You never know what's going on down there....

[RK]

So this past Friday, I had a really weird episode.

I was slow rolling a spinnerbait along a weedline when I got hit, hard. Really an arm-jolting strike. Set the hook, and there was nothing there... When I kind of got caught up with the bait, I could feel a little weight. I knew right away it was a small pike. So I just started winching the pike in.

So I'm cranking the pike in, and wondering how on on earth a fish that small (it was all of 20" long) could hit that hard, and here comes about a 25 lb muskie swimming in behind the pike.

So:

Did the pike hit that hard, and then the muskie followed up the pike?

Did the muskie hit the spinnerbait first, and the pike grabbed it as it was stumbling along after I'd set the hook?

The muskie didn't hit the pike at any point - it didn't have a scratch on it, and as hard as the hit was, it would have been shredded.

I'd dearly love to know what exactly the sequence of events was down there.

What's really odd is this took place within a few yards of where, several years before, I caught a muskie and a pike on the same bait - the only time it's ever happened to me. (A pike grabbed the back hook of a jerkbait, and while I was cranking it in, a muskie grabbed the head of the bait, and I landed them both...)

Lotta weird stuff going on down there, and we probably don't see 99% of what goes on...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[BoxMN]

Ha! Different species for me, but I caught a big old dogfish last year on a sucker in the fall... and as I was really it in, the nose-hooked sucker slid up the line, so was sort of riding the dogfish's head, so to speak. Two big smallies came up and got into a frenzy trying to suck the sucker off the line. It was hilarious! Finally one of the smallies was able to rip the sucker off. All this took place right next to pontoon tubes out off a weed edge in about 20 feet of water.

I bet we would be amazed at what really is happening down there for sure!

[cjac]

I like to tell myself I'm in the right water, doing the right things, and there's all kinds of muskie activity that I'm just not seeing!

Sometimes those little flyweight pike can hit like a heavyweight fighter! My guess is the little guy hammered it at full speed, and was reeled in looking like an 18 inch trailer on the spinnerbait.....circling and swaying side to side, tail thumping. Did I just design a new super-sized spinnerbait???

Box: That's funny! Ever notice how you never lose a dogfish once they're hooked up? I've thought I had an 8lb bass hooked a few times!

[Tim_Anderson]

Rob,

I'd bet your bone-jarring strike was just the little pike, and that's it. I am both amazed and annoyed at how fast they can come shooting up from below, clobber your bait making you think for sure you have a musky, and then dart back down in an instant without getting hooked. I call it the "hammer handle turn and burn." I think in musky water, they are always "looking over their shoulder" and are afraid to expose themselves for very long.

I am completely amazed how something that small can hit so hard, but up here in Brainerd...the land of 10,000 lakes, and a billion hammerhandles, I have seen it happen hundreds of times (I'm a fanatical bait watcher). A 20 inch pike can strike as hard as a 20# musky (although they obviously don't have the staying power). I've had them nearly rip the rod right out of my hands!

Cool that you had a musky chase your pike. I've been hearing about that happening quite a bit lately. It has been TOO LONG since it has happened to me.

[JRedig]

I had a 16 inch pike blow a 10" weagle about a foot out of the water last night and get hooked mid-front flip. Fun to see for sure, I can't count how many times i've had pike just destroy topwaters with aerial maneuvers!

[AWH]

I'm in agreement with Tim. Whenever I'm fishing with someone and they have a bone jarring strike where the fish is never on and they're convinced it was a big musky, I'm convinced it was a pike. I just almost never have a musky hit with a ton of force (as compared to pike). Pike and muskies eat their prey in completely different ways, creating that deceptive initial impact.

Aaron

[MUSKY18]

I had a big pike drill my Hellhound tonight, and I thought Moby Dick ate my lure. Found out when I got the fish closer to the boat, the rear treble hooks were caught in the middle of the fishes back. Kind of a fun fight, but dont know for the life of me how the heck he got hooked like that? Must have missed the lure, and caught the hooks?

I agree with you guys, pike hit harder than muskies do, at least in my experience.

[JRedig]

It always seems like pike are out to "kill it" on the strike, they don't seem to follow/think about it. More of a reactionary "gotta have it GOTTA HAVE IT!!!" thing.

Had a couple just "crush" bucktails tonight, got me going on the strike that I really had something.

-JR

[Dan Mawer]

I've had follows from 40" pike before up on Vermilion. I think that nature has set it up so that the smaller/med pike are more aggressive, but I've definitely seen several pigs that were selective. It's like the small ones know they gotta get big fast before they get eaten.

[setterguy]

Last week in WBL we were pitching bass jigs on a mid lake hump and my partner set the hook, this feels really weird he said...it feels like a big fish but its not really fighting like one. We reel it up to find a small pike with a BIG muskie attached to it. The muskie saw the boat and let go of the pike. Craziest thing I'd ever seen.

[Muskiefool]

Hey Rob this is the sorta question that can only be answered around a campfire with a liter of Crown

my thought is the muskie slammed the spinner from the side laying it flat in its mouth hooks facing out, you ripped it out of the fishes mouth (fulcrum effect)and the pike hit getting all the hooks of course and probably one that was stuck in a rotting log too boot Ive had that happen on a short line and the fish just spit it when you give'em the beans, your pike was just a bonus fish LOL.

[propster]

A couple cliche's come to mind - 1) eat or be eaten, and 2) needs it, wants it, gots to have it!

I had a bizarre hit a couple weeks ago. Felt like a subtle hit, like sometimes when they suck in a bucktail. But then it felt funny, not much fight but lots of weight. Turned out to be about a 20# snapping turtle hooked in the leg. When Hunter went to pull the hook he didn't know they could move that fast. I think that's why they call them 'snapping' turtles. He should be healed up soon.

[JRedig]

When Hunter went to pull the hook he didn't know they could move that fast. I think that's why they call them 'snapping' turtles. He should be healed up soon.

Dang you guys are BALLSY. I'd cut that hook with someone else's hand...those things can do serious damage...let's see some pics of that!

[Rebel9921]

Dang... all you guys would need to do would be just grab hold of the shell... and hold it while someone takes the hook out... Hope Hunter's allright...

[propster]

That was a joke - he got his hand out of the way in plenty of time and the turtle missed by at least an inch.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I hooked a snapper on the sunday of opening weekend right in the neck, all I could figure is it was surfacing right as my buchertail went through there. I was solo in the boat and 2 hooks were solid in its neck so I ended up cutting the line.

[Rebel9921]

but then again... I've heard snappers makes excellent soup...

[HugoBox]

Several years ago we were fishing the upper St. Croix for smallies and my brother hooked not one but two snappers while they were in a passionate "embrace." Fortunately it was only a cheap jig so cutting the line was an easy choice - also helped him escape the same fate as Hunter. I didn't know sanpping turtles could bark though - I guess I'd be crabby too if someone hooked me in the arse while I was busy...