leave the dock without:

1.) Hook-out


2.) Small bolt cutters


3.) Jaw spreader


4.) Heavy duty long-nose pliers

, and/or channel locks

Of course, it is ideal to simply “pop” the hooks with hook-outs or pliers, but every year lures get bigger, hooks get stronger, and it gets harder to remove them without more stress to the fish. That’s where bolt cutters earn their place in the box – if hooks are hard to reach, or in a vital place, cut ‘em. Replacement hooks are cheap.

LIGHTS – CAMERA – ACTION!!!

Revive a fish in shallow water, so your catch has a better chance to rest before fighting current, or having to swim a long distance.

Before you remove a fish from your net, make sure your camera is ready to go and your partner knows how to use it. It’s always a good idea to have a camera training session before you ever hit the water – if everyone learns all the camera gear in advance, it’ll save valuable time on the water and will most likely improve the quality of your shots.

This is a critical time when most mistakes are made and the greatest danger to the captured fish occurs. NEVER LIFT THE FISH INTO THE BOAT WITH THE NET!!! Removing the fish from its environment and placing it on the bottom of the boat (in or out of the net) will remove the protective layer of slime from the skin that prevents bacterial infections.

A fish placed at the bottom of the boat will most likely begin to thrash and there’s a good chance injury will occur when the fish gets tangled in all the lures and gear in your boat.

Once hooks are removed and the fish has calmed down in the pen, it’s easy to place your thumb underneath the strong jaw bone – point thumb towards the head of the fish – then carefully slip four remaining fingers up under the gill plate taking care not to damage any of the vital organs.

Author holding a nice Dryberry muskie the RIGHT way.

ALWAYS SUPPORT YOUR FISH UNDERNEATH THE BELLY with your other hand when removing it from the water. A strong grip on the jaw bone should immobilize your catch and will give you a better leverage grip just in case, but cradling the belly lends support and will further freeze your subject for the photo. Take a couple of quick snaps of the shutter and then get that Esox back in the water.

A good alternative grip would be to grab the tail and then slip your other hand under the belly. This works well with smaller fish, but if you have substantial weight and length to control, a slippery fat tail isn’t the best place to grab. One thrash and you have an angry toothy beast at the bottom of your boat.

A MEASURE OF TIME

By now plenty of stress has been placed upon the fish and it should be top priority to set it free. Dropping, or tossing, an Esox overboard is not the right way to treat a creature that has just given you the thrill of a lifetime and then was gracious enough to stick around and pose for photographs. I have seen anglers do this with my own eyes and it’s all I can do to not board their vessel and release them the same way.

Carefully return your fish to the water by keeping your grip and supporting the belly all the time. Once the fish is in the water upright she will let you know if further attention is necessary. If she kicks and swims away, then it’s good for you. Many times the trauma of the fight leaves excess air in the swim bladder. She may turn on her side or flip upside down. You can hold her upright and “burp” her by gently rubbing her belly from the rear fin forward.

Author gripping tail to revive a muskie before release.

Once she is upright in the water, hold a firm grip on her tail while slowly rocking her side-to-side in a swimming motion. Gently push her forward (never backwards) to get water flowing over her gills. This often gets the fins moving and the gills flaring again. Keep rocking and you’ll feel the tail muscles tighten and try to kick. A gentle push usually does the trick from there and she’ll be off for the weeds to rest. Stick close to the area for a while just in case she surfaces – you may have to recapture and repeat this process a number of times.

Measurements are often taken during this revival time and a floating tape measure will serve well obtaining length and girth. Weight can be determined by formula and it is unnecessary to place the fish under additional stress using a scale, as Esox hunters brag by inches (not pounds) anyway.

If you really want to get a ballpark on the weight use this formula:

(girth x girth x length)/800



Example:


LENGTH = 45.0”


GIRTH = 21.5”


21.5X21.5X45.0/800 = 26 POUNDS

ALWAYS BE PREPARED

Your partner screaming, “Fish On!” isn’t the time to wonder if you remembered the bolt cutters… the camera… where you stuck the net. If you grab the net and thirty-seven lures are tangled in it and the soft cooler with today’s lunch is at the bottom of the bag – well, then you’ve got problems. Not the least of which will be a very angry partner if the fish gets away while you’re trying to undo the damage.

There are Esox hunters who have got their act together – tools in one pre-determined compartment, camera in dry storage, and lures away except for maybe a half-dozen in use and well away from the net. The net will be situated for quick release and easy one-step assembly.

Then there are those Esox hunters who leave for a day on the water with more tackle boxes full of lures and unnecessary gear than five people could use in a month. By lunch they have a treble hook nightmare as far as the eye can see – hooks in the net, stuck in the deck carpet, and hanging from the sides of the boat. They have rain gear and gloves and coolers stacked on top of things they might need – like the net, or the dry store hatch.

