[CPR1]

Hey guys. I am new to the board but not new to fishing NJ waters (30+ years). I have visited this board a few times to read reports and felt the time was right to register and start giving back. What pushed me to register was the urge to reply to this thread. To echo all the folks here, this is one hell of a Pike. More impressive, it came from NJ, one step further, it came from the Passaic (did not intend to blow up your location, seems it is pretty clear where you are by the picture and the replies). For a long time, this fishery was considered dead and the high pollution levels in these waters made it laughable to think it would ever come back to produce trophy class fish. Most of you veteran Passaic fisherman already know this. I know a lot of the biologists who manage our NJ waters and have followed their efforts to get the Passaic back on it's feet. These guys did one hell of a job creating an amazing Pike fishery and this recent catch is proof of their successful efforts. Back to Esox Luciano. Bravo, sir! So glad it was you who caught this fish. It is so important to have experienced anglers out there who realize the importance of C&R and to have a high respect for a mature fish that is so important to a fishery. Well done not only on the capture but on the successful release! Regarding the post defending you on sharing your report. Anyone can look at the background of a picture and report chase. You risked exposing your location to share this great report with the board. Cudos again! Anyone can call out a location on a board, have some respect for the angler who shared this great report. As for the numbers, one reply was spot on. It is so hard to tell from a picture. The example of the two shots of the state record is proof of that. The horizontal pic looks like a 40" 20# fish. The vertical hold really shows the fish's true size. Heart breaking that fish was taken but that is a whole other religious debate. Bottom line, not many anglers know just how rare and difficult it is to catch a fish like this in NJ. Congrats! No one can dispute this is a fish of record size. I would urge you to be careful with the self proclaimed anointing, however. That said, I would rather have someone release a fish and assume it is a record, than kill it to prove it is. Again, estimating the weight of an Esox from one picture is extremely difficult. You saw the fish in the flesh and you are entitled to your opinion nonetheless. No one can take away from you the fact that you have accomplished an amazing feat capturing this giant. In the past, I have asked an expert in photo forensics to help me size muskies that were not measured or weighed. Google Larry Ramsell and send your picture to him. He will also tell you that it is extremely difficult to size a fish (especially the weight) from one picture but I don't think there is anyone out there that is better than Larry. I would also suggest sharing this picture with the team at NJDFGW. Pictures of fish like this help them gain continued support and funding for their stocking efforts in an environment of increasing cutbacks and shrinking budgets. One last tidbit to chew on. I have seen a lot of the data from the netting of muskies for brood stock. In order for a musky to reach 30 libs, it typically needs to be 48" and real heavy or longer. I'll stop preaching now and say congratulations on an awesome catch and more importantly, for being a conservationist. Thanks for sharing this awesome experience.