Exciting Day on the water 5/23

I headed out friday afternoon to a relatively close "no gas motors" lake. This being my first time on the lake it takes me quite a while to find the fish. but eventually I find crappie and nail down a productive pattern. (slowly trolling a 1/32 ounce jig with a berkely nymph is so productive for me for crappie from my kayak...go figure)

Anyway! Im switching out one of the kures for a fresh on when I see the other rod im trolling get a crappie hit. I set the hook and Its Something BIG. Not fighting very well...but VERY heavy. I think "Im definately going to lose it without even seeing it" ...considering Im using an ultralight rod, 3lb maxima line (with a 8lb seaguar flourocarbon) leader.
Anyway the line and rod work perfectly and after a short while i get it to the boat and it starts making runs! (still havent seen it)
after the 3rd run I finially get it to the boat and it is the biggest Pike I have ever had on the end of my line! In its jaws is the 10" Crappie I had hooked and the tiny jig is just barely hooking the side of its massive mouth. The crappie wasnt wedged in there at all and woud have been an easy swallow for the pike!!

Im about to reach for it and it leaps one last time and the jig flies back at me....not enough backbone in the UL to sink the hook deep enough I guess...too small of a hook...w/e

Sure Im a bit dissapointed...but How was I going to handle the thing anyway? No net...On a Kayak...line and rod too light to pull even its head outa the water.

I couldnt believe how massive the thing was. I have landed 3 foot pike back in NY pretty regularly (during spring at least )...None of them had the girth of this fish!!! I doubt I could have stretched my hand around the back of its head.

Needless to say...I heading back soon! ...when Im not on Lake St Clair looking for smallmouth that is.

a pic of the fish I DID catch. ...now for the messy part
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j3...g/P1050593.jpg

nice catch there, great looking specks,,just two questions,, was it only you and was it in michingan,,because if so you are a few fish over the limit,,:confused:. only 25 fish per angler in combination of bluegills, sunfish, and crappies...

nope was me andmy wife actually, but she only caught a few and wasnt there for the pike =(

by the way, thanks for poiting this out. I got the perch and the sunfish limit confused in my head. With Dawn there the limits combined are under..but I dont know if it counts if she didnt catch em. I usually dont keep more than 20 and usually then only a couple times a year. I never keep bass of any kind and release all game fish other than walleye...(but I havent caught an eye for 20 years :P)

anyway, Thanks again! =)

no problem, no trying to rat you out, just hoping no one gets in trouble for something silly, we generally only keep what we eat also, and with three growing sons fresh fish is high on the list, we do keep some bass but only from particular waters where the population is very high, and even then we only keep a small percentage of what we catch, generally just smallmouth. and again i am not trying to ruffle any feathers here you just never know who might be watching.
happy hooking,

I'll second that! Nice mess o' fish! Musta been the weekend to be out...too bad for me I had to help the in-laws roof their house.:( Buddy of mine at work fished Gun Lake at Yankee Springs SRA and just killed the BIG slabs in 9' along the weed lines using cork and minnow on hook. Shoulda been there.