Further North

BTW: Leaders. Use them. I tie about a foot of wire leader (20# is plenty, but 30# is fine) directly to my 50# braid with an FG knot (an Alberto will work) so that there's no swivel at the top of the leader to bang into my tip guide. I tie in a Mustad Fastach swivel clip (best clip ever, no moving, flexing, or bending parts to open or close it, I've never seen one fail) in the business end with a Perfection Loop so there's plenty opportunity for action. ...you can use a commercial wire leader, but you're going to bang the top swivel into your rod tip, several times a day, unless you are the most patient angler, ever...and the kink and twist like crazy after just a few fish.

Good info above. I can't troll, so I stick with casting...but flash and underwater "noise" is what you want. If you're not getting bit, change your presentation, strategy, and lures. They'll eat something, they're pike. I've had huge success with Strike King Smokin' Roosters, Texas rigged on a red 5/0 Gamakatsu EWG swimbait hook...it's virtually weedless and makes about the same amount and noise as my trusty #5 Mepps, which is my other go-to. I have rods dedicated to both that are always on deck. Doctor Spoons are the 3rd leg of my pike plan, in both the 1 1/8 oz. size, and the one smaller than that. Burn 'em, work 'em like a jerk bait, steady retrieve with or without a stop-n-flutter...whatever they tell you they want. Pike are gonna be where the food is, at least until water temps drive the big girls into cooler water or semi-dormancy. They'll be back in the fall...

Pike are my favorite fish, even more than musky. Give me pike in the 24" - 45" range and I'm a happy camper. They're not overpopulated everywhere. ...we had a weird year here last year...pike, in water that's normally got plenty of them, were really hard to catch. I actually caught more musky than pike last year. It was kinda weird. Here's a decent pike from a couple years ago:

I have had walleyes, smallies, and decent sized pike attached by bigger pike and muskies. ...that said, using them intentionally as bait seems a little less than ethical...but that's me.

Net, jaw spreaders, long needle nose pliers (mine are 15") and pinch your barbs, they come out much easier.

That was a pretty fish. I'm not a "goal" guy...goals get in the way and often lead one astray from focus on getting better, from making consistent improvements...and might be the wrong goal... That apples more to life than fishing...but I find that goals, once achieved, lead to a state of, "Great, now what?"

You know...I spend as much time chasing muskies as anything else I fish for...and I don't have that as a goal. If it happens, it happens, and I'm going to have a ton of fun with it along the way. My "preferred size" for musky is actually between about 30" and 45"...I think that's where I get the most bang for my buck. ...and no, I don't think folks trying to get a 50" fish are silly, or dumb, or any of that. They shold do what makes them smile...or in the case of a 50" musky, jump up and down, holler, and laugh like a mad man.

I measure few fish...just not interested any more.

I am going with a tiger musky pattern for the wrap on my drift boat

I missed this when it was first posted - great fish! I love tigers, they are special fish. Great looking replica, too.

Great story! I've been up in Canada chasing musky too, and it's great fun.

Great fish, we'd love to hear the story!

I'm fishing for pike. If a bass eats my fly, I can't help it. They all go back in the water anyway...

Musky are for more of a river fish than pike. if you do find them sharing the same water, the pike will be in the off current, kinda "frog water" lookin' stuff. Deeper is good, except when it isn't...you'll often find them shallow looking for food...and "deep" is relative on a river...if the average depth is a foot, a 4 ft., off current spot can easily hold a pike. Pike also prefer colder water than musky do, that could be why they are up river.

That's a very cool replica - one of the nicest I've seen anywhere.

That's a good plan, assuming the expo is allowed to happen. ...give me a holler once the lakes are soft again, and we'll get on the water. I bought a drift boat last summer, so now even the skinny water rivers are open. Those fish don't see many anglers.

That's quite a drive from where you live, is that near where you caught it...or do you just order on-line these days? ...and why have we not found a way to fish together? I know at least one lake that's sorta between us that's got some toothy fish.

It's a good fish. I've had two weird years in a row with musky. I caught bunch last season, but never did break 40". This year my first was 43", and I didn't catch one under 40" until the last week in September...and I haven't touched one since...which is bizarre.

Here's a 10 second, improvised bump board: Put the nose of the fish against the gunnel, place something (the pliers you used to pull he hook work well as they are right there) on the deck at the end of the tail. If you need a picture with the tape in it, get it set up before you take the fish out of the net. Put Ms. Musky back in the lake, revive as needed...try not to step on the pliers as you do this. Measure the distance between the gunnel and the pliers. I bought a cheap, folding Rapala bump board that goes out to 60", years ago. It works great and doesn't take up a lot of space. $21 on Amazon, delivered: https://www.amazon.com/Rapala-RMFR-Magnum-Folding-Ruler/dp/B001QJPQ12

I running out of water to fish...so I have more time for this stuff. But I'll be fair here: I don't measure a lot of fish. I just don't care much anymore...I'm sort of in a "Small/Medium/Large/Extra Large" mode the last couple years. I think I only "sorta" measured two this season.

41" is certainly a fair number, maybe a little over.

It's not going to help you much, but I use 50# Maxima almost exclusively for my heavy fly leaders. About 4 ft. of that. and 18" of wire, to a Mustad Fastach clip.

My problem with fluoro leaders...that re heavy enough to do any real good...is that they are stiffer than the tieable wire I use. ...and in my experience, they don't last as long. Catch a big musky, or even a decent sized pike, and it's likely they'll get nicked.

I tie about a foot of tieable wire directly to the main line with either Alberto knot (for single strand like Knot-2-Kinky) or the FG knot for tieable wire like the AFW @A-Jay mentioned. I use a perfection loop to tie in either a Mustad Fastach clip, or a a Fastach on a swivel, depending on what I'll be fishing on that rod. The benefit to this is that I can reel the line all the way to the swivel, and not have to worry about banging the top swivel of a manufactured leader into the tip guide. I have Knot-2-Kiny leaders that have lasted two seasons, with dozens of pike and musky caught on them, and I' had great luck with Tyger Leader, which is no longer available. The AFW is a decent choice.

I love E-Tec motors and would have no problems buying one. Everyone I know who has one, with one exception, has had no problems. The one problem came up early and was dealt with under warranty with no subsequent issues, and that was several years ago.