Toothy Fish

[Bender]

Went fishing yesterday on Upper Saranac. Decided to try to catch some other fish and tried trolling for lake trout or landlocked salmon. No luck, I think I need some dipsy divers or something to get down there, long-lining wasn't getting it done.

Decided to try some new areas for bass, and started catching a few perch on an X-Rap. Decided to keep a few and threw a Mepps #2 to try to get some on purpose. Should taste good:



Funny, but the perch just shut off and quit biting even though they were still there. I moved on looking for bass and started throwing a Pointer 100 when I got HAMMERED! This fish was pulling hard and had my 6'6" MH rod doubled over, in this case I think the spiral wrapped guides helped keep the rod from turning. I reeled and fought the fish for a few minutes and he finally came to the boat. The lure was completely gone and all I could see was the 10# fluoro going into his mouth, made me very worried about losing the lure. He made several move runs from the boat as I was trying to net him. He didn't really fit into the net, but I managed to get him into the boat. Got my lure back (carefully) but it is pretty much destroyed. I weighed him on handheld scale at 12# and best guess from where he was on the deck is about 38".



Moved on and found a school of smallies on a rock pile in 35'. Caught 8-10 of them including 5 on back to back casts but they were all 10-12". Hit a couple other spots and got only a few more smallies, no big ones. After 10 hours on the water I decided to head in but hit my one spot for big ones by the ramp. Threw the drop shot back down on some fish I marked and after a few nibbles hooked into one. Got it up to the boat and it was a catfish! Add in the sucker I caught with the perch and it was quite a well rounded day.

[nofearengineer]

Man...I dream of days like that Bender. Sounds like an awesome time. You are very fortunate indeed to land a 12 lb Northern on 10 lb test. A 38 incher is a truly magnificent specimen. Great job, man.

[bcklash]

Those perch are fun to catch and good to eat.

[BigBassin144]

Bender, sounds like an awesome day!

delicious perch, some bass, and a nice pike!

BB

[3dkicker]

I told you they, the toothy ones, were there.....
"Sometimes that pike he looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. And, you know, the thing about a pike... he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be living... until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then... ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin'. The lake turns red, and despite all the poundin' and the hollerin', they all come in and they... rip you to pieces."

[nofearengineer]

Right there....Mary Ellen Moffit....She broke my heart....

Robert Shaw was amazing in that movie.

[Fishnngolfn]

The one thing I really don't like about pike and pickeral is that they bleed like stuck pig.

[Bassboss]

Wow! Did you keep the big toothy critter? Them perch and pike are gonna be really good!

[brushhog]

Great Day! Saranac is a sweet fishery, all though I haven't been since I was a kid... I do recall a few lake trout and a lot of perch. I guess if you had to move you could have gone worse places, except winter is coming sooner than you think to this neck of the woods... You better get out as often as you can while the Fall is still nice!

[Bender]

I put the pike back. There are warnings about mercury and stuff in some of the lakes so I don't think I want to eat a very old fish. I don't know about that lake in particular though. Plus he probably wouldn't fit in the livewell, maybe a rod locker.
I really can't belive he didn't cut my line, a 15" one would have sheared the lure right off somehow.

Brushhog, there are landlocked salmon and lake trout in there from what I hear. I picked up a couple dipsy divers tonight so I can try to troll for them.

[keithdog]

Sounds like a great day on the lake. Those perch are going to be very tasty!!!

[brushhog]

Bender, I'll have to ask my Dad what e caught the lake trout on when I was a boy... I can't recall. Keep us posted on how you do!

[3dkicker]

I hooked a good one years ago when I fished Saranac Lake on a black spinnerbait with copper blade over a grass bed. It's the first and last pike I've ever hooked up. Lost it at the boat when it snapped the line. I remember the eyes, the black lifeless eyes.....

[MallenManson]

Good day, Bender! As much as I hate hooking a pike, I'd take one that size any day!

[Abbeysdad]

I always thought of Saranac as a really clean northern lake - dunno about mercury in older fish though. Besides, are Pike really good eating?

[3dkicker]

I would suspect that there are a lot of bones. Anyone eat one before?

[MallenManson]

I haven't ever eaten one, but I hear they're delicious! I just don't feel like learning to clean them

[nofearengineer]

Pike are delicious! You just have a couple of extra bones to cut out...they're pretty easy.

[Bender]

That lake doesn't have a mercury warning, but several around here do and you are limited as to how many fish per month you are supposed to eat. From what I have been told pike have a Y-bone and are harder to clean but are supposed to be good to eat.

[Abbeysdad]

I just love the Adirondacks and it's lakes...in my youth, spent some time on Raquette Lake at Camp Huntington. Paddled up the Marion river to Blue Mountain lake. Another time on a family vacation trip, did some fishing and camping on Tupper Lake.
Mrs. and I spent our Honeymoon at Lake George and have been back there several times. Visited Saranac Lake a few years ago on a trip to Lake Placid.
Anyway, I dunno if my current ride would be up to the task of hauling the boat up there, but one day I sure would like to get her in some of those lakes for some fishin!

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by Bender

That lake doesn't have a mercury warning, but several around here do and you are limited as to how many fish per month you are supposed to eat. From what I have been told pike have a Y-bone and are harder to clean but are supposed to be good to eat.

An old guy I used to work with knows how to clean 'em. I should catch a mess of 'em and run over to his place.
Apparently when you and I fished Big Platte, we weren't far from a serious stomping ground for big pike. Maybe you spotted it when we first headed over to the inlet. Supposed to be a cove over there, but I don't remember seeing it. Hindsight is 20/20 lol.

There's also Loon Lake which is on M 22 between Big and Little Platte. Looks like a great lake and it's fished mostly for pike

[riverfisher]

The fish in the Saranac lake's are fairly safe to eat. Pike is a great eating fish as long as you know how to fillet it up. Check out the link it is very easy basically the same way I do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3-GLr9bTXM

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by riverfisher

The fish in the Saranac lake's are fairly safe to eat. Pike is a great eating fish as long as you know how to fillet it up. Check out the link it is very easy basically the same way I do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3-GLr9bTXM

Great video. Doesn't look so tough.

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by MallenManson

Great video. Doesn't look so tough.

Nice video. I am asking for a fish filet setup for Christmas.