Keeping big pike

honkerslayer

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I’m just curious if many would support some kind of limit on keeping bigger pike. Say 1 fish over 30” or maybe 35”? I was shore fishing yesterday and some of what I saw just sickened me. People stringering 12-18 lb pike. Picking me up by the eyes, rolling them in the dirt, etc. I’m cool with people keeping the 3-6 lb fish but keeping those big old girls just drives me nuts. I know there a fair number of folks who consider pike as trash, but chasing those big pike is one of my favorite types of fishing.
I’m just wondering how folks feel about this.
 


Kentucky Windage

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Outside of humanely handling the fish, I could care less about gators. They’re the garbage disposals of fresh water. If you saw what they eat in a given year, you wouldn’t mind them being pulled out. They don’t get big not eating everything in site.
 

Casey Buchholz

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I'm not a fan of slot limits. It's hard to see people waste precious resources such as big pike and big walleye. I believe all you can do is try and educate them when in conversation. I have eaten pike over 35" that tasted great but that's coming out of a deep lake. I've had perch from shallow sloughs where the ones over 14" did not taste as good as the smaller ones. This is why I choose to practice selective harvest. I believe our Game and Fish do a good job of managing the fisheries of our state and that if you follow the laws we can continue to see the great fishing we see year after year. The toughest part about North Dakota is our weather dictates our lakes fish just as much as fishing pressure.
 

Bob Erfish

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Wait, 12-18 lb pike from shore? Where does a guy go for that? Keeping them over 10 pounds seems not quite right but if it’s legal I ain’t here to judge
 


Grizzly Adams

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I guess as long as they are not breaking any laws I figure it’s none of my business. That being said I personally don’t keep the big buggers. Maybe one once in a while
 

LBrandt

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I like a certain size fish. A 17 to 19 inch wally will feed both the wife and myself. I like a 5# northski for smoking, pickling and just plain pan fry. 12 to 13 in perch make the best fish sandwich ever made. The hand size sunnies and 11" crappies are the panfish delight. I will scale and clean those the old way and fry in butter, it don't get no better.
 

honkerslayer

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Just to be clear, I really am not a fan of slot limits either but I don’t know how else to protect that resource. Maybe it’s just not that important and doesn’t make an impact in the end. I know it’s legal and as long as folks are compliant I need to let it go.
 

Bob Erfish

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How long has the lake gone without slot limits? If the answer is forever and you’re still catching limits of huge pike I’d say a few guys keeping the bigguns isn’t going to hurt anything. I moved here from MN a few months ago, believe me, the less rules the better.
 

Kurtr

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As long as there is food there will be big pile in sak and Oahe it matters little what people eat. Back in the 70’s my FIL said they fried the pike eggs so the bigger the better 40 years later still catching the same slimers
 


eyexer

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There are so many pike in sak that you couldn’t put a dent in the population with a rod and reel. The less there is in there the better the walleye fishing is going to be
 

KDM

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I'd like to ask a couple questions honkerslayer. What are your motivations for this? Why do you think an upper limit will improve what appears to be an already outstanding fishery? Based on what you posted, it sounds like selfishness and/or jealousy to me. Are you not catching these 12-18 lbers?? If you aren't catching these fish and others are, it sounds like jealousy. If you are catching these big fish and want to catch more of them by forcing others to release their fish due to a slot limit, it sounds like selfishness. Do you really think the pike population needs an upper limit where you are fishing if you are already seeing these large pike being caught?? Just some thoughts on a Sunday morning. Good Luck!! Hope you catch a bunch.
 

MathewsZman

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What's next , you should only be able to shoot a 2 year old deer ? Anything older has to be left alone ?
 

Allen

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Not a fan of slots without a biological reasoning, and as has been noted the big lake has always had a great pike fishery. I say enjoy the good times we are currently in as low water years will again be with us some day.
 


honkerslayer

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Fair questions! I didn’t think I was being selfish, but maybe I was. It’s not jealousy. I caught plenty and have caught many over 20lb and never kept one. Do I like catching them? Absolutely. I just like the idea of taking a pic and letting them go so someone else can experience it as well. Just because I like how it makes me feel to do that, it shouldn’t determine how others should feel or how the fishery should be managed. The point about the fishery being able to absorb it is a really good point. It is an amazing fishery and we are lucky to have it. I think there are more and more people all the time practicing selective harvest and I think that’s a good thing. It doesn’t mean they have to, but a choice. Our resources get more and more pressure all the time and I just want them to stay that way. Thanks for the honest opinions!
 

luvcatchingbass

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No to slot limits. I can see in some cases having a minimum length on a developing fishery but that is about it.
 

KDM

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Fair questions! I didn’t think I was being selfish, but maybe I was. It’s not jealousy. I caught plenty and have caught many over 20lb and never kept one. Do I like catching them? Absolutely. I just like the idea of taking a pic and letting them go so someone else can experience it as well. Just because I like how it makes me feel to do that, it shouldn’t determine how others should feel or how the fishery should be managed. The point about the fishery being able to absorb it is a really good point. It is an amazing fishery and we are lucky to have it. I think there are more and more people all the time practicing selective harvest and I think that’s a good thing. It doesn’t mean they have to, but a choice. Our resources get more and more pressure all the time and I just want them to stay that way. Thanks for the honest opinions!

Well thought out post and just so you know, I'm on your side as far as making sure the resouce is protected. I too, LOVE to tangle with big pike.
 


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