Passaic River Surprise (5/25)

[JDTuna]

Had a little bit of time after dinner on Memorial Day to take my nephew (who had never caught a fish) fishing. It was a last minute plan, and I figured I could pick up some worms and take him to the Passaic right by the house and catch a few bullhead cats. Unfortunately, the nearest bait store was closed so worms were out. I had a few scraps left over from a yellowfin tuna I caught on Saturday on an offshore trip, and grabbed a couple of leftover hotdogs as well.

We went down to the river and set out one rod with a piece of yellowfin, and the other with a chunk of hotdog (cooked by the way). Within a few minutes the yellowfin tuna chunk gets eaten and my nephew landed his first fish ever, a bullhead catfish. A few minutes later, the hotdog gets hit. Im thinking its another cat, but its fighting a bit harder. My nephew pulled the fish to the surface, and it ended up being a 24-26 inch pike! Here I am, thinking hard about lure choice when I fish, and this one decided to scoop a chunk of hotdog off the bottom. Unfortunately, it bit through the light line before we had a chance to take a picture, but it was a still a successful trip with his first two fish. And a pike at that!

[Jigman13]

Yellowfin for bait?!?! That's some high-end catfish chow buddy!! Hahha!

In all seriousness, nice job getting the kiddo out there. I can only imagine his face seeing a pike rolling around during the fight! Priceless!

[AndyS]

I remember reading a report that a guy caught a pike on the lower Raritan river on a clam ! Good stuff !!!!

[FASTEDDIE29]

It's amazing what the river Pike will grab and eat. I've heard quite a few stories where anglers catch them on hot dogs, corn, nite crawlers and other assorted baits. Fish eat when they are hungry. Sounds like a fun day!

[Skunk City]

I was fishing the river last summer and a group of younger HS kids were fishing, said they landed a decent Pike on a hotdog as well lol.

[Andrushkin33]

Now that would be another great commercial for Snickers --- You not yourself when you are hungry... LOL

Great stuff getting a small one out and putting him on the fish.

Andre

[phil]

I remember reading a report that a guy caught a pike on the lower Raritan river on a clam ! Good stuff !!!!


there's a freshwater spot by me that's loaded with surf clam shells in the shallows. I dont really know what the guys are fishing for but its cheap bait I guess and im sure something eats it.

[justin1982]

I've caught a couple on hot dogs, it's a very nice surprise

[Eskimo]

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Very interesting.
Pike definitely have some scavenging tendencies. In Europe, fishing with dead baits is a popular way to fish for pike.


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[JDTuna]

All this time I had been trying to match lures to water temp, season, etc. All I needed was a nice hotdog. I should have been "matching the hatch" to bbq season.

[briansnat]

Do pike prefer meat hot dogs or all beef? Does it matter if it's kosher?

[Eskimo]

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Do pike prefer meat hot dogs or all beef? Does it matter if it's kosher?

It depends on the area of the Passaic you're fishing.
In the Fairfield area, standard Oscar Meyer Wieners are fine, but as you go upstream to Livingston-Short Hills-Millburn area, the hotdogs must be Kosher.

Downstream in the Paterson-Newark area economic concerns necessitates the use of generic store brand hotdogs.

I guess hotdogs are effective because they are made from finely-ground processed meats and fat which exudes particulate matter into the water, making it easy for the fish to find it.


Here is a list of ingredients in hotdogs:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/whats-in-your-wiener-hot-dog-ingredients-explained/


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