Some Surgery Required

After a rather unpleasant task this morning I called in at a local stillwater with a light pike set up to see if I could attract a pike or two. I arrived just as the expected heavy downpour was easing off. A look at the weather app showed more rain was expected an hour or so later. The rain was sweeping across earlier than the forecast early this morning. For some reason my waterproof was missing from the car as well. I decided to risk it. I worked my way pound the pond trying a variety of lures to no avail.  Running a Salmo Frisky along side a fallen tree I thought I'd snagged a branch or something. A skinny jack pike broke surface with out any fuss at all it was netted.

 

There was was good reason the it's skinniness and lethargy. As I removed the lure I noticed a trace down it's throat. A slow pull reviled a large single hook which was easily removed as the point had been cut off. How ever had hooked the pike had clearly tried to remove the rig, but not completed the task. Another slow steady pull and the treble on the end of the rig came free, it hadn't taken hold in the jacks stomach. I poked the stomach back down with the forceps and let the fish rest in the landing net for ten minutes as it started to drizzle. After ten minutes it was trying to swim off with the landing net so I released it. The rain was now stating to get heavier. So I called it a day.

I don't know why only part of the job was done, maybe lack of confidence. Anyway it should survive. I've done this type of surgery before and one of the pike I did it on was caught again on several occasions over a few years eventually exceeding twenty pounds.