Lots of fish caught during our Family Week

My family departed camp today after our annual Family Week when we are closed to all but family members.
We had a great time and caught lots of fish, especially northern pike which is what we all prefer. My great-niece Kinsey boated this 38.5-inch northern pike, scooped into the landing net by her father, Mac, on Friday.
It was released unharmed as were the many dozens of other big fish we caught.
Nobody in our group took fish home but we ate fish every day for supper, choosing 21-24-inch pike or 14-16-inch walleye.
We caught a lot of walleye while casting for pike. These were in three-to-six feet of water and gobbled our pike lures fished on steel leaders.
I think I got the largest pike this year, a first for me. It was 40 inches. It turned out to be quite an experience as I was fishing alone and trying out a new lure with two sets of treble hooks, something I don't normally do. The fish had taken the lure deep into its gills and I had just successfully extracted the deepest treble when the fish flopped out of my grip and buried the top treble into my thigh.
Fortunately the fish came off the lure at the same time. I quickly released the pike and then pulled out the hook through my pants. I've done this procedure dozens of times on other people but never through clothing. It worked fine and I proceeded to fish and got several more large fish, including a 24-inch walleye before I got another treble in my thumb! That was enough for me. I have now replaced the trebles on these lures with single siwash hooks. The lures still work great but the hazard in handling is way less.
Brenda even got out fishing this year, something that seldom happens. Her first fish was over 31 inches and her next was a feisty 22-inch walleye.
Our favorite pike lures are 2/5-oz Little Cleos, Mepps Wolf, Len Thompson, Krocodile and other spoons of this weight and size, #4 and #5 Mepps and Blue Fox spinners, Beetle Spins, 1/4 and 3/8-oz jigs with plastic twister tails, Zara Spook and Live Target Walking Frog top water lures.
We caught dozens of walleyes without live bait. Most of these were 14-16 inches but we also got many 22-24 inches. Boy, do those larger walleye fight! Every time we hooked into one we mistook it for a really big pike until we could get a look at it.
The 12 of us caught well over 1,000 northern pike during the week and many dozens of walleyes. I'm proud to say the only fish we killed were the 7-10 "eaters" we kept each day for supper.
All the big fish were released unharmed.
Nice job, guys and gals!
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