20# pike – fact or fiction?

After reading all of the interesting posts on the 50″ musky post – I thought this one would be interesting as well. 10lb walleyes happen, 50″ muskies happen, but how many guys on here have cracked the 20# barrier on pike? I am not talking the 17# 40″ fish that gets called 20#, but instead I mean the legitimate 20 pound monster caught in MN. I know of a few huge fish – like that monster that a certain guy on here caught up in my neck of the woods….post a pic of that one, Gary . Personally I have done it twice with hook and line.

I think that a legitimate 20# pike and a true 2# crappie are the rarest trophies in MN. You heard all kind of reports of buckets of 2 to 2.5 lb crappies out of URL – but after seeing literally several thousand of them…….they were 1.5lb fish….sheesh .

Tim

I don’t know if it counts, but I personally have caught a 20 and my dad has caught a 31 on hard water. It was 17 years ago and haven’t broke the personal records since. None even close. The slimers for some reason were stacked up in this area for about a week and POOF gone! Man did they fill up the hole though. I’ll have to see if ma kept any of the photos.

I know a guy, (not real well) but I seen the fish, he pulled 2 over 20# from the same lake, through the ice, the same year !!! The lake was near South Haven… if that helps.

big g

The spearers get a couple over 20 every year in our area.

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The spearers get a couple over 20 every year in our area.

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It still happens! Try cutting a hole sitting there with a spear!

I didn’t want to stir the pot too much so I left out spearing….but since you mentioned it, Scott……

My dad has a 24.5 that he harpooned in 1980 or so. I am still looking for a bruiser to stick. Several friend have 20-26# fish spearing and I personally know two guys that have fish over 30 via spear. One of them was 52 inches long, 37 lbs (actually weighed) What a horse!

But for hook and line, 20’s seem pretty scarce.

Tim

We got a 45″er on mille lacs night trolling a few years back. Not sure of what I did with the photo. Would imagine it went over 20#.

Not sure what she weighed, but caught this trolling for Eyes in the Fall a few years back. It was 43.5″ and I asked Wellman at the time, I think he was thinking it was 22-23 lbs.

Last year filming the DVD, Tuck and I caught a few that went 40″ or better. I do not think any of mine cracked 20 lbs, but I think Tuckners would have. If him and Sampson wouldn’t have been such WUSSY’s and brought that PIG into the boat, I could tell you if it did or not.

Timmy;
Ya mean this pig????

28lbs, 13oz.
45.5″ length
23.5″ girth

Caught on 6lb test, lindy rigging walleyes on a 7’ml rod.

Caught on an opener back in 2000. She had a big sucker in her gut, which made her girth just huge for the time of the year.

I also caught another 45″ on LOTW (Rainy river) while trolling walleyes. That was an October fish that was just as fat, but I didn’t weigh her. I guess that one went about 24lbs. One of these days I’ll have to scan the picture.

They are out there. Pool 4 has some monsters in it. I caught a 44 inchers 4 years ago flipping some wood in the back waters after the ice went out. It looked like it had ate a football!

Gary – yup – that’s the one. That is a bruiser !

A firend of mine, in ’98 or ’99 harpooned a 45″ fish. He buried it in the snowbank for safekeeping until he left, intending on having it mounted. A couple hours later – he went outside to pee, and there was a mongrel dog chewing away on the head of the fish – wrecked it beyond hope. Missing a big part of it’s head, it weighed just a few ounces shy of 26 lbs. He made a guess that the thing must have been pushing 27lbs……….. . Nice fish.

Nice fish Rip!

Tim

Bummer!

Here is a 42″ from the metro that I never weighed, but guessing right around the 20lb mark. 8″ Walleye phantom

here’s a 44″ x 24 last oct from mille lacs

A buddy of mine has caught 3 over 20. His secret is decoy suckers on a tip up and put lots of time in. I know another that was caught on Namakan lake this year that went 44″ unsure of the weight and that fish was released.

I got no digital pic BUT I got a 22 in 3 fow on a river REALLY close to me hint hint

Ive got many around the 12-15 mark, but she was a pig.

I buddy sent me this the other day. Can it be true?

Check out the Northern that was caught in the Fore Bay in Seven Sisters
– see the note below it is a Canadian Record.

This is the new record in Canada. He caught it on the Winnipeg River, by
Seven Sisters, in Manitoba. (Just North East of Winnipeg).
Check this thing out. The last picture is unbelievable!
This guy (in the photos below), was fishing and caught a 36″ Pike – as he
was reeling it in, a 56″ Pike tried to eat it!!!!! He brought them both in
on the same net.
Awesome catch on a river in Canada – 55lbs-56 inches.

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I think that a legitimate 20# pike and a true 2# crappie are the rarest trophies in MN.

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How about the 1lb. bluegill? I know that cretain lakes can hold several of them, but I haven’t seen or gotten one myself.

When someone would claim they were catching 1lb ‘gills my dad would always say “Put your biggest one on a scale and tell me they were 1lb sunnies.”

buddy of mine caught this gill on big wolf lake(i think thats the name of it) last summer, it was a pound.

Put it on the scale!!!

nice gil is that Eric

yeah thats erik. who are you?

I’ve caught a 40 inch northern on Mille Lacs, never weighed it, released it. I got a 39 inch northern on upper red lake on 4 pound test crappie fishing last winter. Very girthy fish, never weighed it either as it was released. I also got a 39 inch northern up at my parents cabin on a 400 acre lake, never weighed it as it was released. These 3 fish were in the 17-20 pound class if I were to guess.

Nice snake Bucky!!!!!! Wow a 44 by 24, thats a beast!! I’d probably put that one on the wall. You got that one at night it looks like? Its somewhat rare to catch northern at night.

Nice gill!!! I love catching big gills and I know of 2 lakes that produce absolutley monsters if you can find them. One of the lakes is a very popular lake and one is somewhat a secret. If any of you have been to Osakis, you know what I mean. I have weighed sunfish from osakis that were 1 pound exactly, and I know there are a lot bigger ones in there. The other lake that I won’t mention, has absolute bull sunfish. I fish muskies all summer and fall, but I always take a break from that to fish for these huge sunfish on light tackle. To me, it’s just as fun as catching a big muskie. My biggest is a 1 pound 4 oz. bruiser and I know there is a chance at a 2 pounder out of here, as well as Osakis.

I think there are two reasons we don’t hear much about monster Pike in MN.

First, most people aren’t fishing for them. If you watch the Lindner or other top notch fishermen, they fish monster pike in deep water. They are trolling baits down to 30 feet or more in cold lakes. Talk to some of the old guides on muskie lakes in Canada and they will tell you about huge pike caught 50 feet down.

Second, I think there is something to be said about fish kill. There are probably more pike harvested than we think. Also, there are inexperienced anglers fishing for bass, pans, etc. that catch pike and don’t know how to release them or don’t carry the proper tools.

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