I have an old fishing book printed in 1964 and I noticed for Pike one of the recomended ways to pull them up is with the thumb and index or middle finger in the eye sockets complete with a drawings. Since they also recomend keeping a club handy, I guess they weren't big on Catch and Release back then.

I just found the book in my sons room while he's at college, it was his uncles from when he was young, it is really interesting how much things have changed since then.

I have an old fishing book printed in 1964 and I noticed for Pike one of the recomended ways to pull them up is with the thumb and index or middle finger in the eye sockets complete with a drawings. Since they also recomend keeping a club handy, I guess they weren't big on Catch and Release back then.

I just found the book in my sons room while he's at college, it was his uncles from when he was young, it is really interesting how much things have changed since then.

I've read that too. It almost always ends up killing the fish if you release it after, it pinches their optic nerves or something and then they die a slow death. That was a pretty accepted practice back then though. You're right, times have changed.

I have an old fishing book printed in 1964 and I noticed for Pike one of the recomended ways to pull them up is with the thumb and index or middle finger in the eye sockets complete with a drawings. Since they also recomend keeping a club handy, I guess they weren't big on Catch and Release back then.

I just found the book in my sons room while he's at college, it was his uncles from when he was young, it is really interesting how much things have changed since then.

I've read that too. It almost always ends up killing the fish if you release it...

I guess I'm just too gentle, I try not to pinch the optic nerves and club or bludgeon the fish I'm going to release!! ;D

Been there, survived that!  

I have an IGFA line class record for a northern that I caught while bass fishin'.  I got lucky when I reached over and got a thumb in the eye and another finger in the gills.  if I hadn't, I probably would have never got to hold her.

Been there, survived that!  

I have an IGFA line class record for a northern that I caught while bass fishin'.  I got lucky when I reached over and got a thumb in the eye and another finger in the gills.  if I hadn't, I probably would have never got to hold her.

Could u tell us the story on that? Sounds interesting.

I always keep a cattle prod, a .44 magnum and a chainsaw in the boat.........just in case  

I landed a big pike with the eye grip.....once.  It really grossed me out so I never did it again.  Yuck

Was in a bass tournament a few years back when I had a 33" musky crush a crankbait. I somehow managed to get it to boat side and into a net. For being only 33", it was a fat one! Went right through the net and onto my front deck. I jumped on top her to keep it from knocking my rods into the water and my Dad did the eye grab. Unfortunately, that was the only thing we could do. Luckily for me now, my "hobby fishing" is for musky and I have a Rapala grip with me when I'm out on the boat no matter what I'm fishing for!

nothing I can take much credit for,was working the 4-8am shift at ups, got out and went to my friends tiny pond, maybe 10 acres, but a run off of a lake that was part of the stocking program in the 60's & 70's.

Was on my tippy light gauge 12' jon loaded with weight from ridiculously planned decks that made it look like a 5000 bass boat but made it tipp as heck with 2 people.  Center of gravity was too high, anyway, off topic, I was standing on front deck throwing a 1/8 oz fleck s/b (blk) catchin small bass and then one cast, about a foot b4 it hit the water, the poike came and met it in mid air so I was instinctively setting the hook at the sight of the action all in the spluit second that I'm thinking I'm going to flip off the back of this boat when this line snaps cause I just saw the biggest pickerel of my life and I have old 6lb junk on and a 5'6" light action rod (rookie)!!

Long story short, the whole time I was reeling I was sure I'd never see it.  THen I di, and it was huge and on the first grab I got gill and eyeball and just hefted it in the middle of the jon where there were no decks.

Straight to my buddys paintshop around the corner ( launched from his land) for pics and then to local state scale and the rest is history.  

The fish is still amember of our family adorning our xmas display as I type!

Thanks for sharing the story with us and ...    cool Santa

LBH,

That's one heck of a story and one heck of a fish! How long? What did it weigh?

Thanks for sharing the story!

Nice fish!

Santa looks like he's only got one set of trebles in him.....where's the net man??

Those Berkley Frenzy cranks are killers,evidently 'ol Santa Claus knows how to pick a crankbait!

LOL, I took the trebles off (cat in house) and hooked the "o"-ring on one of the fangs,lol.

better pics here:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1133643066

Wow! huge fish! ;D

How long was it? what did it weigh?