# The one that got away



## REPETER (Oct 3, 2007)

Hooked up with Nor-tah this morning...he slept in :roll: but we made it to Yuba around 0800. Launched the porta-bote going only with the electric trolling motor across Painted Rock. Found a bay out of the wind that looked fishy. Started seeing dark shadows under the water! Kyle suggested I toss out a redside while we both toss lures. He got a follow by a decent pike on a blade dancer and says, "Watch your bobber will go down now that it's by it." Sure enough, within a minute the bobber takes a deep dive, I reel in the slack and give it a good hook set-line breaks :evil: (yes I had on a steel leader-the line upstream broke.) Fast forward, catch a nice perch on the minnow, and Kyle lands a carpo on his spinner. :lol: We try somewhere else, but after an hour of looking can't really find anywhere else out of the wind, and it's almost time to go home, we both had school and he had a wedding to attend. So on the way back we stop for another 15-20 min at the same place. No action, until...as we start trolling away, I am casting a LuckyCraft 78 Northern Pike style-couple cranks and it stops. I'm thinking snag. Then a little movement and fish on! Shortly after it takes the first run and surfaces, and we freak out. I'm trying to stay calm and concentrate of fighting this behemoth but Kyle is yelling directions and grabbing the net. In order to try and boat it we have to motor over top of it and try to get her to turn her head up, but she literally won't budge. I've got 6lb test on, drag set really low, and the ugly stick doubled over in half. Each time I think she is coming up to the boat she turns and runs again. 12 minutes into the fight, after she has surfaced multiple times and we have a really good idea of her size (let's just say thicker girth than my thigh, and longer than my 6 yr old _(O)_ )...she turns goes under the boat towards the weeds and breaks loose :evil: F-bombs were dropped, and the line reeled in...here's the kicker-my line and knots held on my 6lb test, the beast actually broke my steel leader at the crimp where it attaches to the swivel.  I know it's unlikely, but if anybody does sometime in the future, hook into, or see this fish in a netting survey, or come across its carcass, would you please fill me in on the actual size? It'll be the fish with the yellow LuckyCraft and steel leader hanging out of it's mouth. Looks like I have a fish to go back and target. I think both of us are "hooked" on these toothy creatures now. Next time... :twisted:


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

**** that pike for stealing your lure!!! :lol: 

Sounds like some excitement! Must have been a great time playing that one. Sorry about the break offs.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Sounds like a monster, that's too bad.

Sounds like it was worth a LuckyCraft loss though..

Hope you catch the beast next time.


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## FishMogul (Sep 8, 2007)

sounds like you guys had a great time up until the point the toothy villain stole your LC and dreams of a sweet catch... sorry guys looks like you have a new nemesis..


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## troutgass (May 5, 2009)

Oh Man! That totally sucks.... -)O(- I bet that got your blood pumping seeing it come up to the surface a few times. I hope that you are able to catch up with that one again someday.


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## Pez Gallo (Dec 27, 2007)

I told Nor-Tah that I wanted to see a pic of the 40" you guys were going to catch today...

Kyle, you let me down! 

j/k  thanks for the report!


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

I have been there done that those are the ones you never forget at least it sounds like you had a good time.


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## fishnut7 (May 25, 2009)

REPETER not to be mean, but if you went Pike fishing with only 6lbs test, I don't feel bad at all that you lost one........You set yourself up for failure and loosing a good fish before you even left your house.....If you need on help on good line and equipment let me know and I can help you out!


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Both repeter and I were throwing 30# braid all day. We had steel leaders and good rods n reels. We had pretty much given up on the day when the behemoth bit. He had grabbed the perch rod and was just kind of making a few last minute casts.... thats always how it goes. Fun day still and will be back soon! We have score to settle.


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## REPETER (Oct 3, 2007)

fishnut7 said:


> REPETER not to be mean, but if you went Pike fishing with only 6lbs test, I don't feel bad at all that you lost one........You set yourself up for failure and loosing a good fish before you even left your house.....If you need on help on good line and equipment let me know and I can help you out!


I agree, and it's like Nor-tah said, just was quicker and easier to throw the lure on the other line at the time...especially when we were both in a hurry. I wish I was in the market right now for some new stuff, but down the road I will look into really getting myself at least one set-up dedicated to targeting these fish. One of my biggest frustrations about this whole thing was that it wasn't my 6lb line that failed me, it was the wire leader...here's a pic of both the wire leader on my 14lb line and the wire leader where it had broke off the 6lb line. And of the carp master.


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## deadicated1 (Mar 17, 2008)

if only you guys were using plastics... that dam LC ruined the whole trip. thats what you get for buying those. :roll: 

too bad repeter!!! i know how frustrating it is to lose one when you get it so close. but it sounds like you got the bug now, so get back there are find that fish.

about nor-tah sleeping in... lets just say its not the first time that has happened! :wink:

by the way fishnut- i wouldnt call it setting up for failure by using 6# line. you just have to be more careful, and know what what youre doing. repeter did everything right, and then had an equipment malfunction. even with 80# ill tempered sea-bass line line that steel loop would have broke. thanks for the constructive critisism though. anyone else ever caught any big pike on light line??? say, on a 6'6" medium CUMARA? thats definitely setting up for failure


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

You weekday fisherman.... Leave some for us weekend warriors who are chained to the desk for the week! Nice report sorry about the equipment malfunction that does suck that the steel broke not the regular line goes to show you were playing the fish well.


