Last week a blog was posted that disagreed with the weight of the Pike caught by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The issue for me was not the quality of the fish, or the fact that the fish was an excellent catch, or who caught the fish, it was about the reported weight. It was stated the Pike weighed 21 Kg. Now as a retired health care worker, I know a little bit about converting pounds to kilograms and vice versa. So here it is, one kilogram is equal to 2.2 pounds. Taking 2.2 times 21 Kg. you get 46.2 pounds. This size of fish would be almost or over five feet long. How do I know? I have caught a fair amount of big pike in the last 50 years. Anyway, I am not into politics but hunting and fishing. Regardless of where a public figure is from, be it the earth or Mars, they should get it right. For your information Vladimir Putin was born in 1952.
![]() |
He has the eyes of a fisherman. |
When I saw the fish on the video, I called my wife so she could take a good look and we both agreed this was a really healthy fish. What impressed both of us was the fact that it looked so thick for the length. That could have added to the weight, but not to 21 Kg. Paste the link into your browser and enjoy the catch.
We also studied the area where they were fishing and noted to the right of the picture was standing weeds. It was assumed that the water was fairly shallow at this location from the weed line out to the boat and then it dropped off to deeper water. Northern Pike are sight feeders and they probably are hiding in the under water weeds waiting for something to come by. We felt that they were fishing close to the edge, as the first pictures of the fish is fairly shallow. This would be a fish hiding along the weed line laying in wait for a tasty morsel.
Auto Fish Grabber
One e-mail received criticized me harshly for stating the lure was not the right kind. My friend, read the blog again. Not one word was said about the lure. Now that this item has been brought up, the lure looked like a Meps Spinner. I saw it only briefly, but it looked like a spinner with a weight above and the hook behind with a big blade covering the weight. I have used a Meps Spinner many times, but my favorite lures for big northern are spoons. When I fish big northern, I use the darker color on dark days and the shinny ones on clear sunny days. The big spoons have a really big treble hook trailing. I peel off one of the hooks and bend the barbs down so that they are flush with the body of the hook. A friend from Minnesota used to file his hooks off. Whatever, get rid of the barbs on the big lures with a single treble hook. If you keep the line tight, you will not lose the fish. If you don’t keep the line tight, you should not be fishing for big northern pike. Also, the hook comes out easier if the barbs are bent down. The previous blog had a picture of the tool I use to get the hook out.
Eppinger Original Dardevle Spoons
Eppinger Red Eye Wiggler Spoons
I did not see steel leader from the end of the line to the lure as I watched the fish after it was hauled into the boat. I highly recommend a 12 inch steel leader if you are fishing for big northern. When the fish hits, and this is a thrill to see, they turn very abruptly and dive for the deep or run to deeper water. Many moons ago, in perfectly clear water in northern Manitoba, I was able to see the fish come out of the weeds, hit the lure and do this remarkable turn. It is really exciting to see, and I caught decent size northern and threw them back. Remember, the barbs were bent down and the treble hook only had two hooks.
Joe Butcher Musky Leader
A couple of decades ago, I used to fish a reservoir in central Kansas. The closest town was only about 250 people, but they had a bait shop. The shop was a big open air tent and the bait was lined up in buckets along a really big table. Prices were posted and he also sold some lures. It was always early in the morning, and no one was ever there to help you. You got what you wanted and deposited the money in a tin box, making change if you needed. This was amazing. One day, the crappie were pounding the bait, and I ran out. My partner stayed with the boat because he wanted to keep fishing, and I went to get bait. Lo and behold, there was the owner of the open air shop. Introductions were made, and I inquired if he was losing money. His response was “Fishermen are liars, they are not thieves.”