So I was fishing one day with some cutbait using suckers. It was a new spot, for cats anyway, but I have caught other fish species there before. It was last Wednesday I believe and it was in the evening to sundown. I had plenty of bites but I broke my line once near the hook and once further back past the swivel. I was fishing on the bottom and I chalked the second one up to the fish maybe swimming into some sunken timber. The first I has a sneaky suspicion it was a toothy fish. So I went back on Saturday, during midday this time, armed with a newly bought cat rig and 40# test to see if I could get it to bite again. Surly the line would not snap with this rig. By the way I was using 10# test mono the previous trip. I didn’t even get a bite until I moved into the back water area. That was quite the bite though. He smacked it and really took off, but dropped it before I could reach my pole.
So I went back that evening figuring whatever this fish was that loved dead beat up sucker meat would move out towards the wash of the current. Sure enough, he was there and this time the old circle hook embedded in him. As I reeled him, in the dusk light that was fading I saw his tail emerge from the boiling water. I have seen that tail before…it was a pike. Not too bad either, I am guessing about 5-6#. The funny part about ladding a fish where I was is that once I got him moving up the sand bar, he was pretty easy to land because of the gradual slope. No suprise runs when he got close like you normally get from a boat.
Ok, maybe this belongs in the pike forum, but I thought I was fishing for channel cats!
It begs the question, is cutbait a decent technique for river bound pike?
gloves when handling those things…yuck! 
