Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations So it begins

Deflect much?

Mostly these pike are caught in the winter and spring/early summer. I don't recall catching them very often after June. Maybe they are lying low after that. I really don't target them (ever) so my data is lacking any credibility.

The oxygen levels have always been good as evidenced by my weekly readings. I am not sure what water temperature a NP would consider too warm to grab a snack when desired.

What do you think would be a stressful water temperature for NP?

What was that method of pumping the fish's stomach? Lavage?

Would that work for a pike?

We all have this curiosity as to what these pike are eating, and we can't find out!

Can we assume they are not eating the crappie?

Just look here for what NP eat (world wide survey).

http://www.fishbase.us/TrophicEco/FoodItemsList.php?vstockcode=272&genus=Esox&species=lucius

FWIW...I stocked 10 NP in my 1/4 pond last year. This little body of water had BCP,BG,YB and BH before the NP went in. As soon as the ice comes off (some time in April) and I can get a trap in the water or hook and line, we are going to catch and cut open as many of the 10 pike as we can catch.

Its such a small body of water not sure what can learned but we will see if there are any trends.

mnfish, I can't wait to see what you have in there.

I think you would have more reliable results if you waited until 2-4 weeks after ice-out when they are feeding actively.

How big were the NP that you stocked? If they are old enough they will make an effort at a spawn immediately at ice-out so that will affect the results early on.

If you give them a chance to "get going metabolismly speaking", I predict that they will have BCP,BG,YP and BH in their stomachs.

Ask me (Dwight), I know what they are eating. They are eating all available fish species (including crappie), turtles, muskrats, mink, baby ducks, snakes, frogs, crayfish, leeches and other tasty items.

They will be targeting the "menu of whim" on a particular day. A snapshot of stomach contents of a 40" NP wouldn't tell you much about the over-all diet of these fish.

The studies of diets of larger NP that I read to date many of those collected have empty stomachs. IMO it would be wasteful to sacrifice a large pike to see what it was eating and have its stomach be empty. Mnfish's project of diet of NP should give some good information based on the size of the pike. I wonder if the diet changes as pike get larger than 32"??

Dwight's predictions on what I will find in the bellies of my little pike are probably spot on.

I have so little time or money invested into the 10 NP and have an almost unlimited supply to draw from to replace, that any information gained will be in essence...Free. The best kind of information don't you think.

I wouldn't want to kill a 40" NP for the chance to gain some knowledge. That is a very special fish if you ask me.

I agree on all the love for the big pike, but we are also talking about them in a 5-ish acre BOW with some previously stated goals of a trophy LMB.

There seems to be a huge crappie population.

My pond has a lot of similarities to Dwight's. I now have one 30"+ pike that somehow got into my pond. I don't know what I'd do with him if I caught him.

Trophy NP and trophy LMB seem like a nice combination in this situation.

There are known large fish of both species and there is huge supply of "forage" fish including the small and mid-sized LMB.

There are plenty of nice sized fish (multiple species) for catching and the frying pan as well.

Outside the box situation; outside the box thinking.......

Sunil - ""I don't know what I'd do with him if I caught him."" Okay when you catch your 30+" NP sacrifice it to see what it has eaten last - do it for PBoss science. Catmandoo will advise you on how best to clean it so you end up with the fewest bones in the fillets.

I'm not even sure how I'm going to handle the thing if I catch it.

In my case, that pike is most likely the only one in there, and I have an intrigue in it's role in my pond.

I'll bet you could find another one to take it's place!

Perhaps react the same way you did to the snapping turtle in your outhouse?

Best thing to do when you catch one from shore with no landing net or gaf is just 'play it' until it is exhausted and then beach it by pulling or sliding it on shore. But make sure it is belly up before pulling it ashore cause they can have more ample fight remaining than you think and then they snap your line as they unexpectedly trash. Some will stick their finger in under a gill and lift it, but I don't like that method. For the smaller ones you can grasp it tightly and lift it where the head meets the body. My dad always lifted them by putting the thumb and forefinger in the eye sockets which still seems cruel to me, although the fish did a lot less thrashing when we held them that way. They are quite toothy so jaw lifting like a bass is not a wise option. Dwight and 'crew' use a gaf to bring them up out of an ice fishing hole, because they are using 4 lb test line and lifting a 5-16 lb pike with light line does not work for very long. The gaf when used correctly imparts no blood, little damage and the fish does not have to touch the ground which removes lots of body slime from the fish. Body slime protects the fish from fungus, parasites and other stressors.

Do you mean the girlish scream, or the complaint to the West Virginia Bar?

Listen, Man. If I had to use the port-a-john as badly while interacting with the pike, as badly as when I was encountering the snapping turtle, then YES, I will react the same way.

I must be honest. The disappointment quickly overshadowed the initial fear/shock/surprise.

Well, that would explain the resolute look on your face as you slowly trudged to stand beside Ken and me and then how you quietly asked us to accompany you. Yes, I would have to say disappointment in not being able to achieve your obvious goal of a quiet portajohn visit was clear!

Forgot to post these from the weekend.

Time for lunch !!!

Very Nice Indeed!

If you don't mind me asking, how many BCP thru the ice, on average, per outing, to you guys catch? Are their size ranges evenly distributed? Have those trends changed over the past 3-5 years or have they stayed pretty much the same?

We did a seasonal study of northern pike diets in Lake Thompson, a large natural lake about 40 miles west of Brookings. It was under the ice in the winter that we really saw the northern pike eating the biggest prey items -- black crappies, that year's common carp (~10 inchers), etc. During the open water season, they ate a lot more smaller fishes and even a lot of invertebrates.

http://pubstorage.sdstate.edu/wfs/thesis/Sammons-Steven-M-M-S-1993.pdf

On the BCP, our catch per day varies wildly, but probably averages about 20. Catch all sizes, been that way for quite a while. Biggie so far this winter is 11". Our best day we caught 61.