Big Pike

[ifish4eyes]

I heard there was a 54 inch, 44 pound pike caught out of Muskegon Lake, a acquaintance said he saw a photo of it. If its true that's a new state record.

[Westlakedrive]

That would have to be one fat fish.
Current record 39 lbs and 51.5 inches.
I would have to think a fish in Muskegon Lake would grow much faster than this record fish and could be that long but heavier? Maybe if its a slow grower from Lake Michigan??

[steelers fan]

I've also seen that e-mail. It is not A Muskegon lake fish, that e-mail was sent by someone I work with as a joke to another fisherman and it has exploded.. But it is a huge fish!!!! I believe the fish is from Europe..

[RyGuy525]

I think i know the picture you are talking about that fish was taken from Lake of The Woods in Ontario.

[rockfordredneck]

Do they even have pike in Europe?

[fishindude]

I've seen it, don't think it came out of Muskegon lake myself...

[ESOX]

Do they even have pike in Europe?
Yes they do, in both Europe and Asia. Pike are the most widely distributed freshwater fish in the world. A lot of european pike are HUGE by our standards as they tend to practice more C&R than we do here.

[Nailer]

Larry yes it is a hoax. the fish is from Canada.

[jeremy L]

Yes they do, in both Europe and Asia. Pike are the most widely distributed freshwater fish in the world. A lot of european pike are HUGE by our standards as they tend to practice more C&R than we do here.

isn't the world record pike from Europe?

[Capt Hook]

55lbs,1 oz caught in Germany

[ESOX]

If you look at the population density of Europe, the huge fish they have shows C&R does indeed work. I wish we had a slot limit so we could grow some fish like that.

[Still Wait'n]

Did a Google search, and it looks like 55 lbs. 1 oz. from Germany is the world record. It was caught Oct. 16, 1986.

[bentrod]

In the In-Fisherman book "Pike" they list numerous huge pike caught, speared, found dead, netted, or whatever going back several hundred years in Europe. Many fish in the 90 lb. range. The old world pike grow much larger than our muskies.

[stealydawn]

In the 1980's I was stationed just outside of Madrid in the Air Force. There were some impoundments in the mountains east and north of Madrid. We could rent small boats on base and take them of base to these remote lakes. Below the dams there were huge Northerns. Never caught one under 25" and most were in the high 30" to low 40" range. Caught many on numerous occasions while stationed there. Lost the pictures during a divorce. What a bummer.

[Fishbum2]

I got out my Michigan outdoors newspaper and on the page with sharing your catch and harvest..a person was holding a 53" northern over 30 pounds from a Canadian lake. It is a huge fish. I think this may have started it. On the cover is a 45" northern that was 25 lbs.

South Manistique Lake and Manistique lake were surveyed by he DNR a few years ago and both yielded northern pike over 50 inches.

In general, when I do a search for nothern pike flies or other tidbits of info, I find that the UK comes up a hotspot for large nothern pike. In the US,
the manmade lakes in Colorado are tops with several caught on flies in the
30 pound range. Eleven mile res. was real good when I lived in Colorado.

[Crazy Bird Hunter]

I've also seen that e-mail. It is not A Muskegon lake fish, that e-mail was sent by someone I work with as a joke to another fisherman
:yeahthat:
I work with the guy also. It was a prank. NOT a Muskegon Lake fish.

[Capt Hook]

Some of the biggest pike in Mi live out in the big lake. They come into the river mouths in the fall just like the eyes do. They trickle in all winter and spawn in the cuts off the rivers in the spring. I guided for trophy eyes on a well known NE river for years and hooked up on some pigs in the fall. Biggest was a fish that taped out at just over 48", my fish scale only went to 30# and that pike bottoned it out. She was put in the livewell to let her recover and was released about a half hour later.

[Kearly Shuffle]

I also just recieved that email. I had heard the Muskegon Lake story too, but then heard it was Canada. Here is the picture that came with the email...

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n166/bkearly/Northern54inches44pounds.jpg

[ALLEYES]

HOLY GATOROLY !!!! That background is def. not Muskegon.

[Still Wait'n]

Man what a PIG! Sure would be fun to tie into a Northern that size.

[JJ Mac]

Geez...that fish is so big she's got cleavage. What I want to know is what fish bit its tail???

I heard the fish in this pic was caught in Holland.

[bigbob]

wow what a fish it must be canada:)

[ESOX]

I bet a buck the angler can't speak a lick of English and thats somewhere in europe.

[bigbob]

i did some surfing and i think its from italy found some nice pic`s , man thay have some nice fish

[bigbob]

some pic from there http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9ibyGbyTD1FkAwApS6jzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NDgyNWN 0BHNlYwNwcm9m/SIG=128fcmq6i/EXP=1161731698/**http%3a//www.frontrangeanglers.com/newsletter/pike.jpg http://re3.mm-a3.yimg.com/image/872450248 (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9iby4DlTD1FjkIA7V2JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjZGM1ZGE 1BHBvcwM1BHNlYwNzcg--/SIG=1hi4u3o6m/EXP=1161731685/**http%3a//images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view%3fback=http%253A%252F%252Fimages.search.yahoo .com%252Fsearch%252Fimages%253F_adv_prop%253Dimage s%2526imgsz%253Dall%2526imgc%253D%2526vf%253Dall%2 526va%253Ditaly%252Bpike%2526fr%253Dmy-vert-web-top%2526ei%253DUTF-8%26w=432%26h=460%26imgurl=www.kicknbass.com%252Fi mages%252Fdaniele_grosso_big_pike.jpg%26rurl=http% 253A%252F%252Fwww.kicknbass.com%252Fstefano_lodi.h tm%26size=50.1kB%26name=daniele_grosso_big_pike.jp g%26p=italy%2bpike%26type=jpeg%26no=5%26tt=102%26o id=cd00a87ff5de84e0%26ei=UTF-8)