Where’s the camera again?

Be a boy scout (or a girl scout, as the case may be).

Always be prepared. Never take what you don’t need. If you have been Esox hunting for any length of time, you own enough gear to sink the Titanic. You don’t have to bring it all along every time you go fishing. Try to stick to the eighty pound weight limit that many fly in camps require for a week-long stay. It’ll lighten your load and leave behind gear you probably won’t use anyway.

Keep it simple.

Okay! One last pose, then it's bye, bye.

The sure way to make everyone think you are “in the know” is to be organized and keep a tidy deck out on the water. If you don’t have it narrowed to a three lure attack by day five, you are having a bad week anyway.

A FINAL WORD

Remember that the second best part of Esox hunting is the release – running a very close second to the strike. Esox hunters owe it to the species that occupies so much of their lives to make a conscious effort to carry the proper tools, equipment, and knowledge necessary for the preservation of our sport.

Learn how to handle these fish with care. They are big, nasty, and the true top predators of fresh water. Esox greatest ally is also ironically their greatest potential enemy. It is up to Esox hunters everywhere to catch and release, if we are to continue to grow the sport.

With every new generation of Esox hunters to come, let us live for the fight and treat ‘em right.

Always Catch & Release!

(Reporting for ESOXHUNT Magazine. April 2012.)

Confessions of a Closet Pike Hunter

Author Bob Chochola with a nice Canadian pike. Write him at esoxhunter@bobzilla.tv.

A few years ago, on the road to the promised land of Esox, destination way north of the Canadian border, kicking-off another typical hype-heavy muskie hunt somewhere in Ontario, a pit stop was made in a little town called Virginia, for gas, food, beverages, and, well, certain other necessities of life.

Don’t know about you, but I like to read when I’m – indisposed. So there I was, without a good book, opting to peruse some quips on the walls of this roadside oasis’ bathroom, thoughtfully left behind by traveling angler-prophets-past, in order to accommodate said desire. Scribbled in assorted marker colors just high enough and just coherent enough so that they could be enjoyed without straining too much, I found myself indulging in some rest stop prose whilst I took care of business.

One very clever author seemed a little troubled and took a condescending jab at the quality of fishery that one might experience in the region, while in the same breath fIred a snarky remark aimed at the state’s fishing motto:

“Minnesota… Land of 10-thousand lakes… 10-million boats… 10-billion fishermen… 10-trillion mosquitos… and only ONE walleye!”

Pat Elza with a huge Canadian pike.

Ouch! That had to hurt?

You know, had I been a Minnesotan, which I am not, and had I more time at the time, which I did not, and maybe even if I’d have had a marker color of my own, I may have defended her honor – Minnesota I mean. But my crew was in a hurry, so I had to leave it by the side of the road – as it were. We were on a muskie hunt, and had no time to even think about those “other” species.

This brings up another good point and great motto:

“Muskie – the fish of ten-thousand casts.”

I have no way to confirm it statistically, but the folks who write these mottos have all got to be math teachers, accountants, statisticians, or something along those lines of work. How else do you explain all the numbers and counting and stuff like that? It just makes sense.

Nice one, Spanky Joe!

I have done extensive research on the subject of how many casts it actually does take to catch a muskie and it is quite clear that these data collectors may have over-estimated the figure a bit. On one trip I calculated number of casts per minute, times minutes on the water, times four guys in two boats, and it came out to about six-thousand casts before we boated our first muskie. Of course, that number went down quite a bit when we boated four more muskies in the next few hours. But I will leave the braggin’ alone – for now.

Either way, let’s just agree that it takes “a lot” of casts to bag a muskie. Okay?

What’s any of this got to do with northern pike?

Well, I’m about to tell you a little secret – my little secret – and it may not bode too well with some folks in the elite northern pike in-crowd.

You see, there are more than a few “out there” who will try to convince you that catching a northern pike is as difficult, maybe even more difficult, than catching an elusive muskie, or a stubborn old walleye. I read an online article a few days ago that claimed northern pike to be “one of the most difficult species on Earth“ to catch. Really?

I don’t think so!

Daddio gets in on the action.

And here’s why I don’t think so…

If you were to ask, “What’s the best time of year to fish for northern pike?” I would tell you that spring, summer, fall, and winter are all “best times” to fish for them.

If you then asked, “What water temperature is most conducive to pike eating activity?” I would respond to let you know that you can catch a northern pike through a hole drilled in a foot of ice. And you can catch a northern pike when the water is so warm even the fish are sweating. And you can catch them at every temperature in between. It’s all good!

