I got my first northern pike this weekend while fishing for bass. I was using 6# YoZuri Ultra Soft and fishing with weightless watermelon/pearl laminate senkos on 3/0 ewg red gammy hooks. We were just about to leave and i cast it alongside a floating log, let it drop and my line just took off. I set it and the drag started to whizzzz as he made a run for it. Good thing I had the drag set properly. I got him up to the boat and he ran a few more times but I grabbed him with both hands. I knew you aren't supposed to play them because it can cause their deaths, so I did the best I could with the line I had. I know you can grab them under the gills but I also know about the gill rakers so I was nervous. He opened his mouth wide and started thrashing and I had to drop him, we were in a canoe. Well as you can imagine after a minute of trying to figure out the proper grip my line was cut by his teeth. I know you can't play with them in those situations on that type of tackle but I just couldn't figure it out in time. I was so disappointed....the hook was hooked perfectly halfway down the side of his mouth in the lower jaw which I suppose is the only reason I could land him in the first place.

I have a couple of questions:

Judging by the photos how big, weight/length, do you think he is?

My uneducated guess was 36", 12lbs.

Do you think the hook remaining will cause his death?

Maybe I can catch him again soon and take care of it, I've read up more on how to grab them through the gill covers.

Thanks as always,

Eric

Well ive caught quite my fair share of pike. These guys are everywhere in the lakes around here. First point, they are actually quite hearty fish, and can survive a little handling if necessary, and fighting them back to the boat won't kill them. They have a tendancy to float for a while after a hard fight, but after a few minutes, they usually regain strength and take off. The hook in it's mouth will probably not be a problem, i once caught a chunky pike with a hula popper stuck in it's mouth, and it looked like it was there for a while. The mouth was all tore up, it looked like the guy who left it there gave it a little too much effort in trying to remove it. And for the size of the fish, the pics can be very misleading, but my guess would be about 30" and 7-8lbs.

Definately not 12 lbs. I'd guess more like 4.

Congrats on your first slimy pike!

I agree with rockinfish in his narrative. I also agree that it's probably about 28-30 inches.  My weight guess would be 5lbs.

Just keep havin' fun!

Nice fish!

30" give or take.

5-6 pounds.

Congrats on the first pike.