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Syracuse.com - Kayak angler lands 43-inch northern pike on undisclosed Onondaga County waterway


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"I was using 12 lb mono Extra Tough line, but no steel leader, I thought for sure I was going to lose the fish after every single leap it took. So I knew I had to act quickly and precisely, and when it gave me the opportunity, I reached over and bear-hugged it into the kayak." 11126822-large.jpgSubmitted photoKayak angler Kevin Spillet, hoists a 43-inch northern pike he caught recently on an undisclosed Onondaga County waterway.He wrote: "So last Thursday, May 24th, my buddy and I took the kayaks to a little honey hole that I've been fishing for over 10 years in Onondaga County (sorry, location will remain anonymous)."We were targeting Largemouth Bass, but I was well aware of the presence of big pike, because I have caught dozens over the years there."However, about 8-9 years ago I showed up one day to fish, only to witness a complete massacre...every pike in the area was belly up on the shore... but not a single largemouth bass."After pondering on it for awhile, I realized why that may have happened. We had just went through about 8-10 days of straight 90 degree weather that summer, and I believe it choked out all the Northerns. I'm pretty sure they require a cooler water temperature, and a higher oxygen level than the bass do, in order to survive."Back in '02 and '03 you were liable to catch a 1:4 ratio of northern pike to largemouth bass...now a days, its more like a ratio of 1:24...but catching about 24 largemouth in a matter of 2-3 hours in this spot is not uncommon, in fact, its expected....and at least 10 of them are going to be over 3 pounds, and 2 or 3 over 5 pounds."The reason there are so many big bass is due to the abundance of baitfish, and pan fish that they have to feed on year round. I caught a trophy 10 pounder there 2 years ago (I knew there had to be a real pig in there because of how many 5lb+ fish i have caught and released there over the years.)"So now, anytime I go there with my buddy (who I have sworn into secrecy) we make it a point to elect what we refer to as "Angler Of The Day" to whoever catches a Northern Pike, since they are now more of a rarity to catch...and we both just happen to love hookin' into Northerns."Now this time of year the area starts to become very weeded out-- 6 foot tall weeds that extend to the surface, making it extremely difficult to throw certain lures, but it also happens to open the opportunity to utilize topwater lures, such as jitterbugs, poppers, and weedless frogs (which is my absolute favorite technique for fishing)....but seeing as how most topwater lures have treble hooks that catch the top of the weeds every time, the best bet was to use weedless frogs."And I was feeling beyond confident that day when I showed up and the bull frogs were sounding up a storm all around us, and there was spawning Largemouth all along the shoreline waiting to attack the frogs that were hiding among the cattails. The situation was ideal, to say the least."The plan was to try and stick together and stay close to each other because I was the only one who had a net, and seeing as how it can be difficult to land a 2 pound fish in a kayak, it can be extremely difficult to land a hard fighting 5lb+ fish from a 'yak, especially without a net. We got right into the action after we stealthfully approached the opening spot in our kayaks. My buddy hooked into a nice 4 pound largemouth on his first cast."I hooked up a few casts later with a nice 3 1/2...and it was just on from there. The anticipation of a strike on a topwater frog is like nothin' else, and it seemed liked I was getting one on every cast. But after about an hour of fishing, the action slowed down a bit."So my buddy and I split up to try and cover water, and find some more hungry bass. He paddled the opposite direction over to a spot that we call Pike Bay, a deeper area that seems to hold Northerns often (we've caught a few decent ones over the past couple years in that spot.) "He made it clear earlier that he wanted to be the one to catch the Northern, and earn the title of "Angler Of The Day". I paddled over to a different spot on the other side, and started working the frog hard and casting it as close to the cattails as possible. I could here my buddy battling with bass across the way, so he was catching a few, but it seemed I had gone cold."I was starting to get discouraged because it seemed like forever since my last strike, and I can remember my mind was starting to wander a bit, and just as this was happening I was retrieving a cast I made just off of a small point, and out of nowhere the surface of the water exploded around the frog."I set the hook, and knew instantly that I had a biggin' on...but I honestly thought it was a huge largemouth, possibly the 10 pound female from 2 years ago. So I yelled to my buddy, "I got a biggin' on...I think its her...""But when the fish broke the surface a second time, making an acrobatic flip through the air, it was clear that it was no largemouth bass. After an extremely aggressive battle with the fish, I was able to bring it just close enough to the side of the kayak to where I could net it."My net was not larger enough for this size of fish, and I had no choice but to try and net it head first, so I did...but after one hard head thrash, the Pike managed to bite right through the bottom of the net, and off it went back into the water, with the frog still hooked into the back of its mouth."So the battle continued for what felt like forever, until I was able to bring the fish close enough again to where I could try and land it by hand. Mind you, I was using 12 lb mono Extra Tough line, but no steel leader, I thought for sure I was going to lose the fish after every single leap it took. So I knew I had to act quickly and precisely, and when it gave me the opportunity, I reached over and bear-hugged it into the kayak. "The fish measured 43" in length, and I had to make a rough estimate in weight, but it was easily 15 pounds. I made sure to pack my new Digital SLR professional camera with me, which I just recently purchased, mostly for fishing and wildlife photography."My buddy ended up catching 2 more Northerns after that, that were both under 18" long. But I was thrilled to see this because it indicates a resurgence in the Northern Pike population."

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

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