Pend Oreille River Pike

[KimberRich]

I fished the Pend Oreille River North of Spokane while I was at a Family Reunion this weekend and caught this Pike on an Ultra Light rod/reel and 6 lb test Trilene..  Didn't have a scale but the length-weight charts I found on line for a 43-45" fish said it was between 23-29 lbs. .  A little short of the state record but I'm guessing it's the biggest one on that light of tackle.  I fished for them for 3 days with heavier tackle and cought a few on Spinnerbaits but nothing bigger than about 24".  Sure enough I put down the heavier rod and started using the light weight gear to catch some Crappie and this guy hits.  We were just about a mile South of the Outpost Resort for you that are familiar with the area.  Filleted it and baked it on the BBQ Saturday evening with some Garlic, lemons, and onions and it was great.  A few bones but it's a nice flaky white meat and the fillets were about 36" long.  Great Fishing, weather and family get together made for an awesome weekend!

[Austrian Hunter]

  Nice catch man!!!!  Congrats, that's a pike of a lifetime!   

[woodywsu]

That's a great fish, especially a pike in Washington. Congrats

[whacker1]

very cool

[seth30]

makes me think twice about swimming

[KimberRich]

makes me think twice about swimming

   I had the same thought as I was swimming around in the river.

[Rgrady35]

Nice fish, my wife and me were camping in the grey Dodge 1500 at the outpost this weekend. We were right next to your camp. We really got a kick out of watching all the kids checking it out. There was a guy at outpost that caught one about 30-36". It was my first time that far North on the river. 8 out of 10 fish we caught were Pike. Sure are a lot of them in that river.

[bowhunterforever]

Thats a big pike on 6lb test How long did it take to reel it in?

[KimberRich]

Nice fish, my wife and me were camping in the grey Dodge 1500 at the outpost this weekend. We were right next to your camp. We really got a kick out of watching all the kids checking it out. There was a guy at outpost that caught one about 30-36". It was my first time that far North on the river. 8 out of 10 fish we caught were Pike. Sure are a lot of them in that river.

Yeah that was our gang camping next door to the Outpost.  I was really surprised about the numbers of Pike also..  I fished for bass all weekend and all I caught were Pike. 

[KimberRich]

Thats a big pike on 6lb test How long did it take to reel it in?

Maybe 10 minutes and it was only that long because we didn't have a net big enough to net it.  We had to wait until the fish was totally played out before we could grab it and toss it in the boat.  I was really surprised at how little the fish actually fought for it's size.  I would have thought a fish that size could have taken off and spooled me out and snapped me off but it didn't..  We we're in about 6 feet of water only also which may have helped.

[Panic Minnow]

That is the problem with Tiger Muskies and Pike, sometimes they will spool you, and other times the just do the death roll like a gator......

[NRA4LIFE]

Nice fish!  Brings me back to my upbringing in Wisconsin.  There is a way to fillet them with no bones.  You basically fillet the long narrow pieces of meat between the Y-bones and the spine and then the rest of the fillet below the Y-bones.  Takes a little practice to "feel" the Y-bones with your knife but it really works well. 

[carpsniperg2]

nice fish. very light is more like it wow 6lb test with those teeth

[AWS]

Here's a link to a You Tube video on cleaning a northern pike boneless.  I've been doing it this way for many years.  The bigger they are the easier they are to fillet boneless and the better the meat is.  Went back to WI in June and my B in L and I caught a bunch of Northers to stock my moms freezer for the year.  Our favorite family meal is northern boiled in spices with browned butter drizzled over the top serverd with sweet/sour red cabage and steamed potatoes.

how to make a northern boneless without wasting 1/2 the meat

When I was a kid all the relations would meet at Okauchee Lake for a day of northern fishing.  My grandpa was the only one with a outboard a 3hp Elgin so they would tie a half dozen boats together and grandpa would tow them out to the good fishing spots.  All the wives would stay in the park and play canasta until lunch and have a big lunch waiting for the the men to come in for a noon break befor heading out again.

AWS

[KimberRich]

Having never filleted one, I just did it like a salmon and it worked great.  Yes there were bones in it but they weren't terrible and they are larger than the pin bones in a salmon so they were easy to spot and remove.  Either way it taste awesome.