Epic Ice Fishing Tale

[MichelleL]

Well I came home with no fish but still have a great story.

I looked away from my rod for about 30 seconds. My Friend PJ was like.. where did your rod go.. DOWN THE HOLE. Great.. So I get out a pickerel rig and add on as many hooks as i can and try to get it out. No luck. So... TWO hours later a hole about 25 yards away from this one. PJ go's to get the ice off the hole and noticed the line was heavy. You won't believe it. It was a 24.5 inch pike.. attached to his line and still had my hook in his mouth. and.. drum roll.... My fishing pole. That pike dragged my pole for two hours down there and was still hungry. he had a third hook from somehwere else in him too.


I caught three baby pickerel and threw them back. PJ caught 4 nice pickerel a pike and my rod. lol

It's a good thing I put new line and a leader on that rod the night before.

Whats your Epic Ice Fishing Tale?
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[wiperhunter2]

Wow, that is a great story. By the way, welcome to the site. We also have state boards if your interested.
Is that your wife or girlfriend holding the walleye in your advatar pic?
WH2
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[MichelleL]

Thank you for the welcome.

Well, I'm Michelle (Girl in picture holding Pickerel) That guy in the pic is my Husbands best friend.

I love ice fishing. We try to get out every day off we have.[fishin]
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[wiperhunter2]

Ooops, my bad assuming you were a guy[blush]. Oops again, I thought the pic was you holding walleye. Good for you getting out with your husband that often, seems like most us guys are happy just to get a kitchen pass, much less get our wives to go fishing with us. Your husband is one lucky guy[cool].
WH2
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[MichelleL]

LOL it's all good. Pickerel is what us northern canadians call walleye.. not sure why but we do. lol
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[wiperhunter2]

Realy? I had no idea, I thought it looked like an eye and a nice one at that. It is hard to tell from the pic but did you catch it while ice fishing?
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[MichelleL]

ya that was in Feb last year. Great story. It was a really light hit but as soon as i set the hook i knew it wasn't small. I was pulling that baby up and just as it got the the hole the line broke. My man drove his hand right up to his arm pit into the hole and pulled that beast out. 25 inch pickerel/walleye. That is the biggest I've ever caught. lol Good team effort. we were just about to pack up too.
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[wiperhunter2]

Breaking the line at the hole happen way to often, especially with bigger fish, way to go, getting that bad boy or girl the hard way.
I was fishing for perch a couple of days ago when another angler showed me a pic of a tiger musky he caught through the ice a few minutes before I arrived. It was a 40 incher and he caught it on 4 lb test line, he said it took him 1/2 hour to get it up through the hole. Wish I had been there to see it[cool].
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[MichelleL]

Wow a tiger musky. That would be a fun fight through the ice. I've never caught a musky but hope to one day.. there are lots in our lakes
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[wiperhunter2]

The Tiger I'm holding in my advatar pic is 40", I caught it while trolling but I can't even imaging catching one that big through the ice but it happens every year at this lake here in the Northern part of Utah called Pineview. Too bad they don't naturally reproduce or we might have enough to thin out these small perch we have there, few get over 9"[frown].
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[MichelleL]

Ya we seem to get small ones here but they do eventually grow
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[CoyoteSpinner]

That is an epic ice story. Not the first tale of a lost fish and pole later retrieved - have heard of fish breaking off one angler, to then swipe at his neighbors bait - so they get the fish and lure back.

Underwater cameras can be key to some retrieves. Saw a youtube of some guys "fishing" for the business end of their auger. Pretty funny.

Welp - seconds on the welcome.
I'm still hoping a nab a musky through the ice, but I've got a bud who's found quite a few in spring. This is from Newton - another northern water with the Tigers. Wish we had some pike closer to chase.

Don't think Bamaboy will mind if I share this:

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[MichelleL]

OMG. what a monster. That is a really nice catch []
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Curious - you say pickerel=walleye? I thought pickerel was a pike reference? Both fine toothy fish. Wish we had more walleye ice-opportunity.

Our Tigermusky are a sterile hybrid, and are mandatory C&R - at least at the two lakes. Never had tried pike or musky for table fare, and am curious to.

Seen some pike fishing techniques from the mid-west - using decoys and spears. Really big holes - guess it's a whole different approach.

[MichelleL]

Yes a walleye is the same as a pickerel here. It is only northeren ontario that says pickerel when it is a walleye. we are odd that way. lol. I know there is a species of pike that is a pickerel but when a northeren ontario person says pickerel they are referring to walleye. confusing eh?
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[davetclown]

even tho there are pickeral in michigan, when the old timers refer to them, they too are talking about walleye.

can get confusing for sure.

[MichelleL]

I'm glad we are not the only area that says pickerel when we are talking about walleye [cool]
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