[bigbob]

http://www.frontrangeanglers.com/newsletter/pike.jpg

[jb10]

This was in a past post as someone thought it was caught at some lodge in Canada which was also not true. Fish came from Europe although I can't remember the country. It is from a well known lake that has a large population of whitefish and cisco which allows the pike to get so big.

[tackle hound]

I sell fishing tackle on Ebay, mostly Muskie Lures and quite a few Grandma Lures and Nils Master. I would say that the majority of my buyers of Musky tackle are Pike fisherman from Europe.

I've had many from the UK, The Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. Some of these are repeat customers and have sent me pics that will absolutely blow your mind!! Quite a few of the fish must be in the 30+ pound range.

In the UK, quite a few of the big Pike come from reservoirs that are stocked and managed for Trout. They are open to Pike fishing for a short time each year, mostly as an attempt to control the numbers of Trout gobbling pike.

In the Netherlands, quite a few of the Pike come out of the canals that seem to be everywhere. I have befriended an Insurance Investigator from the Netherlands that has sent me pics of decent fish in what looks like roadside ditches here. The lures they use??? Muskie sized jerk baits!! One of his favorites are Salmo Fatso's. On the waters they can get boats onto, they troll these oversized lures!! He hardly ever buys crankbaits smaller than 8 inches. :yikes:

Ireland is another spot for these giant pike.

My customers from the Scandinavian countries often fish the brackish backwaters of the Baltic Sea. The lures they use MUST have a blue color on them somewhere because the Pike feed on Sardines and Herring.

Among all these customers are one common theme in their lures.......they must be BIG!!!

[Capt Hook]

I do taxidermy in NE Mi and have mounted quite a few large pike(45" range) out of Tawas Bay. Some of the fish I have found inside them are BIG. One had a 5 pound largemouth in it, one had 2 whitefish in it each over 3 pounds and one had a 22" walleye in it. They don't make cranks that big!!

[tackle hound]

Ahhhhh but they do! There is a company that makes custom lures, I think the name of the company is Wishmaster. He usually has a booth at the Chicago Muskie Expo in January..........but on the down side, the lures start at about $200 and head north from there!

I do understand what you are saying though. I once caught a 22" Pike in Canada that had a very large stomach. When we took this fish in to camp and cleaned it for our shore lunch (and to satisfy our curiousity) we found the remains of a Perch that was over 13" long.

This was just a small pike.......it makes you wonder about the "typical" size lures that we use when pike fishing?? Is our normal choice too small to entice the larger size Pike ??

On an off topic question.....Captain.....do you specialize on fish?? Or do the full range of Taxidermy services? I was a Taxidermist in SW MI for a number of years, and I am seriously thinking about getting back into just fish (which I feel was my better work) to go along with my Fishing Tackle sales. I also am a Tackle rep for Grandma lures (crankbaits) and Case Plastics. I thought that these items would tie in very good with each other??

[tnoord]

What the h e double hockey sticks!!!

That Pike looks just like the one I caught the other
day at Reed's Lake in GR...somebody must've Photoshopped
another dude's head in place of mine and changed the
background!!!

-TVN

http://webpages.charter.net/vannoord/bigpike.jpg

[Capt Hook]

Tackle Hound
If you are into the big baits, does anyone make a 10 to 12" crank with the action of a Rapala floater with the plastic bill. When they go to the metal bill on thier baits the action is not the same. I'm looking for a bigger bait than the 18 floater(but with the same action) for night trolling for pig eyes.


Yes, I specialize in fish, thats where the money is if you do a good fish. I do mostly wholesale for other taxidermist and a limited amount of retail.

[tackle hound]

Captain Hook ......I have a couple of options for you. Most of the larger minnowbaits have a more aggressive roll and wobble than the 18CM Rapalas. I have done a little night trolling for 'eyes.For the cold water 'eyes aren't you looking for a very subtle action like the Rapala....almost like a stick in the water??

Salmo makes an 18cm Whitefish lure that is the same length, but much broader and heavier than a Rapala, which will equal a bigger profile and more vibarations in the water.

Nils Master made a 18 cm and a 25 cm Invincible which was a real monster!!The 25cm was 10" long. Nils Master is no longer importing into the US but you may still find some on Ebay.........be prepared to pay some serious money for them!! When the news broke about Nils Master the 25's were going for almost $50 a wack!! This was a big lure on St Clair.

Grandma Lures has a 9" and 13" minnowbait which is extremely popular.......but this has a VERY distinct roll to it for action. I am a sales rep for Grandma Lures, and have had very good results with the smaller versions (4.5" 6" and 7.5 " ones for Pike and Bass). I have taken some nice 'eyes on these but haven't tried them after dark yet.

Send me a private message and I can try to hook you up with something that you can try.

[MuskyDan]

Also look at the AC shiner in the big size, 10 or 12" and it looks exactly like a #13 Rap.