[Geno Prussakov]

Went pike fishing in Finland over the weekend. Wanted to do this before the ice covers those beautiful Finnish lakes... Caught nine pikes. Here's a picture of me with one of them:

http://www.amnavigator.com/images/abw/personal/2006_pike.jpg

Nothing terribly huge, but the traditional Russian "uha" fish soup that's boiling on the stove now surely smells yummy... :cheerful:

Geno

[Rexanne]

Nice catch Geno! Enjoy the soup! :biggrin:

[Geno Prussakov]

Thanks, Rexanne... :cheerful:

[Joe Lilly]

Aren't pike really bony? How do you navigate the bones?

[JP-Hackersafe]

Pike Fishing!!! Nice, I am a fisherman myself so I am definitely jealous!

Nice catch!

[Geno Prussakov]

Pike Fishing!!! Nice, I am a fisherman myself so I am definitely jealous!

Nice catch!
Thanks. They can be much nicer, but this one isn't too bad...

G.

[Geno Prussakov]

Aren't pike really bony? How do you navigate the bones?
Depends on the size. Gotta be careful with the bones, but the larger they are - the easier to get the bones out...

G.

PS: Honestly, I wanted to go salmon fishing, but because of the storm, we really couldn't go places where you can catch salmon. Salmon lives 20 meters down below (where the water is colder), and it was too dangerous because of the storm... So I ended up pike fishing.

[Gary-AvantLink]

Nice Geno! I grew up catching Pike in the northeast US but haven't caught one in 15 years or more.. Boy I miss it.

I remember it took me a few years as a kid to figure out you needed to use a steal leader to keep those teeth from sawing through your fishing line.. :) Good stuff!!

[MoneyBusiness]

Nice catch, Geno. We fished a lot of Northern Pike when we lived in North Dakota (think it was during ice-fishing season - and...I think we used leeches as bait - can't remember).

[UncleScooter]

In the southern states there is a cousin of the Pike called a Jackfish. It is far bonier and doesn't get more than about 6 pounds for the most part.

That's a nice one Geno. It is bigger than anything I have yanked out of Mosquito Lagoon lately.

Enjoy!

[Geno Prussakov]

Thank, Gary, MB and Scoot. They catch a lot of pikes in Finland. But you can also catch nice trout and salmon there, which I hope to go fishing one day there too...

Gary, what method did you use for pike fishing?

Geno

[Joe Lilly]

Hey Geno - I'd love to see that fish recipe, if you have a second to type it up!!!!

[Geno Prussakov]

Hey Geno - I'd love to see that fish recipe, if you have a second to type it up!!!!
Joe, there's about a thousand of them... :) This search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=russian+uha+fish+soup) will help you in your quest. ;)

Geno

[Geno Prussakov]

Some of you have asked me in IM-chats what the Princess was doing while I was fishing... Well, she was enjoying the rugged Northern nature... :)

Here's a picture of her:

http://www.amnavigator.com/images/abw/personal/2006_pike_02.jpg

[Ryan@MB]

I remember Pike fishing when I was 10 living way in the Canadian North. They were so big anyone under 120 Lbs had to wear a lifejacket because the fish would pull people in. It was a lot of fun though.

[Joe Lilly]

So the fish is whole with scales still on when you cook it? Do the scales cook down?

[Geno Prussakov]

So the fish is whole with scales still on when you cook it? Do the scales cook down?
No, no, no... Scale the fish!

What we did: we cut the head off, made fillets, and then first - boiled the head and the spine, then - threw 'em away, and bolied the fillets with potatoes, onion, carrots, etc, etc...

Geno

[Gary-AvantLink]

>> Gary, what method did you use for pike fishing?

Geno, I grew up in the Northeast US near the Finger Lakes of New York... so in lakes (some are small and swampy) we'd have the best fun with livebaits like 5-8 inch minnows with (i think) 6-inch steal leaders attached to hook.

I remember that they often hit lures out of anger, too.. so we'd buy bright colored, obnoxious lures. Now I want to get back to the region I grew up in and fish! Thanks for triggering some great memories.

Gary M

[Paul_Ward]

Last pike I saw was while diving in a disused quarry near here, turned sideways and saw this 4 foot long fish not far away looking very menacing in the shadows. I don't have the patience to fish with rod and line, nice catch.

[Alan Hamilton]

Great pics Geno. I know the pride you must have in your little one. I do some pike fishing on a fly rod and it is a blast to catch them. We use a variety of what we call streamers and the pike attack it with a vengeance as you "strip" it in. Then the fight is on!! Thanks for the pictures. They make me anxious for fishing when I hit florida in 5 days!! :thumbsup:

[Kevin]

I usually take my pike with top water baits, moving them over duckweed or whatever else is out there. Fun to watch the torpedo of water heading at the lure under the right conditions :)

Nice fish, btw, Geno!

[mr_jones]

Nice fishing photo Geno...

It's been years since I caught a Pike.

Yep, boil them up and they taste fine. You can fry them after boiling too.

We used lures. I landed two 15 minutes apart, and caught nothing else for the whole day.

[Herb ԿԬ]

I've been waiting several weeks in the rain in Central New York State waiting to make what will probably be our last fishing trip of this year. Hey, maybe tomorrow, over on Cayuga Lake. If the rain stops, the wind dies down, and the temperature goes up . . . I don't care if I catch anything, just want to say I did!

[Geno Prussakov]

Go for it, Herb!! :super: I fished my pikes out when it was only 25 Fahrenheit, and the wind was strong...

I fished by trolling. First time. Loved it!!

Yeah, they seem to like brighter lures much-much better than your regular fish-looking gray ones...

Geno

[Herb ԿԬ]

looks like the weather will hold off for a few hours, so we're on our way! This may be our last chance this year as I don't do ice-fishing.