Ask me about bait. Go ahead! “What bait would you use?”

I have caught northern pike on live bait: minnows, golden roaches, blue gills, suckers, night crawlers, red worms, wax worms, leeches, and crawfish. I have used most of these in a post-mortem condition and it didn’t seem to matter too much. I have used bait like spawn and salmon eggs. A buddy of mine caught a 40-inch northern pike on corn (while fishing for carp). Go figure!

Wait! There’s more…

Always catch & release.

Artificial lures are a no-brainier where pike are concerned. You got spoons in the box, use them. You got X-raps, go forth and fish. You got beetle spins, spinners, tube jigs, top water, rattle baits, crank baits – you name it. Just size your lures to the pike in the lake and remember, they will try to eat a meal up to half their own size.

I have boated 34-36 inch pike on 14-inch crank baits. I had a 40-inch pike swallow a one-pound plastic bait that was about 16-inches long counting the big flutter tail. Gone! I mean completely down its throat wire leader and all, bitten-off and swallowed. (We actually retrieved that bait from deep inside the pike’s mouth, when a guy in the next boat caught the same fish a few dozen casts later and noticed the swivel end of a wire leader and a couple of inches of line dangling out from between its teeth.)

What about color choice? Are you kidding me?

I have not found a color yet that a northern pike won’t eat. I personally stick with pink if I am targeting pike, but you just try to keep them off your black and gold spinner bait, or that natural shad jerk bait. I have had to pull those away to keep from releasing pike number twenty-five, while searching for a single interested muskie.

Yeah! Color makes a difference – to you. The pike don’t care what color you use.

So, why don’t northern pike have a slogan? They are fun to catch. They fight like there’s no tomorrow. I can honestly say that I have been fooled many times, by big pike that I thought were big muskies, until I got them to the boat, or they jumped to reveal my mistake.

Way to go, Bob!

Well, excuse me! I thought you were a…

And don’t even go there if you are one of those sassy walleye fishermen laughing at me for thinking my pike was a muskie. That time you were drifting the deep channel with a leech, hooked-up with a nice chubby walleye, then got bit-off. What do you think did that? It wasn’t Nessie, because you weren’t fishing in Scotland. It was a toothy critter – probably a pike.

I have a friend who brings his dad north from time-to-time. Daddio really gets into the whole muskie versus walleye rivalry thing.

Although what all the fuss is about I certainly cannot say for sure. Everyone knows that…

“MUSKIE: other fish are just BAIT!”

(Pause for applause and boo’s.)

Anyway, my friend’s dad has also picked up on the fact that northern pike don’t exactly get the respect they deserve. He joins in the chorus every chance he gets – calls them “Slimers!” and accompanies the less than flattering term with a nasty screech voice that you might imagine would go with such a term.

“Slimers!” Hmmm?

I am from the school that enjoys a good battle, even if it comes at the hands (or shall I say “fins”) of a fish that I wasn’t expecting – that I wasn’t specifically targeting. Hey, I was carp fishing long before carp fishing was cool. So, there you go! Slimer, or not, I dig the fight and northern pike certainly bring it when the time comes.

That’s why you’ll not see me pack for a trip north without including some sort of pike rig. I do use lighter tackle to increase the challenge, but that’s because I know I can count on this toothy critter, when the other toothy critters come down with a case of lock-jaw, or play hide and go seek for four days.

I’m all for coming up with a catchy pike slogan though. In fact, send me your suggestions. I will share with you down the road, if I get any worth bragging about, that is.

Until then, sharpen all your hooks, because we’re gonna dive deeper into some of the specifics of the Esox Hunt. Yeah… Yeah… I know. I said it was easy, right? No, I said you can count on a pike when all other species fail you. But there’s still much to learn. There are still “preferred” strategies that will turn a good trip into an “Oh, my God! I can’t believe we…” kind of trip.

I’ll leave you with this story about my great-grandfather.

My mom’s side of the family is from Estonia. Now most folks don’t even know where Estonia is, but I will say that it borders Russia and is a port to the Baltic Sea.

Among the many stories my grandmother told me about life in the “old country” were tales about her father going fishing and bringing home these huge 4-5 foot long fish that were “very scary looking” because they had big teeth “just like an alligator” and big black eyes.

Yup! Sounds like northern pike to me too. In fact, they were pike. Big pike. Big European pike. And my ancestors depended upon this species for survival during many years in war-torn Europe.

So, while they may be “Slimers!” to some, they are a part of family history to me. And I am very proud to be a part of ESOXHUNT for just that reason.

Fish On!

(Reporting for ESOXHUNT Magazine. January 2012.)