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## Pez Gallo (Dec 27, 2007)

deadicated1 said:


> anyone else ever caught any big pike on light line??? say, on a 6'6" medium CUMARA? thats definitely setting up for failure


I had a 40" on with 4lb test and a very small spinner. It wasn't a cumara, but a medium crucial.

My buddy and I had been out fishing for pike and musky for 3 trips without a fish. I decided to bust up the skunk and try to catch a perch. On my 3rd cast or so, I hooked up and faught the fish for a few minutes. I had him next to the boat twice, but my fishing buddy had lost his net the day before, so all we had was a boga grip. Eventually the fish cut my line. I had it nailed and with a net we would have gotten it in. Later on that day I caught one on the same rod with 4lb test, but it was only like 33/34".


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Oh and here is the perch Repeter caught. Bet it was tasty!!


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## k2muskie (Oct 6, 2007)

REPETER and Nor-tah oh and how we can 'EMPHASIZE' with you guys loosing a bertha. Leaves you with a huge lump in the pit of your gut with mass quantities of these -#&#*!- -#&#*!- -#&#*!- -#&#*!- 

Unlike most folks who I'm sure will think we're nuts, we don't use any steel leaders. Just a #3 bearing snap swivel tied to 50# braided line. We've yet to have one bust the line or cut it with their teeth. I'd say a vast majority of the time the fish is only lipped hooked. We did have a couple last year that took the lure a little deeper than we'd like...but again didn't cut the line. We both lost berthas last year when these fish went for a run then dove for the deep next to the boat and it was a tug-o-war off the bottom and the snap swivel failed...

So just keep after it and I have know doubt you'll hook into another bertha of the deep.

Hey question...did your knees start a-knock'n and a shak'n when you saw the beast???...I'm not proud cause when we see we've hooked into the mother-lode the knees are a knock'n/shak'n.... :wink: :wink:


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## Pez Gallo (Dec 27, 2007)

k2muskie said:


> Unlike most folks who I'm sure will think we're nuts, we don't use any steel leaders. Just a #3 bearing snap swivel tied to 50# braided line. We've yet to have one bust the line or cut it with their teeth.


This makes complete sense to me. 50lb braid wont get a kink in it like steel leaders tend to do. And if you are trolling, it is not like the fish will be leader shy.


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## REPETER (Oct 3, 2007)

I've been thinking about you pretty much ever since K2, going, "Now what would K2 do?" :lol: I was going to go back and read through your many set-ups, lure types and really get after them. I was also thinking that the big LC is probably right in her mouth and therefore the line safe from those teeth. You know just replaying every possible situation in my head...but yes we will definitely get back after them. Thanks for the tip, may we land the next one-can't wait to get one into the porta-bote and watch the chaos that ensues. :twisted:


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## k2muskie (Oct 6, 2007)

REPETER said:


> I've been thinking about you pretty much ever since K2, going, "Now what would K2 do?" :lol: I was going to go back and read through your many set-ups, lure types and really get after them. I was also thinking that the big LC is probably right in her mouth and therefore the line safe from those teeth. You know just replaying every possible situation in my head...but yes we will definitely get back after them. Thanks for the tip, may we land the next one-can't wait to get one into the porta-bote and watch the chaos that ensues. :twisted:


Well REPETER we've learned that the key to fish'n for the berthas even the happen-stance catch is be ready as you never know.

We'll use our TM tackle setups when fish'n for Blue Gill, Crappie, Perch especially in waters we know have creatures of the deep we're everything else is breakfast, lunch, dinner. Even with Pike having braided line will allow you to fight the fish and get it too the boat quicker and not have to worry about the line.

I know I've read posts of folks that have caught 40" Pike and/or TM on 4-6# test line but IMHO it will only tire the fish to exhaustion as the angler doesn't want the line to break. Thus if you decide to release the fish 1) takes longer to revive the fish (don't ever just toss a large Pike or TM fish overboard) and 2) Braided line allows you to fight and get the fish to the boat much quicker putting less stress and exhaustion on 'any' fish...trust me.

Pike and TM stalk bait pods and spawing pan fish and lay in wait for the meal. All's I can really say is if you're fish'n in waters that have these predators be prepared. I'm not saying leaders aren't needed thats the choice of the angler. But we don't use them as again a vast majority of the time a bertha is only lip hooked.

We find fish'n without a leader on the setups we have allows us to easily fish for the pan fish in those waters that have Pike or TMs...as you'll never know what may tug your line.

Fish'n at Willard we use our TM setups just easing up on the drag as we troll for a Wiper hit on a bottom bouncer harness that has 14# I believe mono. As a Wiper will bust off if the drag is set too tight.

Anyways my friend you keep after them and it's time on the water no matter if its Pike or TM. I can hardly wait to read your story and see the picture of the monster you get in the boat for the photo op. :wink: :wink:


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

I'll be back after them Thursday!! Repeter, let me know when you can make it. I am pretty busy with work and school the next couple of weeks but will do what it takes to get out. Esox are *ADDICTING!!!!! *


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