Landing Equipment

Depending on your needs, you can land a pike using a gaff, a net, a priest, or a spreader and a disgorger. If you intend to release a large pike alive, then the proper use of a gaff is probably the best way to handle the fish. Gaffs have a bad reputation because people assume that you use them by driving them into the body of a fish as soon as the fish is within reach. If you are certain you are going to kill and keep the fish, use the gaff that way if the last moments of the battle are tough.

If you want to release the pike, though, there's only one place to gaff it: through the lower jaw, right behind the jawbone. A sharp gaff will slide through the loose skin at that point and you will have a firm hold on the fish. If the hook is big enough, you can move your hand (covered with a glove) down the gaff until you can hold both sides of the gaff hook, preventing the pike from flipping away. Remember, however, that the use of a gaff is illegal for some species in certain areas.

Few anglers carry gaffs and most rely on landing nets. For pike, size is important. Make it a big net. The size of net carried by salmon fishermen on the Great Lakes just won't do for big pike. Always net a pike headfirst because it swims in that direction. Trying to slide a net over its tail can be frustrating since each flip of the tail will take it farther away from the net, not deeper into it. Make sure the hoop of the net allows most of the pike's length to pass through.

If you are planning to release the fish alive, a net has two disadvantages: first the lure will almost certainly become tangled in the twine, complicating the job of removing the hook; second, the net will remove too much slime from the fish, a substance that is a natural protective coating. Some anglers use nets with rubberized twine to prevent hooks from getting tangled and assist in fish handling. Rubberized nets don't last as long as the traditional ones but they may be your answer to releasing the fish.

With a live fish that you plan to release, remove the hooks in a way that does the least damage to the fish. If you've been bait fishing, you can simply cut the line close to the hook, releasing the fish with the hook still in place. As long as the hook isn't stainless steel, it will soon deteriorate and fall out.

If you decide to kill your fish, you will need equipment that can be used to dispatch the fish quickly with a blow between the eyes. A priest, socalled because it gives the last rites, is one such instrument. It can be a short piece of pipe, a stick with a lead ball at the end, or even a ball-peen hammer.

Once a fish is dead, you can remove hooks any way you want. If you want to retrieve your valuable multi-hooked plug from the pike's mouth, a spreader and a disgorger come in handy. A jaw spreader will hold a pike's mouth open while you work, reducing the chance of your hand being cut. Disgorgers can be commercial models made of plastic, or needle-nosed pliers, or, for those who can find them, surgical hemostats. Basically, you need a solid, long, strong instrument to do the job. It's a good idea to wear gloves. Dead fish should be gutted and gilled as soon as possible.

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