Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations So it begins

I was gonna say, it's gotta be the Hamms

17.7 pounds

Dang! That's pretty skinny. RW only 85%. Sounds like a good cantidate for a fish fry.

15.7? Jeff's email said it kicked axe. I think there was some excitement down there!! I don't recall a fish kicking axe. We'll get it sorted out in the morning. The photo looks good.

? updates.

From the stick:

New personal record for me, and new Bremer Pond record 40" NP.

Don't let the blood bother you, I cut her a bit with the gaff, but she was ready to go when released. Dwight, I believe your scale is shot, much like mine did, it weighs less than right as the batteries go south. The scale weighed it a bit under 13, but the conservative chart at the shop puts a 40" NP over 16 lbs. It sure seemed heavy while I was holding it for the picture.

Yes, it was casught on a #6 red frostee jig, fathead minnow and 4 pound test line.

The fishing was pretty much over after this fish at about 6:30. Too much commotion in the water for the crappie to hang around. We did get nice perch, a bluegill, and about a dozen crappie before this.

It's decision time for Dwight!

You mean keep one of these big fish, clean it, see what it is eating and change it into four jars of pickled northern?

You guys have something interesting going on up there.

Catching a lot of crappie, but not so much YP or Bluegill. Crappie are not such a good forage base, and they are abundant. YP and BG are great forage base fish, and the pike may be eating on them.

Also, no culling program for LMB.

One pike should be sacrificed to see what it's eating, so yes.

There are a lot of BG in the pond as evidenced by video, and when you target them with a waxworm and tiny jig you catch one right after the other. YP numbers do seem to be down.

Good to hear about the Bluegill.

How many pike do you think are in the pond?

Talk to Cecil about YP and NP/Muskies in the Bass Pro fish tanks. BP decided that the large YP that they were buying from him were no more than expensive fish food when stocked in tanks with NP/Muskies.

I'd sacrifice a bleeder like that in a heartbeat.

Just guessing, but from what I have seen over the years, I would say a dozen or so that are 28" and larger.

Would that be like 2/acre or so then?

Yes.

Got up this morning and noticed a cut in my hand. I was wondering where I got that. After close inspection it has that shredded NP bite look. Some of that blood was mine. I hope I don’t grow long nasty sharp teeth and develop a slime coating from our bloods intermingling.

Remember that old movie from the late 70's called "Ssssssssss?"

If you notice your overbite turning into an underbite, drink a six of Hamms and call Condello in the morning.

I figured Hamms had something to do with this thread, and the injuries

Stick, I chickened out at the last minute 11.99 +deposit for a 30 pack!, and then we need Bloody Mary chasers to boot!!!

I'm just not as tough as you!

First -- not only did the turtle have a West Virginia "assist" it also had a WV accent. The whole thing was a really bad situation that may yet end up on "60 Minutes."

Of all things, it was a WV lawyer who arranged (a boot in the butt) to give the critter complete freedom without a trial!

As for a stew pot, as Sunil's post mentions, there were two pots 25-30 gallon pots at my place, ready for the taste trial!

cat, you're giving false defense. You were at the palatial Knight's Inn with me and Todd. Those guys could have caught that snapper anywhere between 11PM and 9AM.

I am hoping that our big NP die of old age at 40 plus pounds. They can eat anything they want.

Thanks for the tips, though.

That is how I feel about my big bass except for a person that wants to mount one. No mounting for me.

Very nice NP Stick and Dwight! Thanks for the pic. Small ones are good to eat - don't know about big ones.

Stick be glad you did not lose any appendages. A slime coat might help with fishing.

Standard weight for a 40" northern pike is 16.4 lbs. Nice fish and some of its weight was no doubt produced by eating yellow perch since perch and pike like to hang out in the same type of habitat. It is neat how you often catch your pike on a small No6 red jig with minnow.

Dwight,

Have you caught any in late summer and noticed if their weights are down? I ask this because I get some to mount here from lakes that are semi-euthrophic and the large pike are stressed in late summer due to a lack of a good refuge of cool water with good oxygen levels. They seem to hang there though and wait it out until the turnover, not feeding much which accounts for their weight loss.