How do you guys judge how big a pike is?

[lungdeflator]

Sometimes it is hard to tell how big or small a pike really is in the water.  What do you look for?    Overall fish size?  Gaps between fins?  Tail?  Mouth?

I try to look at the gap between middle fins and the mouth/head.  Sometimes if the fish is a fatty, or abnormally slim, the head can be deceiving.  

The most common decoy I run is a simple bear creek sucker.  About 9" long I think.  Comparing the decoy to gaps in the middle fins, I've found a gap of 8-9" is a fish in that 10-12lb range.  

[tca12]

I may have to try that "section of fish" idea.  I just know the length of my decoy and try to gauge the fish in "decoy lengths".  It makes more sense to measure nose to front fins or your way.

I did make the mistake of thinking that my 10 inch pike decoy was the same as my 8 inch perch decoy.  Passed on a "three decoy" fish early one day and then realized it was probably around 30 inches instead of 24.